The Day Pittsburgh Stood Still: September 9, 1947 It was a such a simple repair. As Captain Charles Hall walked off the Cincinnati-based excursion steamer Island Queen, docked along…

  S. V. Albee and the Great Railroad Strike in Pittsburgh, July 21-22, 1877 Sometime after July 22, 1877, Pittsburgh photographer S. V. Albee captured an extraordinary series of photographs.…

  A lithograph in the History Center’s collection provides an interesting perspective on the unfolding of events in the steel strike on July 6, 1892. In title and in imagery…

  Dishing some dirt on keeping Western Pennsylvanians clean “Brush, Broom, and Hammer.” Coming close on the heels of World War II, this posed photo of three of Pa Pitt’s…

  Fifth Avenue and Market Street (Market Square), March 18, 1936. Allegheny Conference on Community Development Photographs, Detre Library & Archives at the History Center. On St. Patrick’s Day in…

February 20 is a day of celebrations. In some years, it’s Presidents’ Day. It’s National Cherry Pie Day (George Washington’s supporters may have had something to do with that). For…

Vintage Valentine, c. 1870-1910. Spencer Family Papers, Detre Library & Archives at the History Center. Spencer Family Home, 1890, G. M. Hopkins Company Map. In the early 1900s, on the…

When does the Christmas season begin? For retailers these days, the answer seems to be “as soon as possible.” While the weekend after Thanksgiving has long served as the unofficial…

The simple box has a shallow lid and was soldered shut. Etched into the underside of the lid is the name E. Miller, likely Edward Miller, who was one of…

City police rescued a Fort Pitt Museum watchman last night when flood waters trapped him inside the building. They had to break a glass in the door before he could…