Pittsburg City

Contra Costa County, California

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Pittsburg City Hall is located at 65 Civic Avenue, Pittsburg, CA 94565.
Phone 925-252-6900.


Back Lake in Pittsburg New Hampshire

Neighborhoods

Pittsburg [†] began along the Suisun Bay/Delta shoreline as a 10,000-acre land grant from the government of Mexico in 1839, and grew into a settlement. Originally named New York of the Pacific, the City's name was changed to New York Landing when it was a way station during the Gold Rush days. The City's reputation as an industrial area was established in 1855 when coal was discovered in the southern hills, and its name changed to Black Diamond. However, the prime industrial base of the City came in 1911 with the opening of the first steel mill, and the final name change to Pittsburg (after the hub of the steel industry on the east coast: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania).

During World War II, Camp Stoneman was built in Pittsburg. Forty-five thousand servicemen were stationed at the camp, which was a major point of embarkation for the Pacific Theater. At the end of the war, the level of activity declined in Pittsburg as it did in other wartime boomtowns, signaling an end to much of the prosperity the City had known. There was a slight resurgence of activity at Camp Stoneman during the Korean Conflict, but after the end of the Conflict in 1954, the camp was placed on inactive status and many local businesses closed or relocated, often to neighboring communities where commercial development was occurring.

Pittsburg experienced rapid population growth during the 1970s and 1980s, evolving into a bedroom community for employment centers in west and central Contra Costa County. Population in the City's Sphere of Influence (SOI) grew 43 percent between 1985 and 1995, about 70 percent faster than Contra Costa County's already rapid growth rate. In the last five years, as development has extended to City limits, the pace of Pittsburg's growth has slowed, even as other east and central county cities such as Brentwood, Antioch, and Clayton continue their dramatic growth.

Many other changes have also occurred in the last decade. Extension of Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) service to Bay Point has given Pittsburg a new transportation option. Redevelopment of the City's Downtown has provided residents with a more vital historic activity center and increased waterfront access.

† City of Pittsburg, General Plan, 2020, www.pittsburgca.gov, accessd March 2024.


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