A picture of Henry and Mary Brehm hanging on the walls at Brehm's Return, a dive bar and restaurant in the Troy Hill neighborhood

The Story of Brehm’s Return

is rooted in the history of the Troy Hill Neighborhood. Using Pittsburgh historical maps, census records, and Ancestry.com, the history of the bar was traced back to the Brehm family who immigrated to Pittsburgh from Bavaria in the early / mid-1800s. According to the 1870 census, Henry (49 yrs) and Teresa (50 yrs) occupied the home at 147 Return Street (which we currently know as 1354 Goettman Street) with their four children.

Henry and Mary Brehm

By the 1880 census, the home had been deeded to their son, Henry Brehm, Jr. and his wife, Mary (photo above). Henry Brehm, Jr. worked as a Chief Engineer for the City of Pittsburgh Water Department for 39 years until his retirement at the age of 68. The official name change from “Return Street” to “Goettman Street” is not precisely dated, but it occurred sometime after the 1907 annexation of Allegheny by Pittsburgh, when the city was reorganizing its street names to avoid duplicates. 

According to the 1880 census, Henry and Mary Brehm lived at 147 Return Street, the current location of Brehm's Return, a dive bar and restaurant in the Troy Hill neighborhood
The Brehm family sold the home at 147 Street in 1915, but the building would not become a bar until the 1950s

A Change of Hands

The Brehm family sold the home at 147 Return Street in 1915 to the Friedman family. The building would remain a residence until the 1950s when it opened its doors as “Janczak’s”.