Pittsburgh’s Park of a Century

Posted by on Nov 29, 2013 in | Comments Off on Pittsburgh’s Park of a Century Currently ranked first as the Most Livable City by the Rand-McNally annual survey, Pittsburgh is reveling in media exposure comparable to the boosterism of the town of Zenith which writer Sinclair Lewis satirized in his novel, Babbit. Accompanying the zealous, self-proclaimed promotion, however, has been a healthy dose of self­-examination, with the city’s less enviable qualities suddenly...
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Frederick J. Osterling and a Tale of Two Buildings

Posted by on Nov 29, 2013 in | Comments Off on Frederick J. Osterling and a Tale of Two Buildings There was much to build in a growing industrial city like turn-of-the-century Pittsburgh, and many of the important architectural com­missions went to Frederick J. Osterling, a versatile designer, a respected businessman and a prominent – if occasionally controversial – architect. But when Osterling received that commission of which all archi­tects dream, it resulted in the sudden...
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The ‘State’ of Allegheny

Posted by on Nov 29, 2013 in | Comments Off on The ‘State’ of Allegheny One of the first centers of the organization of the Re­publican party and scene of its first national conven­tion in February, 1856, Allegheny County was strongly for Lincoln in the presidential election of 1860. As the vote count proceeded, one of the leaders kept sending telegrams to Lincoln’s home in Illinois, keeping him up on the news that “Allegheny gives a majority of …...
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The Value of Pennsylvania History

Posted by on Nov 25, 2013 in | Comments Off on The Value of Pennsylvania History George W. Bush won the presidential election of 2000 because the fifty states cast more electoral votes for him, even though more people actually voted for his opponent, Albert A. Gore Jr. The election reminded Americans about a curious institution called the Electoral College, and an equally peculiar system known as federalism in which each state conducts elections according to distinct laws...
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John A. Brashear (1840-1920)

Posted by on Nov 25, 2013 in | Comments Off on John A. Brashear (1840-1920) Somewhere beneath the stars is work which you alone were meant to do. Never rest until you have found it,” proclaims a plaque at a small museum on Pittsburgh’s South Side. For the author, John Alfred Bras­hear (1840-1920), the stars were his life’s work. At the age of nine, encouraged by his grandfather, Brashear peered through a telescope with a lens ground from fire­hardened...
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Letters

Posted by on Nov 20, 2013 in | Comments Off on Letters Best Years of My Life My family lived in Phoenixville from 1927 to 1938, and the brief history of the community [“Chester County: View from Foot of Main Street, Showing Dam, Phoenixville, Pa.”] in the Summer 2009 edition was of special interest. Also, the article following it, “A Modest Fountain on the Square” by Bill Double, generated more memories of my formative years...
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Restoring a Rare Railcar at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania

Posted by on Nov 20, 2013 in | Comments Off on Restoring a Rare Railcar at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania For many years, the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) Company’s Air Brake Instruction Car No. 492445 was relegated to the storage yard at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania in Strasburg, Lancaster County, administered by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC). Since its acquisition by the museum in 1977, the car had become a place to store items such as foundry patterns, core boxes,...
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Heinz – Much More than 57 Varieties

Posted by on Nov 20, 2013 in | Comments Off on Heinz – Much More than 57 Varieties The World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893 in Chicago captivated spectators with dazzling sights and sounds. Among the innovators showcasing their celebrated products was a trio of Pittsburghers: George Washington Gale Ferris Jr. (1859-1896), George Westinghouse Jr. (1846-1914), and Henry John Heinz (1844-1919). A bridge engineer, Ferris built his famous wheel-shaped ride, this first one...
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