Ambridge by air

Central Ambridge,
aerial view,
pre-1960,
source unknown
click on photo for larger view

I've been unable to find the original source of the above aerial photo of Ambridge. It was posted on the Facebook page "AMBRIDGE MEMORIES WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER" (not affiliated with this blog) without the source being identified, and, originally, without the grid, which was added later to help with the identification of the buildings and features in the photo. My observation: it's much easier to identify buildings from the front; not so easy when you're looking at the rear or roof of a building.

The date of the photo is also unknown but is prior to 1960 since the old State Theatre is still standing in the photo. In addition, in the photo, Ohio River Boulevard ends at 8th Street.* According to the Daily Citizen, January 30, 1959, the bid for the Ohio River Boulevard (Route 88) extension from 8th Street to Baden had just been awarded, so work had not yet started.

To help orient you: in the photo, west is at the top. The left (south) side goes almost to 6th Street, the right (north) side goes to 9th Street, the bottom (east side) shows the area between Glenwood Avenue and the Ambridge High School grounds.

The photo shows:

• Ohio River, A-1 to J-3

• 7th Street, A-6 to E-4
• 8th Street (Rt. 88), A-7 to J-4
• 9th Street, G-7 to J-6
• Glenwood Avenue, A-6 to H-8
• Melrose Avenue, D-5 to J-8
• Merchant Street, A-4 to J-6
• Ohio River Boulevard (Rt. 88), A-2 to J-4

• Ambridge High School ball field ?, A-8 to C-8
• Ambridge High School track ?, C-8 to E-8
• Ambridge Hotel, 8th and Merchant Streets, G-5
• Ambridge Recreation Center/Second Ward School, Maplewood Avenue near 8th Street, G-4
• Ambridge Theatre building, 7th Street and Merchant Street, C-5 to D-5
• American Bridge Company, A-1 to F-3
• Caplan's Wholesale Grocery, 798 Merchant Street, E-5
• Christian and Missionary Alliance church, 901 Merchant Street, J-6
• Economy Electric Supply (currently), 817 Merchant Street, G-6; At time photo was taken, the building may have been one of the car dealerships that were in that location.
• First United Methodist church, 7th Street and Maplewood Avenue, D-4
• Iron City Distributing, 8th Street and Glenwood Avenue, D-6
• Park Road School, 749 Park Road, G-4
• Polish Falcons, 529 8th Street, A-7
• Polish National Alliance (PNA/ZNP), 405 8th Street, D-6
• Second Ward School/Ambridge Recreation Center, Maplewood Avenue near 8th Street, G-4
• State Theatre, 749 Merchant Street, E-5
• St. Veronica church, 8th Street and Glenwood Avenue, C-6
• St. Veronica convent, 7th Street and Melrose Avenue, B-5
• St. Veronica rectory, 700 block Glenwood Avenue, B-6
• St. Veronica School, 710 Melrose Avenue, C-5 and 6
• St. Vladimir church, 9th Street and Melrose Avenue, H-7
• Twin Trailer Sales, 8th Street and Latimer Avenue**, J-5
• United Dairy, 897 Melrose Avenue, F and G-6 and 7
• United Presbyterian, 823 Maplewood Avenue, J-5
• Wall and Sons feed store, 507 Eighth Street, D-6 and 7
• Zion Lutheran Church,*** Park Road, H-4

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* Prior to being re-numbered as Route 65, Ohio River Boulevard, which then ended at 8th Street, was designated Route 88. Then Route 88 turned east on 8th Street to Duss Avenue and continued north on Duss Avenue to Baden.

** Renamed Kennedy Drive in December, 1963.

*** Based on old insurance maps of the area, I am convinced that the white building shown directly to the north of Park Road School is the old Zion Lutheran Church which faced Park Road. It was razed when the new church was built in the 1950s.