Wilmerding

“Wilmerding Borough is a small town with historic places like the Westinghouse Building,” says Sara Leitera, Realtor at Berkshire Hathaway. A Pittsburgh landmark, the Westinghouse Air Brake Company General Office Building functioned as an office starting in 1890 and later became a museum. Known to locals as "The Castle," the building features iconic Romanesque and Renaissance Revival architectural elements that underwent a renovation in 2022 and is a treasured part of Pittsburgh's history. From around the Westinghouse Air Brake Company, the Wilmerding community formed, and the borough still celebrates its origin with George Westinghouse Days, a yearly festival.

Located on Turtle Creek and next to the Turtle Creek Borough, Wilmerding is designed in a grid structure. The homes tend to have on-street parking, sidewalks and medium-sized yards. American Foursquares feature front porches, dormers and brick exteriors for costs ranging between $70,000 and $100,000. On the other hand, compact bungalows may have vinyl and red brick exteriors for $50,000 to $60,000. Pastel-painted Victorians with wraparound porches may be valued at over $100,000. Wilmerding’s median list price is just under $80,000, almost exactly the same as that of nearby neighborhood Turtle Creek, likely due to the two areas’ comparable distances to downtown Pittsburgh and similar housing styles.

Wilmerding students attend the East Allegheny School District. The public school system includes Logan Elementary School for students from kindergarten through grade 6, which has a C-minus rating from Niche and a student-teacher ratio of 12-to-1. After that, students attend East Allegheny Junior/Senior High for middle and high school. The school earns a C from Niche and has a body of approximately 1,430 students, with a student-teacher ratio of 13-to-1.

The Wilmerding Borough offers a couple of historical outdoor recreation spots. At Wilmerding Park, residents can walk along the paved paths or wander the lawn around the stately Wilmerding Great War Monument. At Airbrake Park, children can frolic on the playground and swing set area. Folks can also take a stroll on the Airbrake Park Walking Trail, a path that follows the old Westinghouse Interworks Railway. For an indoor option, residents head to Wilmerding Community Center, where they can work out in the gymnasium or do laps in the pool. The center also offers swim lessons and CPR classes.

Wilmerding’s business district presents a handful of local restaurants. An old-school Italian restaurant established in 1993, Johnny’s Italian Dining serves veal parmesan, pork chops and "greens and beans" in a space with plenty of bar and booth seating. At Pasquale’s Pizzeria, patrons can order specialty or design-your-own pizzas with takeout and delivery options. Meanwhile, Fan Club Sports Bar offers extensive French fry toppings and is a common gathering place for Steelers games with its black and yellow painted interior.

For groceries and daily necessities, Wilmerding's residents are less than 2 miles from a shopping center that has a Walmart, Advanced Auto Parts and Dollar General. Across the street is a unique regional shopping option: Rossi's Flea Market. The sprawling market is located inside an old movie theater and operates year-round on the weekends, with vendors also setting up outdoors when the weather allows.

Wilmerding is located east of Pittsburgh, about a 30-minute drive or 14 miles away from downtown. Residents can easily travel for work commutes in an office or trips to Market Square on the weekends. In historical Wilmerding, folks benefit from the low-cost housing, parks that reflect the borough’s heritage, and convenient local restaurants.

Written By

Anna Anderson

Photography Contributed By

Anna Dukovich

Video By

Grace Kim