Crawford Grill

“I was stunned into silence by the power of art and the soaring music of John Coltrane and his exploration of man’s connection to the divinity. And the power of possibility of human life.”

Hordes of people gathering outside of the Grill, standing on their toes as John Coltrane’s music soared through the air. August Wilson was among them. Initially indifferent, the music awakened him to the power and beauty of Jazz. The music influenced his writing, and you can see examples of this rhythmic quality in his plays. One of his plays, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, was about the power of the Blues, as well as the exploitation of Black musical artists.

The Hill and the Grill

The Crawford Grill really put the Hill on the map. It was the place to be, and people would flock from all over the city and all over the nation to hear the greatest Jazz musicians, like Lena Horne and Billy Eckstine, play. The great Martin Luther King Jr visited. The Grill gave the HillI a reputation as being the ‘Crossroads of the World.’ In 2001, the State of Pennsylvania recognized it as a landmark.

It was also a place of relative racial integration in a time of racial segregation. White people who lived Downtown would flock to the Grill, and people of all races would bond over their love of Jazz, without any kind of hatred or animosity. It was a haven from the hatred and bigotry of the outside world.

Farthest left - Gus Greenlee, former owner of the Crawford Grill with some patrons. 1938-1946

Aftermath

But after the 1968 riots, the Grill slowed. Many people moved from the Hill District to other parts of Pittsburgh by then, and so the traffic gradually slowed. For the first time, seats were empty in the hustling, bustling Grill. It was never the same, and it finally had to shut doors due to sewage and roofing problems in 2003.

The Grill was purchased by former Pittsburgh Steelers player Franco Harris in 2010, who unfortunately passed away in 2022. Plans were revealed to reopen it as a jazz club, with a space for up-and-coming musical artists to practice. Franco also had a passion for food, and he wanted to provide healthy and delicious Black cuisine at a low cost.

It has just been taken over by Dok Harris after his father tragically passed away in 2022.

The empty interior of Crawford Grill

The Mission

The challenge is to make the Crawford Grill what it once was…the Hill’s Place To Be, and to eliminate any sense of exclusivity, just as the old Crawford Grill had done. The building remains closed and under renovation for now.

Crawford Grill now