pittsburgh pano
Born from the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers flowing into the Ohio, Pittsburgh is connected by waterways and bridges overlaying the Appalachian Mountains.
The city was fed by the resources deep within its terrain, becoming synonymous with steel and building industrial America. The bygone days of soot and smoke left a legacy of hard work, creativity, innovation, and resiliency.
George Westinghouse, Jr. (c. 1910-1912)Original Source: Detre Library & Archives at the Heinz History Center
Captains of Industry
Between the 19th and 20th centuries, George Westinghouse invented an air brake that revolutionized railroads and founded the Westinghouse Electric Company.
LIFE Photo Collection
Henry Clay Frick built a fortune on mineral wealth which earned him the title “Coke King,” and Andrew Carnegie sought Frick’s leadership in managing his steel operations. Henry J. Heinz became the odd success of the bunch...
Heinz ketchup bottle (1910)Original Source: Detre Library & Archives at the Heinz History Center
... leading in branded consumer products in a town dominated by industry.
10 kW long-wave radio transmitter from Königswusterhausen (1925) by Telefunken Gesellschaft für drahtlose Telegraphie m.b.H.Museum for Communication Berlin, Museum Foundation Post and Telecommunication
Turning on the Radio
Westinghouse was one of the leading radio manufacturers in 1920, a time when radio was a 1-to-1 communication method. When a Pittsburgh area ham operator played records over the airwaves for his friends, Westinghouse asked for his help to create a regular transmitting station.
On November 2, 1920, KDKA made history as the nation’s first commercial broadcast. It was election day, and the power of hearing the results of the Harding-Cox presidential race over the radio changed news broadcasting forever.
Rachel Carson (1962) by Alfred EisenstaedtLIFE Photo Collection
Environmental Impact and "Silent Spring"
Rachel Carson fell in love with nature along the Allegheny River while Pittsburgh’s skies were dense with smoke. After studying at Pennsylvania College for Women (now Chatham University) Carson became a marine biologist, conservationist, and bestselling author.
Great Bustard (2014-08/2015-12) by Jane Kim, Ink Dwell StudioCornell Lab of Ornithology
Her book “Silent Spring,” revealed the dangers of pesticides and pioneered the environmental movement in America, provoking the passage of the Clean Air Act, the Wilderness Act, and Endangered Species Act, as well as the Environmental Protection Agency in 1970.
Dr. Jonas Salk (1955-04-20) by Albert FennLIFE Photo Collection
The Polio Vaccine
In the late forties and fifties, University of Pittsburgh’s Virus Research Laboratory worked to develop a vaccine for polio. Director Jonas Salk tested the vaccine locally on members of the lab, his own family, and eventually, several thousand Pittsburgh Public School children.
By Albert FennLIFE Photo Collection
After a national trial, on April 12, 1955, the vaccine was declared “safe, effective, and potent” against polio. Thanks to Salk and its success, the United States has been polio-free since 1979.
Mister Rogers in the Neighborhood of Make-BelieveSenator John Heinz History Center
America's Favorite TV Show
In 1968, “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” took messages of kindness, compassion, and learning from a small WQED stage in Pittsburgh to a national public broadcasting audience. Mr. Rogers believed that television could be created, not to just entertain...
... but to inspire child development and creativity. His weekly themes, played out with puppets in the Neighborhood of Make-Believe, helped children understand their emotions and respect others. The tagline, “Won’t you be my neighbor?” is a sentiment close to heart for Pittsburghers and an enduring message of inclusivity today.
Penn-Lincoln Parkway beside Jones and Laughlin Steel Corporation’s Eliza Works (1953) by Clyde HareOriginal Source: Detre Library & Archives at the Heinz History Center
Modern-day Pittsburgh
When the steel industry collapsed in the 1970s, Pittsburgh reinvented itself with environmental and civic revitalization.
Cathedral of Learning (1940/1950) by unknownUniversity of Pittsburgh Library System
The historic wealth of Carnegie, Frick, Heinz, and the likes laid a foundation for the city of mills and mines to become a center for medicine, research, technology, arts, and culture.
Heinz Hall Lobby (21st Century) by Pittsburgh Cultural TrustPittsburgh Cultural Trust
With libraries, theaters, galleries, sports, and restaurants, Pittsburgh had a post-industrial renaissance graced by the blue collared hearts of its city of immigrants.
Chris Caulcrick, male mechanical engineer, fits a prosthetic arm (2020-07-02) by thisisengineeringMuseum of Engineering Innovation
Pittsburgh continues to build America today, but in different ways. Metals have been replaced with medicine. Steel is used now in technology that’s transforming Pittsburgh into a robotics capital.
Trust Oasis (21st Century) by Pittsburgh Cultural TrustPittsburgh Cultural Trust
The city’s neighborhoods carved into the hillsides hold pockets of unique culture and innovation, from Barrel and Flow Fest, the nation’s first Black arts and craft beer festival to the Pittsburgh National Airport being the first in the world to power itself with a microgrid.
