Ask most people who live and work there, and they will say that Aspinwall is synonymous with ‘charming.’ Its well-maintained Victorian homes and lawns with walkable streets and being part of the excellent Fox Chapel Area School District make it one of the most desirable places to live in Pittsburgh. Some homes in the Sauer Buildings Historic District, built in a ‘fantastic architectural style,’ have earned an historic designation. Primarily a residential borough, Aspinwall was founded in the 1890s, named after Annie Aspinwall, the widow of steamship owner George Aspinwall. Today, approximately 2500 residents call this front porch community home.
You would be hard-pressed to find a big-box store in Aspinwall. Virtually all of the businesses in the community are independently-owned, with the majority being located on Freeport Road, Brilliant Avenue or Commercial Avenue. Aspinwall is unique in that approximately 95% of business owners are women, leading to the formation of a group called The Merchants of Aspinwall. “We’ve banded together to do group marketing. It was formed by women-owned businesses to get together and help each other out,” said Amy Bass, owner of Nota Bene Fine Paper Boutique on Brilliant, a stationery and invitations store that has been open for 18 years. “Aspinwall is like the new Shadyside, with independently-owned stores, and the stores just keep getting better. Aspinwall has come a long way; it’s a great little town,” she added.
For the past 23 years, Erica Miller has owned the boutique clothing store, One Brilliant. “When I started, Aspinwall was just a cute little boutique community with very few retailers. It had an old school, village vibe to it,” she said. Miller is also a member of the Merchants of Aspinwall. “We’re not used to being commercial, so we’re trying to strike the perfect blend between attracting as much traffic as we can while keeping the community what it was meant to look like, which was a village,” she said. Now, there are three women’s boutiques, a shoe store, vintage stores, coffee shops, a hair salon and more. “We’ve built a very loyal customer base. People appreciate a boutique and the service you cannot get in any big-box store.”
Yet another female-owned business in the area is Rekindled Spirits, owned by Joan Gennarini, a licensed massage therapist who specializes in trigger point release, pregnancy massages, reflexology and hot stone massages. Gennarini moved here from Delaware five years ago. “My thought was when people want massages, they want to go to a nice, comfortable environment where they can get in and out. It’s a great neighborhood, and it just seemed like it would be a good fit,” she said. She is also very involved in the local chamber of commerce, so that she can give back to Aspinwall at a business and community level. Gennarini said that the business community is very supportive of each other and said that if she had to describe Aspinwall, she would call it “…cute, quaint, very friendly, very safe and walkable. It just has a good, peaceful vibe.” She also pointed to many good eating establishments, many of which have outdoor seating. “You can do some eclectic boutique shopping. It is not congested into a big shopping center. People are nice and friendly, and they smile,” she said.
Naomi Hoppel, owner of Vibrant Sunshine Juicery Café, also felt that Aspinwall was the perfect spot to open a business. “Not only is it a vibrant walking community full of people who love to support small businesses like ourselves, but it’s on such a great thruway. The Aspinwall community is really supportive and takes a lot of pride in their community, and we’re so thrilled to be a part of it,” she said. “The ability to traverse the community on foot and have healthy options available to you is really incredible for everyone’s health and longevity and general enjoyment.”
Many people who work in Aspinwall live there too, including Christina Sharbaugh, owner of Treat Down the Street, who lives four blocks away from her Commercial Avenue ice cream shop. The shop’s website encapsulates Sharbaugh’s goal: Our main mission is to offer the community a place to be happy. “I enjoy coming up with the flavors, which we change every week. I love that creative outlet and have always enjoyed feeding people,” she said.
Living in the community in which she works is a huge plus, as she appreciates the walkability. “During Covid, everybody was still out on front porches. They’d have music days where people would come out and play music on their porches. It was nice seeing your neighbors all the time and kids having someone to play with on the front sidewalks. And you can walk to the businesses, which is a big deal,” she added.
In addition to the stunning homes and independent businesses, Aspinwall has a prime location along the Allegheny River. The 12-acre Allegheny RiverTrail Park—formerly known as the Aspinwall Riverfront Park—is a relatively new green space in the area that is treasured by residents as well as people from other parts of Pittsburgh.
“In 2011, a group of community members got together to raise money to purchase an old marina and land along the Allegheny River and turn it into a park. Over the course of several years, the park was transformed into one with beautiful walking trails, a playground, a dog park, a fishing dock and spaces that can be rented for events. There is a cafe (Farmer x Baker), a marina for boats, and you can also rent kayaks and paddleboards” said Dee Stathis, executive director. In 2021, another six acres were purchased, and an additional mile and a half was added to the trail as well as plans for an open green space. This park is within walking distance for Aspinwall residents and is a great place for the community to connect.
The Allegheny RiverTrail Park is the site of a free summer concert series. “On June 8, we’re having a community-wide grand opening for the park, which will close out with a free concert. We’re really excited about it; it’s been a labor of love,” she added.
Unique to this day and age, the community is a cohesive and tight-knit one, perhaps aided by Aspinwall Neighbors. It started as a neighborhood watch group but has evolved into an organization in which neighbors help neighbors with such activities as snow shoveling for people who aren’t able to clean their own walks; soup delivery in the winter in partnership with Luke & Mike’s Front Porch restaurant; and a biannual street clean up, called Green Streets. “For Green Streets, Keep PA Beautiful donates supplies, and people volunteer to pick up litter in the neighborhood,” said Andy Collins, vice president of the nonprofit. The group also hosts Aspinwall’s Big Night Out, an annual festival held each August to highlight local businesses and organizations.
Expanding on what is inviting about Aspinwall, Collins shared, “It helps that we have Aspinwall Neighbors for those official opportunities, but I find even without that, people are very helpful and neighborly in Aspinwall. Beyond that, the walkability, the treelined streets, the amazing outdoor parks and green spaces. It is so close to the city, and it is a huge benefit to be along the river. Rivers are such a focal point and a unique characteristic of Pittsburgh, so it is nice we can use that as an amenity as well.”