I heart PGH

IheartPGH: a blog about Pittsburgh and people who love this city

You are here: Home / Archives for History

Pittsburgh Holiday History Project

1 Comment

As Macy’s was preparing to close its doors at the end of the summer, I was thinking about how shopping at a downtown department store was a thing that the next generations of Pittsburghers would not get to do this holiday season. There are still lots of traditions to be had downtown and all around this city, but there downtown department stores are now gone. In my lifetime, there was Horne’s, Gimbels, Kaufmann’s, Saks, Lazarus and briefly Lord & Taylor. But there are future generations of Pittsburgheres who will only associate the name Kaufmann with the family who built the… Read the rest

Will you come to church with me on Sunday?

Leave a Comment

“Will you come to church with me on Sunday” is most certainly not a blog post title I thought I would be writing this summer, or ever.  Last Sunday, I attended the service that Albright United Methodist Church held on the lawn in front of their church on Centre Ave.  I don’t often go to church, I am not Methodist and I had not attended a church service at Albright before. If I go to church it is to look at the architecture or I will on the rare occasion sneak in the back of East Liberty Presbyterian Church in… Read the rest

A Visit to Rachel Carson’s Other House

Leave a Comment

Pittsburghers celebrate Rachel Carson, famed scientist who changed lives and how we look at the environment, as one of our own. Honors don’t get much bigger than having a prime bridge downtown named after you: Carson, along with Clemente and Warhol, make up our iconic Three Sisters bridges. There’s also a 35.7 mile Rachel Carson nature trail, and the Pennsylvania even named a state office building after her to house environmental protection and conservation departments. Carson was born on a small farm in nearby Springdale. She was raised in the area and graduated from Chatham University with a degree in… Read the rest

The Oldest House in Pittsburgh is for Sale.

2 Comments

Last Saturday, Urban Hike explored the Pittsburgh neighborhood of Hazelwood.  I have shared a few of the photos from the hike on Instagram and there have been several comments asking about the John Woods house. But this house! The John Woods house is the 2nd oldest house in the city. The house is owned by URA and is for sale. A photo posted by Iheartpgh (@iheartpgh) on Jun 22, 2015 at 7:38pm PDT The John Woods House has a long history in Hazelwood and is currently waiting for someone to take a liking to it. The house is currently owned… Read the rest

Pretty, Vacant: Recapping the Vacant Home Tour

Leave a Comment

The Vacant Home Tour through Wilkinsburg took place on a hot Saturday, May 9th. 88 degrees was too hot to bike from Millvale comfortably, but I didn’t know that until I was standing (uncomfortably) at the registration desk. The walking tour was a little over two miles round trip and, while technically not in the City of Pittsburgh, included a hill or two. Each tour goer picked up a booklet that had descriptions of each home and a map then were sent up the hill to Singer place to the first home. 1329 Singer Place is a shy home, trying… Read the rest