Making History Blog
Freedom and Coal Towns: A Portrait
Wandering the aisles of the Visible Storage exhibition at the Heinz History Center, a visitor can catch a glimpse into an almost-forgotten period of coal mining culture. In the back…
Whoooo Will You Be on Halloween?: The Changing Face of America’s Spookiest Holiday
Crisp air, fall leaves, and pumpkins everywhere? Halloween must be right around the corner. Kids rejoice at the upcoming candy bonanza. Retailers celebrate, too, and Halloween is expected to generate…
Book Reviews: Fall 2016
Pennsylvania: A Photographic Journey Photography by Richard Nowitz Farcountry Press, 2015 80 pp., 113 color photographs Paperback, $12.95 The crisp fall photo of the Allegheny Mountains on the cover of…
Reading the Menus
Even before reading the text on one small document, the three satiny bows binding its pages — one red, one white, one blue — suggest that its message might be…
Pittsburgh’s Diverse Immigrant Past & Present
Decades before Lawrenceville became synonymous with microbreweries and artisanal coffee shops, Joseph Borkowski documented and researched the history of the neighborhood. Borkowski’s interest in the neighborhood was inspired by its…
Samuel Langley: Pioneering Standard Time
The Allegheny Observatory, founded in 1859, has been integral to plenty of advancements in astronomical research. However, one of its most interesting contributions – accurate timekeeping – primarily benefited another…
Bound by Tradition: Prisoner Restraints in the Captive Experience
One of the most important steps for native war parties taking captives on the early American frontier was to prevent their prisoners from making an untimely escape. Tasked with the…
A Trip to Pittsburgh’s Suburbs
This post is part of an ongoing series seeking images and documents in connection with the #Pixburgh: A Photographic Experience exhibition opening this fall at the Heinz History Center. Read…
A First Glimpse through the Liberty Tubes
Oh, those tunnels and bridges. Every Pittsburgher knows that the best way to complicate a morning commute or add extra time to your trip home is to factor a tunnel…
Help the History Center Get Outdoors!
This post is part of an ongoing series seeking images and documents in connection with the #Pixburgh: A Photographic Experience exhibition opening this fall at the Heinz History Center. Read…