![Rodef Shalom Temple, Pittsburgh, 1908 (via)
On This Day in Pittsburgh History: May 10, 1956
Rodef Shalom Congregation observed its 100th anniversary and dedicated its new Temple at Fifth and Morewood avenues. [Historic Pittsburgh]](http://25.media.tumblr.com/e72d2ce6277d42c51a86ded95e6e53b3/tumblr_mm4jpqaF7o1qakblyo1_500.png)
Rodef Shalom Temple, Pittsburgh, 1908 (via)
On This Day in Pittsburgh History: May 10, 1956
Rodef Shalom Congregation observed its 100th anniversary and dedicated its new Temple at Fifth and Morewood avenues. [Historic Pittsburgh]
![Nixon Theater, 1950 (via)
On This Day in Pittsburgh History: April 30, 1950
The opulent domed Beaux Arts Nixon Theater closes its doors to make way for Alcoa’s new headquarters. [Wikipedia]
An ornate Beaux Arts structure, crowned by a large dome it was arguably the most opulent theater in city history. S. Trevor Hadly in Only in Pittsburgh describes that the interior “was in the Louis XVth style. Inside were massive imitation Parawazza marble columns capped with solid gold. … The side walls were paneled to look like damask silk … framed in a molding and styling of green, gold, and red. Velvet and silk draperies added profusely to the décor.” Productions such as the 1905 staging of Ben Hur used four horse-drawn chariots while Garden of Allah ”called for a herd of camels, horses, and goats and 50 camel drivers.” The sale of the site to Alcoa in 1950 was met with protests, with actress Katharine Hepburn writing to the city before demolition: “I’m infuriated, The new skyscraper will be just another building — maybe fascinating, but not glamorous.”](http://24.media.tumblr.com/095756a67feaed4822cbd03c521f20a2/tumblr_mltkxvq3Dt1qakblyo1_500.gif)
Nixon Theater, 1950 (via)
On This Day in Pittsburgh History: April 30, 1950
The opulent domed Beaux Arts Nixon Theater closes its doors to make way for Alcoa’s new headquarters. [Wikipedia]
An ornate Beaux Arts structure, crowned by a large dome it was arguably the most opulent theater in city history. S. Trevor Hadly in Only in Pittsburgh describes that the interior “was in the Louis XVth style. Inside were massive imitation Parawazza marble columns capped with solid gold. … The side walls were paneled to look like damask silk … framed in a molding and styling of green, gold, and red. Velvet and silk draperies added profusely to the décor.” Productions such as the 1905 staging of Ben Hur used four horse-drawn chariots while Garden of Allah ”called for a herd of camels, horses, and goats and 50 camel drivers.” The sale of the site to Alcoa in 1950 was met with protests, with actress Katharine Hepburn writing to the city before demolition: “I’m infuriated, The new skyscraper will be just another building — maybe fascinating, but not glamorous.”
![Magazine Stand at corner of Wood Street and Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, 1951. Richard Saunders. [Carnegie Museum of Art]](http://24.media.tumblr.com/60ae53beab2e3eb5013b2c160056fc5b/tumblr_mlx590a4J31qakblyo1_500.jpg)
Magazine Stand at corner of Wood Street and Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, 1951. Richard Saunders. [Carnegie Museum of Art]
Original blueprint of the Civic Arena, 1958 (via)
On This Day in Pittsburgh History: April 25, 1958
Construction began for Pittsburgh’s new domed amphitheater, originally named the Civic Auditorium.
Circa 1955: “Pittsburgh at Night”
Pittsburgh hasn’t always been beautiful in the harsh light of day. In her industrial years she was described as smoky, dirty, gritty and filthy. In fact, our lovely city once endured the reputation of being “hell with the lid off.”
But by night, Pittsburgh has always been spectacular. The industrial fires that sent smoke into our air and blackened our stone buildings also created stunning displays of light. Darkness provided a stark backdrop while concealing the city’s less appealing characteristics.
And of course Pittsburgh’s abundant hills served as fantastic viewing platforms.
The city’s business district, with its buildings clustered into a small triangle of land, has always gleamed in the night. Even in our dirtiest days, rivers poisoned with waste appeared as shimmering plates of glass and potholed streets emerged as ribbons of light. Above it all rose the Gulf Building, regal in its glowing crown.
Photographers took notice. The ugly city they knew by day magically transformed itself every night into a beautiful metropolis. Many set out to capture that beauty with their bulky cameras. Here are a few of the results.
The earliest picture was taken in 1939, as the country was climbing its way out of an economic depression. It shows what appears to be a church steeple silhouetted by the light of an unidentified steel mill. The optimistic caption in The Pittsburgh Press read, “A sure sign of better times in Pittsburgh is this nighttime scene on the industrial front, the sky lighted by belching furnaces.”
In an image made in 1946, the J&L steel mill on the South Side is so ablaze with light that it appears to harbor something angelic.
And at the official opening of the Civic Arena’s dome on July 4, 1962, Press photographer Dale Gleason was moved to shoot a time exposure of the event. As the great roof made its “epic journey,” Gleason opened his shutter a number of times, thereby “x-raying the Civic Arena,” declared the caption.
Much has changed since these pictures were made. The mills are gone, the Civic Arena is gone. We still have the Gulf Building, though, and the lights. And Pittsburgh has emerged as a city that looks great even on the brightest of days.
![On This Day in Pittsburgh History: April 15, 1955
Pittsburgh philanthropist Edgar Kaufmann, owner of Kaufmann’s department store and Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater, dies suddenly at 69. [The Pittsburgh Press]](http://24.media.tumblr.com/2823ce8954ad8965b95b042226394cda/tumblr_mlcqvdjlUS1qakblyo1_500.jpg)
On This Day in Pittsburgh History: April 15, 1955
Pittsburgh philanthropist Edgar Kaufmann, owner of Kaufmann’s department store and Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater, dies suddenly at 69. [The Pittsburgh Press]
![Gus Miller’s Store in Oakland, Pittsburgh, 1960s* [Life in Western Pennsylvania]
*Originally identified as from the 1950s. Thanks to Tell Me Oh Tell Me for pointing out that the Towers at Pitt weren’t built until the 1960s.](http://25.media.tumblr.com/f913556fe0ff235db8fb2ed1f799ee52/tumblr_ml3ied2LTu1qakblyo1_500.png)
Gus Miller’s Store in Oakland, Pittsburgh, 1960s* [Life in Western Pennsylvania]
*Originally identified as from the 1950s. Thanks to Tell Me Oh Tell Me for pointing out that the Towers at Pitt weren’t built until the 1960s.
![Carnegie Mellon University campus (via)
On This Day in Pittsburgh History: April 8, 1957
Carnegie Mellon University begins a $26 million expansion. [Wikipedia]](http://25.media.tumblr.com/ba462b711955867e4d161048110dac62/tumblr_mkql5yQUkP1qakblyo1_500.jpg)
Carnegie Mellon University campus (via)
On This Day in Pittsburgh History: April 8, 1957
Carnegie Mellon University begins a $26 million expansion. [Wikipedia]
![On This Day in Pittsburgh History: April 1, 1954
WQED, PBS channel 13, begins broadcasting as the first community-sponsored television station in the nation, and the city’s fifth TV station. [Wikipedia; Penn State University]](http://24.media.tumblr.com/4fb7647c4e8b51ccc0e6c24e212e4a3d/tumblr_mkl3acxxuz1qakblyo1_500.png)
On This Day in Pittsburgh History: April 1, 1954
WQED, PBS channel 13, begins broadcasting as the first community-sponsored television station in the nation, and the city’s fifth TV station. [Wikipedia; Penn State University]
![Kaufmann’s Department Store, c. 1910 (via)
On This Day in Pittsburgh History: March 13, 1955
Henry Kaufmann, 94, pioneer Pittsburgh merchant and one of the four founders of Kaufmann’s Department Store, died in New York City. [Historic Pittsburgh]
Read more about Kaufmann’s life and philanthropic efforts in Pittsburgh here.](http://24.media.tumblr.com/2922c660a0ad4a8f5f7a301431d60ed3/tumblr_mji6sz0T6t1qakblyo1_500.jpg)
Kaufmann’s Department Store, c. 1910 (via)
On This Day in Pittsburgh History: March 13, 1955
Henry Kaufmann, 94, pioneer Pittsburgh merchant and one of the four founders of Kaufmann’s Department Store, died in New York City. [Historic Pittsburgh]
Read more about Kaufmann’s life and philanthropic efforts in Pittsburgh here.
![On This Day in Pittsburgh History: March 2, 1950
Talley Beatty’s engaging dance review, ”Tropicana,” cast anchor at Carnegie Music Hall last night giving joy thereby to a large audience of delighted patrons. The performance, under the auspices of The Pittsburgh Courier, was the first appearance here of the talented dance troupe. [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m04g4wxqmU1qakblyo1_r2_500.png)
On This Day in Pittsburgh History: March 2, 1950
Talley Beatty’s engaging dance review, ”Tropicana,” cast anchor at Carnegie Music Hall last night giving joy thereby to a large audience of delighted patrons. The performance, under the auspices of The Pittsburgh Courier, was the first appearance here of the talented dance troupe. [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]
(Source: thepittsburghhistoryjournal)
![Rodef Shalom Temple, Pittsburgh, 1908 (via)
On This Day in Pittsburgh History: May 10, 1956
Rodef Shalom Congregation observed its 100th anniversary and dedicated its new Temple at Fifth and Morewood avenues. [Historic Pittsburgh]](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m39d0qfveg1qakblyo1_1280.png)
Rodef Shalom Temple, Pittsburgh, 1908 (via)
On This Day in Pittsburgh History: May 10, 1956
Rodef Shalom Congregation observed its 100th anniversary and dedicated its new Temple at Fifth and Morewood avenues. [Historic Pittsburgh]
![Downtown Pittsburgh, 1952 [Brookline Connection]](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m3nsj1lS571qakblyo1_1280.jpg)
![Nixon Theater, 1950 (via)
On This Day in Pittsburgh History: April 30, 1950
The opulent domed Beaux Arts Nixon Theater closes its doors to make way for Alcoa’s new headquarters. [Wikipedia]
An ornate Beaux Arts structure, crowned by a large dome it was arguably the most opulent theater in city history. S. Trevor Hadly in Only in Pittsburgh describes that the interior “was in the Louis XVth style. Inside were massive imitation Parawazza marble columns capped with solid gold. … The side walls were paneled to look like damask silk … framed in a molding and styling of green, gold, and red. Velvet and silk draperies added profusely to the décor.” Productions such as the 1905 staging of Ben Hur used four horse-drawn chariots while Garden of Allah ”called for a herd of camels, horses, and goats and 50 camel drivers.” The sale of the site to Alcoa in 1950 was met with protests, with actress Katharine Hepburn writing to the city before demolition: “I’m infuriated, The new skyscraper will be just another building — maybe fascinating, but not glamorous.”](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m32j1m0nmb1qakblyo1_500.gif)
Nixon Theater, 1950 (via)
On This Day in Pittsburgh History: April 30, 1950
The opulent domed Beaux Arts Nixon Theater closes its doors to make way for Alcoa’s new headquarters. [Wikipedia]
An ornate Beaux Arts structure, crowned by a large dome it was arguably the most opulent theater in city history. S. Trevor Hadly in Only in Pittsburgh describes that the interior “was in the Louis XVth style. Inside were massive imitation Parawazza marble columns capped with solid gold. … The side walls were paneled to look like damask silk … framed in a molding and styling of green, gold, and red. Velvet and silk draperies added profusely to the décor.” Productions such as the 1905 staging of Ben Hur used four horse-drawn chariots while Garden of Allah ”called for a herd of camels, horses, and goats and 50 camel drivers.” The sale of the site to Alcoa in 1950 was met with protests, with actress Katharine Hepburn writing to the city before demolition: “I’m infuriated, The new skyscraper will be just another building — maybe fascinating, but not glamorous.”
![Magazine Stand at corner of Wood Street and Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, 1951. Richard Saunders. [Carnegie Museum of Art]](http://www.cmoa.org/searchcollections/Media/5/285/1025884.jpg)
Magazine Stand at corner of Wood Street and Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, 1951. Richard Saunders. [Carnegie Museum of Art]
Original blueprint of the Civic Arena, 1958 (via)
On This Day in Pittsburgh History: April 25, 1958
Construction began for Pittsburgh’s new domed amphitheater, originally named the Civic Auditorium.
Circa 1955: “Pittsburgh at Night”
Pittsburgh hasn’t always been beautiful in the harsh light of day. In her industrial years she was described as smoky, dirty, gritty and filthy. In fact, our lovely city once endured the reputation of being “hell with the lid off.”
But by night, Pittsburgh has always been spectacular. The industrial fires that sent smoke into our air and blackened our stone buildings also created stunning displays of light. Darkness provided a stark backdrop while concealing the city’s less appealing characteristics.
And of course Pittsburgh’s abundant hills served as fantastic viewing platforms.
The city’s business district, with its buildings clustered into a small triangle of land, has always gleamed in the night. Even in our dirtiest days, rivers poisoned with waste appeared as shimmering plates of glass and potholed streets emerged as ribbons of light. Above it all rose the Gulf Building, regal in its glowing crown.
Photographers took notice. The ugly city they knew by day magically transformed itself every night into a beautiful metropolis. Many set out to capture that beauty with their bulky cameras. Here are a few of the results.
The earliest picture was taken in 1939, as the country was climbing its way out of an economic depression. It shows what appears to be a church steeple silhouetted by the light of an unidentified steel mill. The optimistic caption in The Pittsburgh Press read, “A sure sign of better times in Pittsburgh is this nighttime scene on the industrial front, the sky lighted by belching furnaces.”
In an image made in 1946, the J&L steel mill on the South Side is so ablaze with light that it appears to harbor something angelic.
And at the official opening of the Civic Arena’s dome on July 4, 1962, Press photographer Dale Gleason was moved to shoot a time exposure of the event. As the great roof made its “epic journey,” Gleason opened his shutter a number of times, thereby “x-raying the Civic Arena,” declared the caption.
Much has changed since these pictures were made. The mills are gone, the Civic Arena is gone. We still have the Gulf Building, though, and the lights. And Pittsburgh has emerged as a city that looks great even on the brightest of days.
![On This Day in Pittsburgh History: April 15, 1955
Pittsburgh philanthropist Edgar Kaufmann, owner of Kaufmann’s department store and Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater, dies suddenly at 69. [The Pittsburgh Press]](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m1wrscRL7x1qakblyo1_1280.jpg)
On This Day in Pittsburgh History: April 15, 1955
Pittsburgh philanthropist Edgar Kaufmann, owner of Kaufmann’s department store and Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater, dies suddenly at 69. [The Pittsburgh Press]
![Gus Miller’s Store in Oakland, Pittsburgh, 1960s* [Life in Western Pennsylvania]
*Originally identified as from the 1950s. Thanks to Tell Me Oh Tell Me for pointing out that the Towers at Pitt weren’t built until the 1960s.](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m2e51mt77M1qakblyo1_500.png)
Gus Miller’s Store in Oakland, Pittsburgh, 1960s* [Life in Western Pennsylvania]
*Originally identified as from the 1950s. Thanks to Tell Me Oh Tell Me for pointing out that the Towers at Pitt weren’t built until the 1960s.
![Carnegie Mellon University campus (via)
On This Day in Pittsburgh History: April 8, 1957
Carnegie Mellon University begins a $26 million expansion. [Wikipedia]](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m1wqbjX5cb1qakblyo1_1280.jpg)
Carnegie Mellon University campus (via)
On This Day in Pittsburgh History: April 8, 1957
Carnegie Mellon University begins a $26 million expansion. [Wikipedia]
On This Day in Pittsburgh History: April 1, 1954
WQED, PBS channel 13, begins broadcasting as the first community-sponsored television station in the nation, and the city’s fifth TV station. [Wikipedia; Penn State University]
![Kaufmann’s Department Store, c. 1910 (via)
On This Day in Pittsburgh History: March 13, 1955
Henry Kaufmann, 94, pioneer Pittsburgh merchant and one of the four founders of Kaufmann’s Department Store, died in New York City. [Historic Pittsburgh]
Read more about Kaufmann’s life and philanthropic efforts in Pittsburgh here.](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m08camjVkL1qakblyo1_1280.jpg)
Kaufmann’s Department Store, c. 1910 (via)
On This Day in Pittsburgh History: March 13, 1955
Henry Kaufmann, 94, pioneer Pittsburgh merchant and one of the four founders of Kaufmann’s Department Store, died in New York City. [Historic Pittsburgh]
Read more about Kaufmann’s life and philanthropic efforts in Pittsburgh here.
On This Day in Pittsburgh History: March 2, 1950
Talley Beatty’s engaging dance review, ”Tropicana,” cast anchor at Carnegie Music Hall last night giving joy thereby to a large audience of delighted patrons. The performance, under the auspices of The Pittsburgh Courier, was the first appearance here of the talented dance troupe. [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]
(Source: thepittsburghhistoryjournal)
