Highland Park at a glance

Website: hpccpgh.org Inside out: This neighborhood is home to one of the city’s three jewel parks, Highland Park, and the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium. In 1778, Alexander Negley purchased a 278acre farm along the Allegheny River that he called Fertile Bottom. His son, Jacob Negley, married Barbara Winebiddle and they purchased an adjoining farm that extended the family’s holdings into presentday East Liberty. Upon the elder Negley’s death in 1809, the two farms were combined and Jacob Negley became one of the city’s most prominent citizens, shaping transportation, housing and the arts. His widow sold several parcels upon his death to settle debts and bequeathed large tracts to her children that became the footprint for the neighborhood.

The park was established in 1890 when Edward Bigelow, the city director of public works purchased the land from several farmers for $900,000. His cousin, Christopher Lyman Magee, created the Pittsburgh Zoo to encourage residents to use his trolley system to visit one of the city’s premier “streetcar suburbs.”

In 2007, the neighborhood was designated a historic district. Dancer Gene Kelly and singer Billy Eckstine were both born and raised in Highland Park.

Schools: Pittsburgh Public Schools (pps.k12.pa.us) Students are eligible for a Pittsburgh Promise College Scholarship. Enrollment: 25,204 Average SAT scores: Reading 361, Math 369, Writing 338 (Westinghouse High School)

Annual taxes for a property assessed at $100,000: $2,178 City: $806 (8.06 mills) School: $984 (9.84 mills) Allegheny County: $388 (4.73 mills)*

Earned income tax: 3 percent

* includes the Act 50 Homestead Exclusion, which reduces the assessed value of a primary residence by $18,000. — Rosa Colucci, Post-Gazette