NavusHouse is located in the heart of Pittsburgh’s historic Northside. Some call the neighborhood Allegheny City Central; others call it the Central Northside. Whatever it’s called, the community offers easy walking access to the Allegheny Commons Park, the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh’s Allegheny branch, and the shops and restaurants of Deutschtown and recently revitalized Federal Street. The Mattress Factory Art Museum, on nearby Sampsonia Way, is world renowned for its site-specific art installations, and the Andy Warhol Museum, on Sandusky Street, is just across the park. Downtown Pittsburgh, Point State Park, and the Cultural District are short bus rides away, and much of Downtown is accessible on foot in a half hour to forty minutes.  

Like much of Pittsburgh, the neighborhood around NavusHouse is rich in history. Like the city, its fortunes have risen and fallen along with the fate of industry. Over the past half-century, deindustrialization, suburbanization, and racist zoning and real-estate policies have all taken their toll, but the neighborhood remains vibrant and distinctive. Much of this is due to the work of determined community activists. One community leader, Ethel Hagler, has a particular connection to NavusHouse.