The Steel City

The Table of Contents

1. The Introduction
2. The Early Era
3. The 19th Century
4. The Early 20th Century
5. The Civil Rights
Movement of Pittsburgh
6. The Late 20th Century
7. A New Era
8. The Culture of Pittsburgh
9. Conclusion
 The Introduction
Wilson came from Pittsburgh. restaurants, malls, and a diverse

A s a blue collar city,

Education is a centerpiece of the
location with universities like
Carnegie Mellon University and
the University of Pittsburgh.
cultural district. Technology and
research companies do find a
home to Pittsburgh like Microsoft,
IBM, Google, Apple Inc.,
Pittsburgh has always been a part
Pittsburgh's current mayor is the Facebook, etc. People have
of American culture. The people
Democrat Bill Peduto, and it has a occupations in Pittsburgh that
in the city know of Pittsburgh's
diverse city council. It is land of deal with cyber defense, software
power and influence involving
rivers as it is located at the engineering, energy research, and
world history. Today, it has a
confluence of the Allegheny, robotics. Back in 2015, Pittsburgh
population of about 302,407
Monongahela, and Ohio rivers. As was listed as among the 11 most
people, and its size is 58.34
having more than 300 steel based livable cities in the world. Many of
square miles. Pittsburgh has a
businesses, it is known as the my maternal, distant cousins live
metropolitan area of 2.3 million
"Steel City." The city has 30 in Pittsburgh too. Also, the
people being the largest in the
skyscrapers, two inclined railways, Pittsburgh Steelers football is a
Ohio Valley and Appalachia. It is
a pre-revolutionary fortification, large staple of the atmosphere in
the second largest in the state of
and the Point State Park at the the city as well. The Steelers are
Pennsylvania (behind
confluence of the rivers. It once long known for their multiple
Philadelphia). It has the 27th
had a population as high as Super Bowl victories. Therefore,
largest one in America. From
675,000 people in 1950. Today in you can't understand America's
industry to jazz music, Pittsburgh
2010, Pittsburgh has world diversity completely without
is a place with dynamic culture.
renowned museums, medical understanding the components of
The great playwright August
centers, parks, research centers, the city of Pittsburgh.
 The Early Era
The first people in Pittsburgh were the Native Americans. They lived in the region where the Allegheny and
the Monongahela joined to form the Ohio; Paleo-Native Americans conducted a hunter gatherer lifestyle in
the region as early as 19,000 years ago. There is an archaeological site west of Pittsburgh called
Meadowcroft Rockshelter. It showed evidence of the first Americans who lived in the region. The Adena
culture existed, and there were the Mound Builders, who erected a large Native American mound at the
future site of McKees Rocks. This location was about three miles (5 km.) from the head of the Ohio. The
Native American Mound was a burial site, which was augmented in later years by members of the Hopewell
culture. By the year of 1700, the Iroquois Confederacy (which is the Five Nations based south of the Great
Lakes in present day New York) controlled over the upper Ohio valley reserving it for hunting grounds. Other
tribes were the Lenape (called the Delaware), who had been displaced from eastern Pennsylvania by
European settlement, and the Shawnee (who had migrated up from the south). After European explorers
came into North America, many Native American tribes were devastated by European infectious diseases like
smallpox, measles, influenza, and malaria when the tribes had no immunity to. In 1748, Conrad Weiser visited
Logstown 18 miles downriver from Pittsburgh. He counted 789 warriors gathered; the Iroquois included 163
Seneca, 74 Mohawk, 35 Onodaga, 20 Cayuga, and 15 Oneida. Other tribes were 165 Lenape, 162 Shawnee,
100 Wyandot, 40 Tisagechroami, and 15 Mohican. Shannopin's Town, a Seneca tribe village on the east bank
of the Allegheny, was the home village of Queen Aliquippa.

It was deserted after 1749. Sawcunk, on the mouth of the Beaver River, was a Lenape (Delaware) settlement
and the principal residence of Shingas, a chief of theirs. Chartier's Town was a Shawnee town established in
1734 by Peter Chartier. Kittanning was a Lenape and Shawnee village on the Allegheny, with estimated 300–
400 residents. The first Europeans who came into Pittsburgh were traders by the 1710’s. Michael Bezallion
was the first to describe the forks of the Ohio via a manuscript in 1717, and later that year European traders
established posts and settlements in the area.

Europeans first started to settle in the region seriously in 1748. That was when the first Ohio Company, an
English land speculation company, won a grant of 200,000 acres in the upper Ohio Valley. From a post at
present day Cumberland, Maryland, the company started to form an 80 mile wagon road to the Monogahela
River. He used a Native American chief named Nemacolin and a party of settlers (head by Michael Cresap) to
start widening the track into a road. It mostly followed the same route as an ancient Native American trail.
This trail is known as the Nemacolin’s Trail. The river crossing and flats at Redstone creek was the earliest
point and shortest distance for a wagon road. Later in the war, the site fortified as Fort Burd (now
Brownsville) was one of several possible destinations. Another alternative was the divergent route that
became Braddock's Road a few years later through present-day New Stanton. As time came out, the
colonists did not succeed in improving the Native American path to a wagon road much beyond the
Cumberland Narrows pass before they were confronted by other Native Americans. The colonists later
mounted a series of expeditions in order to accomplish piecemeal improvements to the track.

The French had built nearby Logstown as a trade and council center for the Native Americans to increase
their influence in the Ohio Valley. Between June 15 and November 10, 1749, an expedition headed by
Celeron de Bienville, a French officer, traveled down the Allegheny and Ohio to bolster the French claim to
the region. De Bienville warned away English traders and posted markers claiming the territory. In 1753,
Marquis Duquesne, the Governor of New France, sent another, larger expedition. At present-day Erie,
Pennsylvania, an advance party built Fort Presque Isle. They also cut a road through the woods and built Fort
Le Boeuf on French Creek, from which it was possible at high water to float to the Allegheny. By summer, an
expedition of 1,500 French and Native American men descended the Allegheny. Some wintered at the
confluence of French Creek and the Allegheny. The following year, they built Fort Machault at that site.

The French led incursions into the Ohio valley. That is why Governor Dinwiddie of Virginia sent George
Washington (who was a Major at the time) to warn the French to withdraw. He was with Christopher Gist. He
came at the Forks of the Ohio on November 25, 1753. Along the Allegheny, Washington presented
Dinwiddie’s letter to the French commanders first at Venango and then at Fort Le Boeuf. The French officers
received Washington with wine and courtesy. Yet, the French refused to withdraw. Governor Dinwiddie later
sent Captain William Trent to create a fort at the Forks of the Ohio. By February 17, 1754, Trent started
construction of the fort. This was the first European habitation at the site of modern day Pittsburgh. It was
called Fort Prince George. It was only half built by April of 1754 when over 500 French forces arrived. They
ordered the 40 some colonials to come back to Virginia. The French tore down the British fortification and
built Fort Duquesne. Governor Dinwiddie then created another expedition. Colonel Joshua Fry commanded
the regiment with his second-in-command, George Washington, leading an advance column. On May 28,
1754, Washington's unit clashed with the French in the Battle of Jumonville Glen, during which 13 French
soldiers were killed and 21 were taken prisoner. After the battle, Washington's ally, Seneca chief
Tanaghrisson, unexpectedly executed the French commanding officer, Ensign Joseph Coulon de Jumonville.
The French pursued Washington and on July 3, 1754, George Washington surrendered following the Battle
of Fort Necessity. These frontier actions contributed to the start of the French and Indian War (1754–1763),
or, the Seven Years' War, an imperial confrontation between England and France fought in both
hemispheres. In 1755, George Washington worked with the British General Braddock’s expedition. They
traveled into the Allegheny Mountains. They crossed the Appalachian Mountains. Braddocks’ road existed.
This was part of the US40 National Road today. Some French people attacked Braddock’s forces. Braddock
was wounded and killed. The British and colonial forces retreated. Native Americans and their French allies
for a time controlled the upper Ohio valley.

On September 8, 1756, an expedition of 300 militiamen destroyed the Shawnee and Lenape village of
Kittanning, and in the summer of 1758, British General John Forbes began a campaign to capture Fort
Duquesne. At the head of 7,000 regular and colonial troops, Forbes built Fort Ligonier and Fort Bedford,
from where he cut a wagon road over the Allegheny Mountains, later known as Forbes' Road. On the night
of September 13–14, 1758, an advance column under Major James Grant was massacred in the Battle of Fort
Duquesne. Forbes fought the French. The French lost Fort Frontenac and razed Fort Duquesne. Forbes
ordered the construction of Fort Pitt named after the British Secretary of State William Pitt the Elder. This
land was between rivers called Pittsborough or Pittsburgh. The French forces were soon defeated and signed
the Treaty of Paris to end the French and Indian war. The French ceded their territories east of the Mississippi
River. European settlements grew in Fort Pitt and around it. In April 1761, a census ordered by Colonel
Henry Bouquet counted 332 people and 104 houses. Native Americans fought back to defend their lands via
the Pontiac War. The Odawa leader Pontiac fought British forts in May of 1763 at the Ohio Valley. Great
Lakes tribes overran forts. Many of the colonists were in ramparts for refuge. Pontiac’s attack at Fort Pitt
lasted for 2 months. It started on June 22, 1763. The Iroquois signed the Fort Stanwix Treaty of 1768, ceding
the lands south of the Ohio to the British.
European expansion into the upper Ohio valley increased. An estimated 4,000 to 5,000 families settled in
western Pennsylvania between 1768 and 1770. Of these settlers, about a third were English, a third were
Scotch-Irish, and the rest were Welsh, German and others. Settlers dealt with harsh winters, bears, snakes,
mountain lions, and timber wolves. Native Americans like the Shawnee, Miami, and Wyandot fought for their
survival literally. The Dunmore’s War existed in 1774. Conflict spread all over the American Revolution. In
1777, Fort Pitt was an American fort. Seneca villages were destroyed along the upper Allegheny by forces
from Colonel Daniel Brodhead in 1779 (with 600 men). With the war still ongoing, in 1780 Virginia and
Pennsylvania came to an agreement on their mutual borders, creating the state lines known today and
determining finally that the jurisdiction of Pittsburgh region was Pennsylvanian. In 1783, the Revolutionary
War ended, which also brought at least a temporary cessation of border warfare. In the 1784 Treaty of Fort
Stanwix, the Iroquois ceded the land north of the Purchase Line to Pennsylvania. By 1795, Pittsburgh started
to grow. Farmers existed. There was the Pittsburgh Academy in February 28, 1787. Hugh Henry Brackenridge
promoted education. After the American Revolution, the boat building industry flourished in Pittsburgh.
Manufacturing grew. There was a courthouse and Market Square. Glass was readily created in the city via
manufacturing.
The 19th Century
By the year of 1800, things started to change in
Pittsburgh. Commerce was a big part of its economy.
Manufacturing developed. It had great coalfields by
then. The region became rich in petroleum, natural gas,
lumber, and farm goods. There were blacksmiths who
made iron, horse shoes, and nails. Pittsburgh by 1800 had a population of 1,565 persons, over 60 shops,
general stores, bakeries, and hat plus shoe shops. By the 1810’s, Pittsburgh grew even more. The first
steamboat was built in the city by 1811. Commerce would flow upriver. The War of 1812 further catalyzed
the growth of the Iron City. The war with Britain, the manufacturing center of the world during that time
period, cut off the supply of British goods, stimulating American manufacture. Also, the British blockade of
the American coast increased inland trade, so that goods flowed all over Pittsburgh from all four directions.
In 1815, Pittsburgh was producing $764,000 in iron, $249K in brass and tin, and $235K in glass products. On
March 18, 1816, Pittsburgh was incorporated as a city; it had already taken on some of its defining
characteristics, commerce, manufacture, and a constant cloud of coal dust. Other towns economically
challenged Pittsburgh too. There was the National Road’s first segment completed in 1818 that linked
Baltimore to Wheeling. It bypassed Pittsburgh. Later, there were many improvements in transportation
infrastructure. The Smithfield Street Bridge opened the first step in developing the city of bridges in 1818. By
October 1, 1840, the original Pennsylvania Turnpike was finished. It linked Pittsburgh and the eastern port
city of Philadelphia. In 1834, Pennsylvania Main Line Canal was completed. It made Pittsburgh part of a
transportation system that included rivers, roads, and canals. The first locomotive west of the Alleghenies
was created by McClurg, Wade, and Co. back in 1835. Machines flourished, and Pittsburgh was one of the
largest cities west of the mountains by the 1840’s. In 1841, the Second Court House on Grant’s Hill was
finished. It was made up of polished gray sandstone; the court house had a rotunda of 60 ft. in diameter and
80 ft. high.

Pittsburgh’s growth back then outstripped some of its resources like the water supply with dependable
pressure. That is why on April 10, 1845, a great fire burned out of control. It destroyed over a thousand
buildings and caused $9M in damages. As the city rebuilt, the age of rails arrived. In 1851, the Ohio and
Pennsylvania Railroad began service between Cleveland and Allegheny City (present-day North Side). In
1854, the Pennsylvania Railroad began service between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.
Despite many challenges, Pittsburgh had grown into an industrial powerhouse. An 1857 article provided a
snapshot of the Iron City. By 1857, there were 939 factories in Pittsburgh and Allegheny City, more than
10,000 workers were employed, it produced almost 12 million dollars of goods, etc. It was the third busiest
port in the nation surpassed only by New York City and New Orleans. The iron industry was big in the city.
Later, many of the Scotch Irish people had a stronghold of the industry in Pittsburgh. New immigrants after
1800’s made this a reality. For example, Thomas Mellon (b. Ulster 1813–1908) left Northern Ireland in 1823
for the United States. He founded the powerful Mellon family, which played a central role in banking and
industries such as aluminum and oil. As Barnhisel (2005) finds, industrialists such as James H. Laughlin (b.
Ulster 1806–1882) of Jones and Laughlin Steel Company comprised the "Scots-Irish Presbyterian ruling
stratum of Pittsburgh society." Iron furnaces used coke fire smelting in the region. The American Civil War
allowed Pittsburgh’s economic power to grow. Arms were created. A milestone in steel production was
achieved in 1875, when the Edgar Thomson Works in Braddock began to make steel rail using the new
Bessemer process. Industrialists such as Andrew Carnegie, Henry Clay Frick, Andrew W. Mellon, and Charles
M. Schwab built their fortunes in Pittsburgh. Also based in Pittsburgh was George Westinghouse, credited
with such advancements as the air brake and founder of over 60 companies, including Westinghouse Air and
Brake Company (1869), Union Switch and Signal (1881), and Westinghouse Electric Company (1886).

Banks played a key role in Pittsburgh's development as these industrialists sought massive loans to upgrade
plants, integrate industries and fund technological advances. For example, T. Mellon and Sons Bank, founded
in 1869, helped to finance an aluminum reduction company that became Alcoa. Ingham (1991) shows how
small, independent iron and steel manufacturers survived and prospered from the 1870s through the 1950s,
despite competition from much larger, standardized production firms. These smaller firms were built on a
culture that valued local markets and the beneficial role of business in the local community. Small firms
concentrated on specialized products, particularly structural steel, where the economies of scale of larger
firms were no advantage. They embraced technological change more cautiously than larger firms. They also
had less antagonistic relations with workers and employed a higher percentage of highly skilled workers
than their mass-production counterparts. By the 1870’s, entrepreneurs transformed the economy from
small, craft-organized factories located inside the city limits to a large integrated industrial region stretching
50 miles across Allegheny County. The new industrial Pittsburgh was based on integrated mills, mass
production, and modern management organization in steel and other industries. Labor unions fought for
economic rights.

There was a rapid growth of capital, plants, railroad equipment, and glass resources. This led to more mill
towns, satellite cities, and hundreds of mining towns. Strikes came about too. Many people wanted more
environmentalism. Residents of Vandergrift caused loyalty among McMurtry’s skilled workers. German
immigrants came into Pittsburgh too. During the mid-19th century, Pittsburgh witnessed a dramatic influx of
German immigrants, including a brick mason whose son, Henry J. Heinz, founded the H.J. Heinz Company in
1872. Heinz was at the forefront of reform efforts to improve food purity, working conditions, hours, and
wages, but the company bitterly opposed the formation of an independent labor union. There was the Great
Railroad Strike of 1877 involving labor unions. There were demonstrations. There was violence via the
Pittsburgh Railway Riots. Militia and federal troops came to the city to stop the strike. There were more
strikes too. The Pinkertons were sent to break the Homestead Strike. Labor strife continued into the years of
the Great Depression, as workers sought to protect their jobs and improve working conditions. Unions
organized H.J. Heinz workers, with the assistance of the Catholic Radical Alliance. Andrew Carnegie was an
immigrant from Scotland. He made the Carnegie Steel Company and he was a former PA Railroad executive
turned steel magnate. He was a philanthropist too. Carnegie made the Carnegie Library in 1890. He also
funded libraries in various cities. He was involved in making the Carnegie Institute in 1895.

The Early 20th Century

In 1901, as the U.S. Steel Corporation formed, he sold his mills to J.P. Morgan for $250 million, making him
one of the world's richest men. Carnegie once wrote that a man who dies rich, dies disgraced. He devoted
the rest of his life to public service, establishing libraries, trusts, and foundations. In Pittsburgh, he founded
the Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon University) and the Carnegie Museums of
Pittsburgh.

The third (and present) Allegheny County Courthouse and Jail was completed in 1886. In 1890, trolleys
began operations. In 1907, Pittsburgh annexed Allegheny City, which is now known as the North Shore. In
the early 1900’s, Pittsburgh became an industrial powerhouse. It produced thousands of freight yards. It
produced pig iron, steel, and other shoes. Bootlegging was found in the Prohibition era. During that time,
Prohibition Administrator John Pennington and his federal agents engaged in 15,000 raids, arrested over
18,000 people and closed down over 3,000 distilleries, 16 regular breweries, and 400 'wildcat'
breweries. Even the term "Speakeasy," meaning an illegal drinking establishment, is said to have been
coined at the Blind Pig in nearby McKeesport, Pennsylvania. Flooding has existed in 1936 in Pittsburgh. Also,
Pittsburgh developed its culture in Oakland. There was the University of Pittsburgh, the 42 story Cathedral of
Learning, and Forbes Field where the Pittsburgh Pirates played from 1909 to 1970. By the late 19th century
to the early 20th century, new immigrants arrived from Italy, Eastern Europe, Russia, Hungary, etc. They were
Polish, Jewish people, and other ethnic groups. Many restaurants today show the multicultural aspect of
Pittsburgh. The years 1916–1940 marked the largest migration of African Americans to Pittsburgh during the
Great Migration from the rural South to industrial cities of the Northeast and Midwest. These black human
beings came for industrial jobs, education, political and social freedom, and to escape racial oppression and
violence in the South. Known as the cultural nucleus of Black Pittsburgh, Wylie Avenue in the Hill District was
an important jazz mecca. Jazz greats such as Duke Ellington and Pittsburgh natives Billy Strayhorn and Earl
Hines played there. Two of the Negro League's greatest rivals, the Pittsburgh Crawfords and the Homestead
Grays, often competed in the Hill District.

The teams dominated the Negro National League in the 1930s and 1940s. Pittsburgh had strong Republican
support back then. The Great Depression came and overnight, Pittsburgh became a strong Democratic
stronghold. There was the New Deal Coalition where many ethnic groups voted in favor of the WPA, and
other Democratic programs for jobs and relief. Joseph Guffey, statewide leader of the Democrats, and his
local lieutenant David Lawrence gained control of all federal patronage in Pittsburgh after Roosevelt's
landslide victory in 1932 (and the election of a Democratic mayor in 1933). Guffey and Lawrence used the
New Deal programs to increase their political power and build up a Democratic machine that superseded the
decaying Republican machine. Guffey acknowledged that a high rate of people on relief was not only "a
challenge" but also "an opportunity." He regarded each relief job as Democratic patronage. By World War II,
Pittsburgh supplied the Allies steel, aluminum, munitions, and machinery for America during that era.
Pittsburgh's mills contributed 95 million tons of steel to the war effort. The increased production output
created a workforce shortage, which resulted in African Americans moving en masse during the Second
Great Migration from the South to the city in order to find work.
 The Civil Rights Movement of
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh has a long history with civil rights. In 1788, the General
Assembly was petitioned to form Allegheny County (four of the
signatories were free black men). Black people back then worked in steel
mills, steamboat buildings, and in the service sector. During the
Revolutionary War, black people fought on both sides for their goal of
ultimate freedom. By the early 1800's, slavery was gone in Pennsylvania.
The African American photographer Teenie Harris took pictures of the
black community and the Civil Rights Movement in general taking place
in the great city of Pittsburgh. The Freedom Corner is a famous memorial
in the Hill District that remembers or commemorates the civil rights marches and protests that took place in
the city of Pittsburgh. Freedom Corner is found on the intersection of Centre Avenue and Crawford Street. It
was a meeting point for 2,000 citizens from Pittsburgh who gathered in 1963 to go to the 1963 historic
March on Washington, D.C. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his great “I Have a Dream” speech at D.C. Long
ago, Pittsburgh was a key location of the Underground Railroad (which included extensive routes were
enslaved people came into in order to be free from bondage and injustice). The Underground Railroad (with
black leaders like John B. Vashon, John Peck, and Lewis Woodson) facilitated the escape of about 100,000
African Americans from the slaveholding South and Midwest. The North Side or the Allegheny was one local
location of the Underground Railroad.

North Side’s Avery College was created to allow black

people to have the opportunity to receive a higher
education (when black people back then were not
admitted to other colleges and universities). The
people involved in the College were both black and
white civil rights leaders.
Martin Delaney (1812-1885)
was an African American
abolitionist, journalist,
Union soldier, writer, and
was one of the first people
to advocate black
nationalism. He was raised
in Pittsburgh, and he was
born in West Virginia. He
saw slavery, and he loved
Africa too. By February of
1865, he was the first black
American field grade officer
in the United States Army.
He loved his wife Catherine
A. Richards. Loving a wife is
a blessing. This couple had
11 children. They promoted
education, and many of
their children graduated
from college. He worked
hard, cared for his family,
and studied medicine.
Byrd Rowlett Brown (1929-
2001) was a great activist,
lawyer, and leader of the Civil
Rights Movement. Brown
helped the city of Pittsburgh’s
African American community
and its poor residents. Brown
was also President of the
Pittsburgh Branch of the
NAACP. He used legal means to
fight for justice. He married
Barbara Brown with 2 children.
He graduated from Yale
University. He fought with
determination never with
malice. His grandfather was the
well-known Pittsburgh North
Side preacher Reverend William
Roderick Brown. He was the
first black student to start as
quarterback for his high school
football team. He helped to
organize rallies, helped a train
convoy to the March on
Washington in 1963, and was
anti-Vietnam War.
Daisy Elizabeth Adams
Lampkin (1883-1965) was
a civil rights activist,
suffragist, organizer, and
community leader. She
was an executive too. She
worked with the NAACP,
the NACW (or the
National Association of
Colored Women), and the
National Council of Negro
Women. Reading,
Pennsylvania was the
place of her birth. Her
friends were leaders like
Addie Waites Hunton,
Mary Church Terrell, and
Charlotte Hawkins Brown.
Daisy Lampkin formed the
first Red Cross for black
women. She fought for
federal legislation to end
lynching. She recruited a
young Thurgood Marshall
to fight against Jim Crow
apartheid.
Alma Speed Fox (born
1923) is a very powerful civil
rights leader who fought for
human rights in Pittsburgh
for decades. She recently
received the key to the city
in 2018. She wants
everyone to have civic
participation and activism.
Alma Fox was the former
President of the NAACP’s
Pittsburgh chapter. She was
born in Cleveland before
moving into Pittsburgh.
Alma Fox married Gerald
Fox in 1949, and was
involved in protests from
the Freedom Corner. She
organized a major march
against Sears and Roebuck
in 1968 to demand access
to jobs and credit for black
people.
Their names are Martin Delany (he was one of the first black people admitted to Harvard Medical School. He
was a writer, scientist, and physician. He founded Pittsburgh’s first African American University), John Vashon,
and Lewis Woodson (who are black Americans) including Charles Avery, Julius Lemoyne, and Jane Grey
Swisshelem (who are white Americans). During the U.S. Civil War, Pennsylvania had the 2nd highest
enlistment of Union soldiers at 340,000 along with 8,600 being black people. More than 33,000
Pennsylvanians died in the war. After 1863, many black people worked in Pittsburgh factories to get
economic work. Slavery wasn’t in Pittsburgh at the time, but black people fought racism and oppression in
the city. That is why black leaders organized several protests to try to end discrimination. In 1910, the
Pittsburgh Courier was founded. This is one of the oldest and well known black newspapers in America. The
Pittsburgh Courier regularly inspired the cause of civil rights constantly. The Pittsburgh Board of Education
hired its first black teacher named Lawrence Peeler in 1937. It was a victory. By 1930, there were 55,000
black Americans in Pittsburgh. The black community created the Urban League, churches, the NAACP, the
Pittsburgh Crawfords, the Homestead Grays, etc. Mary Lou Williams, Errol Garner, Lena Horne, and Billy
Eckstine performed in the city. Hill District is a mecca of black culture in the city.

"You got to be right with yourself before you can be right with anybody else."

"“Confront the dark parts of yourself, and work to banish them with illumination
and forgiveness."

-August Wilson
During and after World War II, civil rights battles continued. In 1953, almost 25% of all discrimination
complaint cases statewide were from the area of Pittsburgh. After WWII, many jobs and people came into
the suburbs or overseas manufacturing. The displacement of 8,000 people over many years to build the Civic
Arena harmed the city’s cultural strength. One person from the Urban League picketed downtown
department stories to try making them hire black clerks. Montefiore and St. Francis hospitals admitted black
people in their nursing schools. Charles Burks was an African American doctor. He received staff privileges at
Montefiore Hospital too. Pittsburgh desegregated its schools, swimming pools, and other places after the
Brown v. Board of Education decision. The Civil Arena or the Mellon Arena was built in the Lowe Hill. Many
people from Pittsburgh came to the South to be Freedom Riders and fight for civil rights in Mississippi, etc.
After the 1968 assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, Pittsburgh experienced a rebellion. Many regions of
Hill District were destroyed. Yet, the movement for social justice continues. Racism and anti-Semitism are
found in America. The recent hate crime in Pittsburgh at a Jewish synagogue proves this along with police
brutality, but tons of people of Pittsburgh reject bigotry plus they desire liberty to reign in the world. Famous
civil rights leaders from the state of Pennsylvania include: James Forten, Richard Allen, Daniel Hughes,
Lucretia Mott, Martin R. Delany, Octavius V. Catto, Bayard Rustin, Fanny Jackson Coppin, Daisy E. Lampkin
(who worked in the NAACP and fought for equal rights), Reverend LeRoy Patrick, Alexander J. Allen, C.
Delores Tucker (Judge Genevieve Blatt administered the oath to her as Secretary of the Commonwealth in
1975), LeRoy Irvis, etc. The August Wilson Center for African American Culture was opened on September 17,
2009. It was named after the late, great August Wilson. Wilson was a playwright who won 2 Pulitzer Prizes for
Drama (involving his plays Fences and The Piano Lesson). The Pittsburgh Cycle is about his series of 10 plays.
 The Late 20th Century
After World War II, many changes happened in Pittsburgh. Back then, smog was everywhere in Pittsburgh. It
was so thick that streetlights burned during the day. Rivers looked like open sewers. Civic leaders like Mayor
David L. Lawrence (David L. Lawrence, elected in 1945), Richard K. Mellon, chairman of Mellon Bank and John
P. Robin began smoke control and urban revitalization, also known as Urban Renewal projects that
transformed the city in unforeseen ways. "Renaissance I" began in 1946. Title One of the Housing Act of
1949 provided the means in which to begin. By 1950, vast swaths of buildings and land near the Point were
demolished for Gateway Center. 1953 saw the opening of the (since demolished) Greater Pittsburgh
Municipal Airport terminal. By the late 1950’s and early 1960’s, Lower Hill District (an area inhabited by
mostly people of black African descent) was completely destroyed. 95 acres of the lower Hill District was
cleared suing eminent domain. Hundreds of small businesses and more than 8,000 people (of 1,239 black
families and 312 white families) were forcibly displaced. The city wanted to make a cultural center that
included the Civic Arena which opened in 1961. Other than one apartment building, none of the other
buildings planned for the cultural center were ever built. In the early 1960's, the neighborhood of East
Liberty was also included in Renaissance I Urban Renewal plans, with over 125 acres (0.51 km2) of the
neighborhood being demolished and replaced with garden apartments, three 20-story public housing
apartments, and a convoluted road-way system that circled a pedestrianized shopping district. In the span of
just a few years during the mid-1960's, East Liberty became a blighted neighborhood. There were some 575
businesses in East Liberty in 1959, but only 292 in 1970, and just 98 in 1979. Preservation efforts done by the
Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation (along with community neighborhood groups) resisted the
demolition plans.
The neighborhoods with rich architectural heritage are the Mexican War Streets, Allegheny West, and
Manchester. The center of Allegheny City has culturally and socially important buildings. It wasn’t as lucky.
All of the buildings, with the exception of the Old U.S. Post Officer, the Carnegie Library, and Buhl
Planetarium were destroyed. They were replaced with the pedestrianized Alleghany Center Mall and
apartments. Pittsburgh’s industrial base grew in the post war era. It was assisted by the area’s first agency
which was totally devoted to the industrial development (called the RIDC). Jones and Laughlin Steel
Company expanded its plant on the Southside. H. J. Heinz, Pittsburgh Plate Glass, Alcoa, Westinghouse, and
U.S. Steel (plus its new division of the Pittsburgh Plate Company along with other companies) continued
robust operations in the 1960’s. In 1970, Renaissance I completed its building projects. There was the U.S.
Steel Tower and the Three Rivers Stadium. In 1974, with the addition of the fountain at the tip of the Golden
Triangle, Point State Park was completed. Although air quality was dramatically improved, and Pittsburgh’s
manufacturing base seemed solid questions about the negative effects Urban Renewal continue to have on
the social fabric of Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh would later go into a dramatic transformation. Rebellions existed in
Pittsburgh like in 1968 following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

The Population of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

676,806 By the 1970’s and the 1980’s, the

U.S. steel industry came from more
pressure from foreign competition
and form American mini mills that
had much lower overhead by using
salvaged steel. Manufacture in
Germany and Japan was booming.
Foreign mills and factories, built
321,616 300,286 with the latest technology,
benefited from lower labor costs
and powerful government-
corporate partnerships, allowing
them to capture increasing market
shares of steel and steel products.
Separately, demand for steel
Year 1900 1950 2019 softened due to recessions, the
1973 oil crisis, and increasing use of
other materials. The era began with
the RIDC's "Building on Basics" report in 1974. Free market pressures exposed the U.S. steel industry’s own
internal problems. Their problems dealt with a now outdated manufacturing base that over expanded in the
1950’s plus the 1960’s, hustle management including labor relationships, oligarchic management styles, the
inflexibility of the United Steelworkers involving wage cuts and work rule reforms, and poor strategic
planning (by both unions and management). Pittsburgh had challenged. Local coke and iron ore despotized
were depleted. This raised material costs. The large mills in Pittsburgh region faced competition from newer,
more profitable mini mills and non-union mills with lower labor costs. By the late 1970’s and early 1980’s, the
steel industry in Pittsburgh started to implode. There was massive deindustrialization in America. Following
the 1981–1982 recession, for example, the mills laid off 153,000 workers. The steel mills began to shut down.
These closures caused a ripple effect, as railroads, mines, and other factories across the region lost business
and closed. The local economy suffered a depression, marked by high unemployment and
underemployment, as laid-off workers took lower-paying, non-union jobs.

Pittsburgh suffered as elsewhere in the Rust Belt with a declining population, and like many other U.S. cities,
it also saw white flight to the suburbs. In 1991, the Homestead Works was demolished, replaced in 1999 by
The Waterfront shopping mall. As a direct result of the loss of mill employment, the number of people living
in Homestead dwindled. By the time of the 2000 census, the borough population was 3,569. The borough
began financially recovering in 2002, with the enlarging retail tax base. Larger firms brought out top
corporate headquarters like Gulf Oil (1985), Koppers (1987), Westinghouse (1996), and Rockwell International
(1989). There was the loss of high paying, white collar headquarters and research personnel. Many massive
charitable contributions by the home based companies to local cultural and educational institutions
declined. At the time of the Gulf Oil merger in 1985, it was the largest buyout in world history involving the
company that was No. 7 on the Fortune 500 just six years earlier. Over 1,000 high paying white collar
corporate and PhD research jobs were lost in one day. Today, there are no steel mills within the city limits of
Pittsburgh, although manufacture continues at regional mills, such as the Edgar Thomson Works in nearby
Braddock.

Many educational services exist in Pittsburgh. They include the University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon
University, and Duquesne University. Many of these university places deal with research, science, technology,
etc. There are other regional collegiate institutions like Robert Morris University, Pittsburgh Theological
Seminary, and the Community College of Allegheny County. By the 1980’s, Pittsburgh shifted its economy
from heavy industry to services, medicine, higher education, tourism, banking, corporate headquarters, and
high technology. Today, the top two private employers in the city are the University of Pittsburgh Medical
Center (26,000 employees) and the West Penn Allegheny Health System (13,000 employees). Some
improvements did exist in the mid-1970's. Arthur P. Ziegler Jr. and the Pittsburgh History and landmarks
Foundations wanted to have historic preservation. They wanted economic development to grow. The catch
was that many wanted eminent domain or public subsidies. Landmarks acquired the former terminal
buildings and yards of the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad, a 1-mile (1.6 km) long property at the base of
Mt. Washington facing the City of Pittsburgh. In 1976, Landmarks developed the site as a mixed-use historic
adaptive reuse development that gave the foundation the opportunity to put its urban planning principles
into practice. Aided by an initial generous gift from the Allegheny Foundation in 1976, Landmarks adapted
five historic Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad buildings for new uses and added a hotel, a dock for the
Gateway Clipper fleet, and parking areas. Now, shops, offices, restaurants, and entertainment anchor the
historic riverfront site on the south shore of the Monongahela River, opposite the Golden Triangle
(Pittsburgh). Station Square is Pittsburgh's premier attraction, generating over 3,500,000 visitors a year. It
reflects a $100 million investment from all sources, with the lowest public cost and highest taxpayer return of
any major renewal project in the Pittsburgh region since the 1950's.
 Ahavah
A New Era
In 1994, Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation sold Station Square in to Forest City Enterprises
which created an endowment to help support its restoration efforts and educational programs. Each year,
the staff and docents of Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation introduce more than 10,000 people –
teachers, students, adults, and visitors – to the architectural heritage of the Pittsburgh region and to the
value of historic preservation. Many people like Dorothy Mae Richardson fought for community
development in Pittsburgh.

She founded Neighborhood Housing Services in 1968. This organized was the foundation for the national
NeighborWorks Americans. Richardson is an activist. She wanted to rehabilitate Pittsburgh rather than
demolish and redevelop. In 1985, the J and L Steel site on the north side of the Monongahela River was
cleared and a publicly subsidized High Technology Center was built. The Pittsburgh Technology Center,
home to many major technology companies, is planning major expansion in the area soon. In the 1980's, the
"Renaissance II" urban revitalization created numerous new structures, such as PPG Place. In the 1990's, the
former sites of the Homestead, Duquesne and South Side J and L mills were cleared. In 1992, the new
terminal at Pittsburgh International Airport opened. In 2001, the aging Three Rivers Stadium was replaced
by Heinz Field and PNC Park, despite being rejected by voter referendum. In 2010, PPG Paints Arena
replaced the Civic Arena, which at the time was the oldest arena in the National Hockey League. Also in
1985, Al Michaels revealed to a national TV audience how Pittsburgh had transformed itself from an
industrial rust belt city. Today, Pittsburgh has a diversified economy. Many places have a low cost of living
compared to other large cities. There are educational and cultural institutions. Tourism has grown in
Pittsburgh with almost 3,000 new hotel rooms operating since 2004. Meanwhile, Apple, Google, Uber, and
Intel have joined the 1,600 technology firms choosing to operate out of Pittsburgh. The region has also
become a leader in green environmental design, a movement exemplified by the city's convention center. In
the last twenty years the region has seen a small but influential group of Asian immigrants, including from
the Indian sub-continent. Pittsburgh has gone through ups and downs, but Pittsburgh is still here in its
strength and beauty.
 The Culture of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh’s culture has a long history of philanthropy, cultural diversity, and research. Many nonprofit
organizations donated millions of dollars to educational and cultural institutions. The Cathedral of Learning
in Pittsburgh is influenced by diverse architectural influences. The David L. Lawrence Convention Center is
found on the south bank of the Allegheny River. It is a very well-known place where conventions, exhibitions
and conferences are held. It is the first ever green convention center and the world’s largest green building.
That is why the building was certified with a Gold rating by the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in
Energy and Environmental Design Initiative. The region of Pittsburgh is a location where over 1,000 film and
television works have been hosted since 1898 (when the first production film in the city). Since 1990, the
Pittsburgh Film Office has marketed the greater southwestern Pennsylvania region as a great location for
movie, television and commercial productions. The PFO has assisted more than 102 feature films and
television productions to southwestern Pennsylvania to generate an economic impact of more than $575
million for the region. Pittsburgh Filmmakers teaches media arts and runs three "arthouse" movie theaters
and since 1981 the Three Rivers Film Festival has brought national attention to local talent and artists of the
region. Theater is prominent in Pittsburgh. The late Pittsburgh playwright August Wilson was involved in
Fences and other plays about African American life.

The Pittsburgh Playhouse at Point Park University has four resident theater companies like Bald Theater
Company, etc. Multicultural cuisine is found in the city. They came from European immigrants, African
Americans, and other human beings. There are foods like the Slavic American pierogi, cabbage rolls, chipped
ham, city chicken, Clark bar, halusky, Italian sausage, and Sarris Candies. Many parks like Schenley Park,
Grand View Scenic Byway Park, and Highland Park represent the major parks of the city. Jazz had great
importance in Pittsburgh. The Hill District had many jazz musicians like Billy Strayhorn, Ahmad Jamal, Mary
Lou Williams, and other people.
 Roberto Clemente
(1934-1972)
Baseball Legend and
Philanthropist

Roberto Enrique Clemente Walker was a

Puerto Rican professional baseball right
fielder. He played for the Pittsburgh
Pirates. By 1973, he was inducted to the
National Baseball Hall of Fame. He was
the first person from Laitn America and
the Caribbean to be enshrined. He was a The Pittsburgh Priates was
12 time Gold Glove winner, he was a created in 1881. Their tea is a
World Series MVP, and he was a 2 time
World series champion in 1960 and 1971.
celebrated aspect of
. Throughout his life, he hlped to serve Pittsburgh’s overall culture.
others in assistance and care. The
Roberto Lemente Award is given to
players who promote community work,
sportsmanship, and overall integrity.
 Rusted Root

Wiz Khalifa Ahmad Jamal Billy Eckstine (1914-1993)

Mac Miller (1992-2018) Shanice Thea Tereese Austin

There are tons of African American historic places in Pittsburgh like the Pryor Furst/Ella-Reen Beauty School.
It was the first black beauty school in Pittsburgh. Crawford Grill No. 2 was opened in 1943 as a place where
black social life was abundant. It was owned by William A. (Gus) Greenlee. He was the owner of the
Pittsburgh Crawfords black baseball team. The well-known Mark’s AME Zion Church in Pittsburgh existed in
the brick Romanesque Revival style. It united black people in the Lawrenceville area. The religious location
promotes social leadership and spiritual plus moral strength in the community.
 THIS TEAM IS ONE OF THE GREATEST NFL DYNASTIES IN HISTORY

Mike Tomlin is the current

The Steelers was the first team
to win 4 Super Bowls after
defeating the Rams in Super
Bowl XIV.
coach of the Steelers. He
was born in Hampton,
Joe Greene was a famous defensive
Virginia (of the 757).
tackle of the team. He was one of
the greatest linemen in history. He
won 4 rings and 10 Pro Bowl
selections. He was part of the Steel
Curtain of the defensive aspect of
the game.

Heinz Field is the

current stadium home One of the greatest NFL Teams in history is the Pittsburgh
of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Their fan base is found worldwide filled with zeal. They Ben
Steelers. Thousands of not only have great offensive power. Historically, their defense Roethlisberger is
fans celebrate, eat has been involved in allowing them to go into Playoffs and win the current
food, and enjoy quarterback of the
multiple championships too. The team was founded in 1933. Steelers. He is a
themselves at this
The team plays games at the North Side area of the city, and it is very talented
location. football player
a sports franchise represents a huge part of American culture
who won one
overall. Super Bowl.

Troy Polamalu is a former

During the 1970’s, Franco
Harris, Lynn Swann, Terry
Bradshaw, and other players
formed a nucleus that
propelled the Pittsburgh
Steelers into great heights of
success.
On February 5, 2006, the
Pittsburgh Steelers
defeated the Seattle
Lynn Swann is one of
the greatest wide Seahawks in Super Bowl
receivers in history. This XL. Jerome Bettis finally
picture showed him got his championship that
catching a ball during he earned as part of his
the Super Bowl. Hall of Fame Career. The
coach of the time during
that time was Bill Cowher.
American football strong
safety who played his
entire twelve-year career
for the Pittsburgh
Steelers of the National
Football League (NFL). He
played college football
for the University of
Southern California (USC)
and earned consensus
All-American honors. He
always played great on
the field. Polamalu was
inducted into the Pro
Football Hall Of Fame in
2020, his first year of
eligibility.
 Baruch Hashem
Conclusion
When you think about blue collar strength, you think about the city of Pittsburgh. It has existed for centuries
in America. From the Revolutionary War to the U.S. Civil Rights movement, Pittsburgh has been at the center
of the confines of American culture. We live in unique times. Yet, we always remember that we do share
many things in common. We believe in equality and justice for all. We care for our families. We realize that
we are mortal in realizing that caring for the environment is a quintessential part of our duty to the Universe.
The grit of the people in Pittsburgh is inspirational. It's a city that doesn't have dull experiences. From being
involved in the Civil Rights Movement to developing diverse industries, Pittsburgh outlines the power of
American resiliency. In life, you have to live. Being on this Earth for almost 4 decades has made me aware of
the great value of the diversity of the human race. I will never forget the power of my ancestors, and I will
always strive to fight for a better future.

By Timothy