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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Editor’s Letter

Posted by on Nov 29, 2021 in | Comments Off on Editor’s Letter Pennsylvania is home to some of the most acclaimed mural paintings in the nation, including those in our own State Capitol created by Violet Oakley, the first woman in the country to receive a public mural commission in 1902 (see “To Form a More Perfect Union,” Fall 2019), and those found on the walls of many U.S. post offices in the state, installed as part of public work projects between 1934...
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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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Sure to Attract Much Attention: The Advertising Genius of Milton S. Hershey

Posted by on Dec 29, 2020 in | Comments Off on Sure to Attract Much Attention: The Advertising Genius of Milton S. Hershey Milton S. Hershey, the man behind the chocolate bar, was an innovative and resourceful manufacturer who used a variety of traditional as well as unconventional strategies to both advertise and attract attention to his products. He was born in Derry Township, Dauphin County, on September 13, 1857. After spending the first eight years of his life in Dauphin County, he lived 10 years in Lancaster...
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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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The Kinzua Bridge

Posted by on Aug 22, 2017 in | 0 comments Once the highest and longest viaduct in the world, the Kinzua Bridge in McKean County was built in 1882 for the New York, Lake Erie & Western Railroad. Designed to carry heavy railroad cars filled with coal, lumber and oil across the deep Kinzua Creek gorge, the bridge was created from more than 3 million pounds of wrought iron by the Phoenix Bridge Co., a subsidiary of the Phoenix Iron Co....
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Romani in Pennsylvania

Posted by on Mar 13, 2017 in | Comments Off on Romani in Pennsylvania This fascinating early 20th-century postcard of a scene from Williamsport, Lycoming County, provides a view of life in Pennsylvania that is seldom represented in formal historic records or in preservation efforts. Cultures that exist outside the mainstream and especially those not linked to specific places pose a special challenge to historians. The word “Gypsy,” which appears on...
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Training at Indiantown Gap

Posted by on Dec 13, 2016 in | Comments Off on Training at Indiantown Gap   At age 19, Waldo Preston Breeden Jr. sent a postcard to his father in Pittsburgh describing his seemingly pleasant experiences at Indiantown Gap, Lebanon County, in July 1938. He “found apples and berries on the range,” “shot the 37 mm. guns” (a common caliber of antitank gun at the time) and mentioned that he had a special ranking and higher pay because of his ability to drive. The...
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