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] 

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On This Day in Pittsburgh History: December 14, 1988

Demolition begins at the Shippingport Atomic Power Plant, the world’s first commercial nuclear power plant. [Historic Pittsburgh; Federation of American Scientists] 

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On This Day in Pittsburgh History: December 13, 1948

Carnegie Tech announces a $4 million building and renovation program in a move to relieve overcrowding. [Historic Pittsburgh; Explore PA History] 

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Fort Duquesne Bridge, Pittsburgh, 1964 

On This Day in Pittsburgh History: December 12, 1964 

A 21-year-old Pitt chemistry major drives a 1959 Chrysler station wagon off the end of the unfinished Ft. Duquesne Bridge and lands unhurt, making world news, comedy shows and D.J. Rege Cordic. [Wikipedia]

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On This Day in Pittsburgh History: December 11, 1944 

Thousands of Monday night Christmas shoppers were stranded Downtown by a 15-inch snowfall; all hotels were filled to capacity and lobbies were pressed into service as shelter; mills, schools, and many other activities were forced to suspend for two days. [Historic Pittsburgh; The Pittsburgh Press] 

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On This Day in Pittsburgh History: December 9, 1992 

Carl Barger, former president of the Pittsburgh Pirates, dies while at a meeting of the baseball owners. [Historic Pittsburgh; Allegheny Times] 

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On This Day in Pittsburgh History: December 8, 1941 

pgdigs:

“Young men volunteer for Army Air Corps after Pearl Harbor attack”

Pittsburgh was “coming to a slow boil” one day after Japanese fighter planes attacked Pearl Harbor, the Post-Gazette reported. Streets in the Golden Triangle were packed with Christmas shoppers still recovering from the shock of the news they’d received the previous day.

People gathered around radios in offices, hotel lobbies, theater foyers and bars as President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked Congress for a declaration of war against Japan. Hundreds line up on Diamond Street, where a public address system piped out Roosevelt’s historic statement, “Yesterday, December 7th, 1941 - a date which will live in infamy … ” School children listening to the speech elsewhere in the city applauded, but this crowd listened grimly.

Eager, patriotic young men lined up at Army, Navy and Marine recruiting stations on Smithfield Street. A Post-Gazette reporter heard them ask, “How soon can we leave?”

A note on the back of this print states it was made at an Army Air Corps recruiting station. We at the Digs studied the image for some time and wondered about the eventual fate of these volunteers.

(Photo credit: Unknown)

— Steve Mellon

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On This Day in Pittsburgh History: December 7, 1893 

Phipps Conservatory is completed. [Cardcow] 

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

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On This Day in Pittsburgh History: December 6, 1955

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

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On This Day in Pittsburgh History: December 5, 1933 

At 5:31 p.m., flash news hits that Utah and Ohio join Pennsylvania as the necessary two-thirds to end Prohibition. [The Pittsburgh Press]

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On This Day in Pittsburgh History: December 4, 1882

Allegheny General incorporates. [Wikipedia] 

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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] 

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