Dorothy Mae Richardson, Community Activist

Posted by on Mar 19, 2021 in | Comments Off on Dorothy Mae Richardson, Community Activist In the 1960s older intercity neighborhoods in Pittsburgh were being demolished as part of an urban renewal program called the “Pittsburgh Renaissance.” Many lower income residents, primarily African Americans, were forced out of their homes. Some were relocated into public housing, but others were left without a plan for affordable living. Additionally, financial institutions began “redlining”...
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Mystery of the Monongahela Culture: Archaeology at Foley Farm

Posted by on Nov 30, 2013 in | Comments Off on Mystery of the Monongahela Culture: Archaeology at Foley Farm In 1939, anthropologist Mary Butler identified and formally named the Monongahela Woodland Culture, a prehistoric Indian way of life centered in the Monongahela Valley of south­western Pennsylvania, west­ern Maryland and parts of northern West Virginia. Dr. Butler’s reasons for naming this prehistoric Indian culture were, in part, based on ar­chaeological investigations sponsored by the...
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Life in an Industrial Boom Town: Monessen, 1898-1923

Posted by on Nov 30, 2013 in | Comments Off on Life in an Industrial Boom Town: Monessen, 1898-1923 In reading about our nation’s past, we often forget how different life was for our ancestors. We read about historical figures and movements, but rarely – except in excellent historical novels – do we gain a glimpse into the living environment. We also tend to for­get that there are many past environ­ments, each producing its own style and pace of living. During the late...
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When Worlds Collide: Philadelphia’s Queen Village – A Glimpse at a Community in Eclipse

Posted by on Nov 29, 2013 in | Comments Off on When Worlds Collide: Philadelphia’s Queen Village – A Glimpse at a Community in Eclipse Pier 30 Tennis Pavilion is situated on the Delaware River to the east of the historic downtown of Philadelphia and Just to the south of the Penns Landing Revitalization project. By comparison with the drab, desolate or abandoned piers that haunt the waterfronts of many cities in the Northeast, this freshly painted white cement structure is a refreshing contrast. In the place of old, rusted...
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Three Farmhouse Styles of Lawrence County

Posted by on Nov 28, 2013 in | Comments Off on Three Farmhouse Styles of Lawrence County During the spring of 1975, I interviewed fifteen people who had grown up in farmhouses in Lawrence County. The dwellings described by the informants had been built between 1835 and 1900; most were or are located within present-day Hickory Township in the north-central part of the county. Three typical structures will serve as examples of the influence of various architectural styles, tracing the...
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Thirty Years Ago Today: R. Wakefield Roberts and His Community Civic League Respond to History

Posted by on Nov 26, 2013 in | Comments Off on Thirty Years Ago Today: R. Wakefield Roberts and His Community Civic League Respond to History The explosion of Black protest in the 1950s and 1960s – in both the North and the South – surprised many Americans who were unaware of the deep unrest in their midst. But one Pennsylvania community had a different solution to the abusive conditions with which its African American community was forced to live. In 1964, many of the descendants of the African Americans who had staked...
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Concrete City, Garden Village of the Anthracite Region

Posted by on Nov 26, 2013 in | Comments Off on Concrete City, Garden Village of the Anthracite Region The dilapidated buildings stand empty and forlorn at the end of a rutted, overgrown dirt road, isolated from their nearest neighbors. Several bear signs of former use: Registration! Ladders! Extinguishers! Others scream with epithets and slogans – some angry, some sophomoric-of faded causes and bygone radical movements. A swastika affronts visitors. Obscenities abound. There is little...
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David L. Lawrence, the Deft Hand Behind Pittsburgh’s – and Pennsylvania’s – Politics

Posted by on Nov 25, 2013 in | Comments Off on David L. Lawrence, the Deft Hand Behind Pittsburgh’s – and Pennsylvania’s – Politics David Leo Lawrence (1889-1966), governor of Pennsylvania from 1959 to 1963, and mayor of Pittsburgh from 1946 to 1959, during the city’s first heralded renaissance, was a professional politician to the very core. Ranked as one of America’s great chief executives among big cities, Lawrence immersed himself in politics, beginning at the age of fourteen when he became a city Democratic...
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