Millvale, Pennsylvania
Encyclopedia
Millvale is a borough in Allegheny County
Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
Allegheny County is a county in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the population was 1,223,348; making it the second most populous county in Pennsylvania, following Philadelphia County. The county seat is Pittsburgh...

, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

, along the Allegheny River
Allegheny River
The Allegheny River is a principal tributary of the Ohio River; it is located in the Eastern United States. The Allegheny River joins with the Monongahela River to form the Ohio River at the "Point" of Point State Park in Downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...

, opposite Pittsburgh. In the past, it had iron manufactures, saw works, stone works, lumber mills, breweries, etc. In 1900, the number of people residing here totaled 6,736; in 1910, 7,861; and in 1940, 7,811. The population was 3,744 at the 2010 census.

History

Until 1952 the borough was served by the "3 Millvale" trolley operated by Pittsburgh Railways
Pittsburgh Railways
Pittsburgh Railways was one of the predecessors of the Port Authority of Allegheny County. It had 666 PCC cars, the third largest fleet in North America. It had 68 street car routes, of which only three are used by the Port Authority as light rail routes...

.

Geography

Millvale is located at 40°28′59"N 79°58′25"W (40.482968, -79.973725).

According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...

, the borough has a total area of 0.7 square miles (1.8 km²), of which 0.6 square miles (1.6 km²) is land and 0.1 square mile (0.258998811 km²), or 9.72%, is water.

Millvale is located at the confluence of Girtys Run
Girtys Run
Girtys Run is a tributary of the Allegheny River located in Allegheny County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania.-Course:Girtys Run joins the Allegheny River at the borough of Millvale.-External links:*...

 and the Allegheny River. Much of the borough is on a floodplain and has been subjected to extensive flooding at many times during its history.

Surrounding communities

Millvale is bordered by Pittsburgh to the southeast (across the Allegheny River), Reserve Township to the west and north, and Shaler Township to the northeast.

Demographics

As of the census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

of 2000, there were 4,028 people, 1,839 households, and 959 families residing in the borough. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 was 6,187.1 people per square mile (2,392.6/km²). There were 2,085 housing units at an average density of 3,202.6 per square mile (1,238.5/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 97.00% White, 0.97% African American, 0.20% Native American, 0.17% Asian, 0.67% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, and 0.99% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.89% of the population.

There were 1,839 households out of which 26.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 32.6% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...

 living together, 14.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 47.8% were non-families. 41.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.16 and the average family size was 2.96.

In the borough the population was spread out with 23.5% under the age of 18, 9.9% from 18 to 24, 32.4% from 25 to 44, 19.7% from 45 to 64, and 14.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 95.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.6 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $26,509, and the median income for a family was $30,478. Males had a median income of $27,624 versus $22,278 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...

 for the borough was $14,526. About 11.2% of families and 13.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.3% of those under age 18 and 5.7% of those age 65 or over.

Culture

St. Nicholas Croatian Catholic Church, on Maryland Avenue in Millvale, is the first Croatian Catholic parish in America. Painted on the walls of the church are the world renown murals of Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...

n artist Maksimilijan Vanka
Maksimilijan Vanka
Maksimilijan Vanka , also known as Maxo Vanka, was a Croatian-American artist.Maxo Vanka was born in Croatia in 1889. It is believed that he may have been the illegitimate child of Habsburg nobility. He was sent to live with peasants, but at the age of eight was discovered by his maternal...

. These murals, painted in the 1930s and 1940s, were Vanka's gift to the United States. They represent the struggles of the Croatian people
Croats
Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...

 in the face of war and poverty in their homeland and as immigrants in post-industrial America. This story is told through imagery that blends the Slavic
Slavic peoples
The Slavic people are an Indo-European panethnicity living in Eastern Europe, Southeast Europe, North Asia and Central Asia. The term Slavic represents a broad ethno-linguistic group of people, who speak languages belonging to the Slavic language family and share, to varying degrees, certain...

 experience with their strong Roman Catholic faith, a faith which strengthened them in the face of adversity.

Millvale Riverfront Park provides a 1.7 mile bike and walking trail that provides access from Millvale to Pittsburgh's North Shore, PNC Park, and Heinz Stadium along the Three Rivers Heritage Trail. The trail meanders along the Allegheny River, past Herr's Island , the TRRA Millvale Boathouse and into the Millvale Riverfront park. Plans for a bike/pedestrian bridge from the Millvale riverfront to Herr's island has received partial funding from DCNR and plans to connect the Millvale Trail to points north are being discussed. Access to the Millvale business district is less than half a mile away and restrooms are available. Other park amenities include a beautiful pavilion with riverfront access and a full kitchen, Mr.Smalls Skate Park, bike and boat rental, Millvale Marina, kayak and rowing boat launch access, fishing, tackle and bait shop, and more. The Riverfront Park is also home to the wildly popular annual BrewFest in August and the newly launched, well-crafted Harvest Moon Wine Festival in the Fall.

Most recently, the Millvale Community Library has been launched as an all-volunteer effort of community members to take several vacant buildings and lots and turn them into a multi-use space centered around creating Millvale's first public library and associated garden space. This project was launched by community volunteers and Pittsburgh-based non-profit organization, New Sun Rising, in 2007 and has enlisted hundreds of volunteers to help turn this community dream into a reality. With any luck the doors will open in 2012.

External links

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