On This Day in Pittsburgh History: December 15, 1951 

The Panthers open legendary Fitzgerald Field House with a victory over Columbia. The arena will serve the city for 51 seasons. [Wikipedia; Historic Pittsburgh] 

(via thepittsburghhistoryjournal)

Chatham College sophomores make decorations for the Christmas Dance, 1955 [University of Pittsburgh Digital Archives] 

(via thepittsburghhistoryjournal)

On This Day in Pittsburgh History: December 6, 1955

Pittsburgh Pirates legend Honus Wagner passes away in Carnegie. [Wikipedia; From Deep Right Field]

(via thepittsburghhistoryjournal)

On This Day in Pittsburgh History: December 3, 1954

KDKA is renamed as Westinghouse closes on the largest purchase in television history as WDTV signs off. [Wikipedia; The Pittsburgh Press] 

(via thepittsburghhistoryjournal)

On This Day in Pittsburgh History: November 30, 1955

Pennsylvania College for Women was renamed Chatham College and announced a $12 million development program. [Historic Pittsburgh] 

(via thepittsburghhistoryjournal)

On This Day in Pittsburgh History: November 27, 1950 

The city and its environs were snowbound. Newspapers failed to publish; most stores were closed; schools were closed; deaths resulting from the storm totaled 15. [Historic Pittsburgh; The Pittsburgh Press] 

On This Day in Pittsburgh History: November 24, 1950

Auto, bus, and trolley traffic was brought to a standstill by a 30.5-inch snowfall — heaviest in the city’s history. Snowbanks on streets were piled as high as automobile tops. [Historic Pittsburgh; The Pittsburgh Press] 

(Source: images.library.pitt.edu)

pgdigs:

Nov. 22, 1956: ”Christmas Parade Downtown Pittsburgh” 

Despite 27-degree weather, thousands of people packed Downtown streets to watch the annual Christmas parade during the noon hour on Thursday, Nov. 22, 1956. 

Leading the way was a Marine Corps color guard and mounted county police officers. Behind them were marching bands. Waving from open-topped cars were the “Santa Belles,” women drawn from the membership of the Pittsburgh Models Club. The women covered their goose bumps by modeling fur coats. 

The Indian Bonnettes, an Oil City unit of baton twirlers who ranged in age from six to 12, weren’t so lucky. The girls’ legs turned a rosy red as they marched and spun in the frosty air. They marched, counter marched and swung batons as though they had lived at the North Pole all their lives, wrote David Martin of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

There was a float with a nativity scene. Also in the procession were 40 mammoth balloons, pulled by boys in clown suits. One balloon was shaped like an ice cream cone. The others were characters such as Humpty Dumpty, Felix the Cat and Jocko the Monkey. Santa Claus and his eight reindeer sat on an 85-foot-long float and brought up the end of the procession. 

Back then, the parade route was different. Participants started in Gateway Center and marched up Liberty Avenue to Fifth Avenue, up Fifth to Grant Street, then down Sixth Avenue to Liberty and back to Gateway Center. 

(Post-Gazette photo)

— Marylynne Pitz

Roberto Clemente was a member of the Montreal Royals, the minor-league (AAA) affiliate of the Brooklyn Dodgers. 1954.

On This Day in Pittsburgh History: November 22, 1954

Roberto Clemente is drafted #1 by the Pittsburgh Pirates. 

Interiors courtyard at the Phipps Conservatory during the Fall Flower Show, Pittsburgh, 1955 [Life in Western Pennsylvania] 

Trick-or-Treaters pose with their Unicef boxes and a United Nations flag at the Kingsley House, Pittsburgh, 1956. 

On This Day in Pittsburgh History: October 22, 1952

President Harry S Truman tours Western Pennsylvania and speaks to a standing-room-only crowd at Pittsburgh’s Syria Mosque. [Wikipedia; The Times-News]

On This Day in Pittsburgh History: October 20, 1951 

Pittsburgh Police hunt for the “Turnpike Killer” after a 37-year-old man is shot at the Monroeville tollgate and a cabbie held at gunpoint by the suspect. [The Pittsburgh Press] 

Mellon Square dedication, Pittsburgh, 1955 (via) 

On This Day in Pittsburgh History: October 18, 1955

Mellon Square Park was dedicated and became the second public square in the City of Pittsburgh. [PDCDC] 

Pittsburgh’s Forbes Field, 1956. [The New York Times Store]