Allegheny Observatory

Posted by on Sep 12, 2022 in | Comments Off on Allegheny Observatory The mysteries of space and time itself have been explored at the Allegheny Observatory in Pittsburgh, ever since it was built to satisfy the celestial curiosity of the Allegheny Telescope Association, a group of amateur astronomy enthusiasts. In 1859 the group selected a site on the hills of North Side (at that time part of Allegheny City), an area free of city lights, providing a perfect spot...
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Downtown Lancaster

Posted by on Mar 17, 2022 in | Comments Off on Downtown Lancaster As this circa 1922 postcard of North Queen Street suggests, by the turn of the 20th century, downtown Lancaster had become a busy commercial hub and mecca for shoppers. While Penn Square at the intersection of King and Queen streets marks the historic heart of the city, North Queen Street was lined with amenities for shoppers and visitors alike. Hotels, theaters, department stores, banks,...
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Hershey Rose Garden

Posted by on Aug 25, 2021 in | Comments Off on Hershey Rose Garden Created at the bequest of Milton S. Hershey (1857–1945), the Hershey Rose Garden (now Hershey Gardens) began as a 3½-acre floral park for public enjoyment featuring 175 varieties of roses. Hershey had a long-standing interest in gardening and had built several glass conservatories to grow and display plants year-round near his mansion home, High Point, recognized as a National Historic Landmark...
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French Azilum Overlook

Posted by on Mar 25, 2021 in | Comments Off on French Azilum Overlook This scenic overlook in rural Bradford County, pictured in these postcards, provides a view of far more than a horseshoe bend in the broad North Branch of the Susquehanna River. It offers a glimpse of the location of the lost settlement of French Azilum — a historic site with a link to Queen Marie Antoinette of France — from a perch along an early auto tourism route where the Sullivan Trail...
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KDKA, Pittsburgh

Posted by on Dec 30, 2020 in | Comments Off on KDKA, Pittsburgh For those of us living in the 21st century, it is hard to imagine a world without radio, television and the internet. The free flow of information, music and entertainment programming across the country and the world is taken for granted in modern society but was a revolutionary development 100 years ago, when KDKA made communications history with a radio broadcast from Pittsburgh in 1920. The...
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The Women’s March to Perry Square in Erie

Posted by on Oct 20, 2020 in | Comments Off on The Women’s March to Perry Square in Erie The tranquil view of Perry Square on this circa 1915 postcard belies the flurry of activity that occurred here on July 8, 1913, when one of the earliest women’s suffrage marches in Pennsylvania took place. On that day hundreds of supporters answered the call of Erie suffragist Augusta Fleming, president of the Northwestern Pennsylvania Equal Franchise Association, to march for women’s rights...
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From Temperance to Suffrage with WCTU in Bellefonte

Posted by on Apr 23, 2020 in | Comments Off on From Temperance to Suffrage with WCTU in Bellefonte   The Women’ Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) building, also known a Petrikm Hall, on High Street in the Bellefonte Historic District has a fasci­nating history and links to the women’s suffrage movement. Petrikin Hall, as depicted in this 1910 postcard, was completed in 1902 to serve the needs of WCTU’s Bellefonte chapter and was designed to house an auditorium, stage...
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Honeymooning in the Poconos

Posted by on Mar 3, 2020 in | Comments Off on Honeymooning in the Poconos The beautiful Pocono Mountains in northeast Pennsylvania have been attracting visitors since the mid-19th century, but in the post-World War II years the area became known as the perfect place for honeymooners. The tourist tradition of the Poconos began with the establishment of summer resort hotels offering city residents from Philadelphia and New York City the opportunity to cool off in style...
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The Old Stone Arch Bridge over Jack’s Creek

Posted by on Dec 11, 2019 in | Comments Off on The Old Stone Arch Bridge over Jack’s Creek The Old Stone Arch Bridge over Jack’s Creek in Derry Township, Mifflin County, captured in this c.1937 postcard, has been enhancing travelers’ journeys ever since 1813, when it was built as part of the first turnpike to connect Harrisburg and Pittsburgh. Construction of this segment of the road began in Lewistown and was completed to Harrisburg in 1825. The single-span, semielliptical stone...
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Buhl Farm Park

Posted by on Nov 3, 2019 in | Comments Off on Buhl Farm Park This early 20th-century postcard offers a romantic view of Buhl Farm Park in Sharon, Mercer County, with its iconic Casino reflected on the water of Lake Julia. Love is an appropriate theme for this 300-acre public park, planned and created by wealthy steel industrialist Frank H. Buhl (1848–1918) and his wife Julia (1854–1936) as a gift to the people of Sharon. Frank Buhl was the president of...
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