It All Started On Wylie Ave.

Inspired by the musical heyday of the 1950’s Lower Hill District, Citizens Live at The Wylie is a physical homage to an iconic era of Pittsburgh hospitality and nightlife. Equal parts old and new, we aim to revive the heritage of those who came before us, while also ushering in a new stage for live music in Pittsburgh.

For decades, Wylie Avenue was the beating heart of Pittsburgh’s historic Lower Hill District—a vibrant Black neighborhood known as the ‘Crossroads of the World’. But when Pittsburgh’s Civic Arena was built in the late 1950s, thousands of Black residents were displaced. The Lower Hill was cut off from its surrounding neighborhoods, and its main thoroughfare, Wylie Avenue, was literally removed.
 
Citizens Live at the Wylie is part of a larger movement to reignite the Lower Hill’s cultural spark. The district was once a place where local acts played nightly alongside some of jazz’s biggest names. This new venue is a revival of that storied musical history.
 
With proximity to PPG Paints Arena and walkability to downtown restaurants, hotels, and local arts district, we are at the epicenter of Pittsburgh’s cultural renaissance. This will be a place for Pittsburghers and newcomers to gather, dance, and experience live music—here, at the Crossroads of the World.

Citizens Live at the Wylie is collaborating with Carnegie Museum of Art to celebrate the history of the Hill District.
 
Visitors can explore the vibrant cultural life of the Lower Hill through photo displays featured throughout the venue, including images from Carnegie Museum of Art’s renowned Charles “Teenie” Harris Archive.