Whiskey, Women, and Pittsburgh’s Diamond

Since Pittsburgh’s early days, when residents called it “the Diamond,” Market Square has been a place where people go to have a drink. But from the days of the Whiskey Rebellion to the heyday of the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union, more went on in those taverns and saloons than just drinking. Come hear the stories of women like Molly Murphy and Frances Willard, whose lives intersected in Market Square with the powerful politics of whiskey.

This story was recorded on February 28, 2022.

Your Storyteller

Debbie Edwards is a retired teacher and freelance writer who loves to explore the nooks and crannies of women’s history in western Pennsylvania.

Beyond the No Outlet Sign: Private Spaces in Public Places

How many times while driving around Pittsburgh have you seen a street sign which states No Outlet? Pittsburgh may lead the country with the number of dead-end streets. Many are caused by the hilly terrain where the street may end at a cliff. Yet others are created to end on purpose.

This tour will reveal several purposeful dead-end streets located in the East End, which were carved out of neighborhoods to form highly desirable living places. Many of us pass by these streets every day and never venture down them. Join DOORS OPEN Pittsburgh and Robert Jucha as we look down some of these streets to see what lies beyond the No Outlet sign.

This story was recorded on February 21, 2022.

Your Storyteller

Robert Jucha has participated as a volunteer docent for the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation for 13 years.  During that time he has given numerous walking tours of Downtown Pittsburgh, Oakland and Shadyside.

In addition to his work with the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation, Mr. Jucha has also taught classes on Pittsburgh architecture and neighborhood histories at both CMU Osher and Pitt Osher.

Glen Hazel’s WWII Housing: 80 Years of History

Explore 80 years of the Glen Hazel Defense Housing Project’s history.  Originally built for relocation of steelworkers during World War II, the project was the largest of four federally owned communities in Allegheny County.

But how did a military project become one of Pittsburgh’s 90 neighborhoods?  Join JaQuay Carter to explore the project’s impact on the City, including its connection to August Wilson.

When you register on Patreon through the button below, you gain access to all of our Virtual Storytelling On-Demand recordings for $10 per month. Cancel at any time.

This story was recorded on February 14, 2022.

Your Storyteller

Award-winning historian and USMC Veteran, JaQuay Edward Carter, has a long history of serving others, both in the community and in the military.

JaQuay was born in Glen Hazel, where four generations of his family had lived before. Mr. Carter began his post-secondary education at the Community College of Allegheny County, earning an associate degree in Ethnic and Diversity Studies. Soon after, JaQuay enrolled at the University of Pittsburgh, where he received a bachelor’s degree in History Education and Africana Studies.

In January of 2018, JaQuay was directed back to his hometown through a passion for history and neighborhood pride. He founded the Greater Hazelwood Historical Society of Pittsburgh to “restore pride and preserve the pillars of our community’s past.”

Since then, Mr. Carter developed a large following. He continues to teach, inspire, and unite people through the exploration of our shared history.

Henry Hornbostel’s Impact on Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh’s beautification efforts are ever evolving. Henry Hornbostel’s early twentieth century advancements in elegant architecture made Pittsburgh a leader in the City Beautiful movement. Employing his mastery of the Beaux Arts styles, Hornbostel won a series of design competitions–both locally and nationally. As architectural influences changed, Hornbostel adapted with his later work showing an original approach to design in the Art Deco style.  

Henry Hornbostel’s accomplishments within the region expand beyond architecture.  Notably, he was the first Dean of the College of Fine Arts at Carnegie Tech (now known as Carnegie Mellon).  He also served as Director of Parks and Director of Aviation for Allegheny County. 

Between his contributions to architecture and service to the community Henry Hornbostel deserves wider recognition, and storyteller Paul Tellers will explore why in this presentation.

When you register on Patreon through the button below, you gain access to all of our Virtual Storytelling On-Demand recordings for $10 per month.  Cancel at any time. 

This story was recorded on January 31, 2022.

Your Storyteller

Paul J. Tellers is an architect and planner. He was the University Architect at Carnegie Mellon University, the Director of Planning at WTW Architects, Facilities Planning Director for a CUNY College in Queens, New York, and a Project Manager for the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust.

Tellers serves as a guide for historical Pittsburgh tours for Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation, Rivers of Steel, Bike the Burgh, and DOORS OPEN Pittsburgh. Tellers is currently a docent at the Carnegie Museum of Art and a member of the Bach Choir of Pittsburgh.

That Was Where? Mill Locations in Pittsburgh

Western Pennsylvania has long been viewed as the home of the steel industry but what happens when the landscape changes and mills close or move away?  

Long before the dominance of Big Steel, the Pittsburgh Industrial District’s landscape was populated with a multitude of small iron and steel mills. For more than 150 years, iron and steel forged the landscape along the Three Rivers. Here, the works of smaller specialty mills joined forces with “Big Steel” to build the nation’s railroads, skyscrapers, bridges and homes–to serve in war and in peace. 

This virtual storytelling episode focuses on the once intense concentration of mills in the region, and how the landscape has changed over the last half century as the mills closed or moved away. We will take a look at where mills were located along the Three Rivers, and what is there now.

When you register on Patreon through the button below, you gain access to all of our Virtual Storytelling On-Demand recordings for $10 per month.  Cancel at any time. 

This story was recorded on January 24, 2022.

Your Storyteller

Ron Baraff is a Pittsburgh native who has been in his current position as the Director of Historic Resources and Facilities for the Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area, in Homestead, Pennsylvania since 1998.

He supervises the Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area Archives and Museum, Interpretive and Tourism Programming, and Historic Sites– including the Carrie Furnaces National Historic Landmark site in Rankin/Swissvale, the Battle of Homestead site and Pump House in Munhall, the National Historic Landmark W.A. Young and Sons Machine Shop and Foundry in Rices Landing, Pennsylvania.

In addition to his duties with the Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area, Mr. Baraff has worked on a variety of public history projects including many national and international documentaries.

Pittsburgh Jazz: Home of the Innovators

The Pittsburgh jazz community has fostered diversity across sectarian lines of race, gender, age and socioeconomic factors for decades.  Learn about the depth of the jazz scene of the 60s through the present with highlights from the erstwhile Crawford Grill #2.  Dive into how mentorship was the most effective way to learn the complete language of jazz, with a focus on lessons in life–not just didactic skills.  

Follow storyteller Dr. Nelson Harrison through this journey of how jazz is unlimited creativity, and a natural sequel to true training.  Follow the journey of jazz as the only art form officially designated as a National Treasure and learn how the journalist labeling of styles of music is anathema to a true jazz musician who has the ability to play all music.

When you register on Patreon through the button below, you gain access to all of our Virtual Storytelling On-Demand recordings for $10 per month.  Cancel at any time. 

This story was recorded on January 17, 2022.

Your Storyteller

Nelson E. Harrison is a Ph. D. in clinical psychology, educator, composer, archivist, lyricist, arranger, speaker, veteran trombonist of the Count Basie Orchestra, active musician on the Pittsburgh market for 65 years spanning music genres from the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Civic Light Opera, blues, top jazz clubs, Dixieland, klezmer, weddings, top 40, cabarets, dance bands, stage bands, etc.

He has produced shows at Heinz Hall and composed musical scores for plays by August Wilson and others. He has headlined bands for local jazz festivals and toured the world performing at festivals from New Orleans, Edinboro, Sacramento, Santa Cruz, Japan, New York, London, etc. He has produced TV shows for PBS, PCTV and been interviewed for many radio shows locally and on blog-talk radio.

Nelson has mentored several generations of jazz students who have become major recording artists and performers today. He has received many awards and citations spanning from Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, IAJE, MCG, and 6 lifetime Achievement Awards.

Theatres of the Old Northside

Do you ever wonder what happened to the old Garden Theatre ticket booth? How about the nickelodeon theatre on Spring Garden Avenue? Join storyteller, Jim Kastner, as he takes you on a visual walk through the theatres of the old Northside.

See the nickelodeons and movie theatres that were located in old Allegheny City (now the Northside), Manchester, Brighton Road, Woods Run, Perrysville, Troy Hill, and Spring Garden. Yes, Spring Garden. Hear about the Northside’s only drive-in movie theatre that literally ended its life with a bang, and more!

When you register on Patreon through the button below, you gain access to all of our Virtual Storytelling On-Demand recordings for $10 per month.  Cancel at any time. 

This story was recorded on January 10, 2022.

Your Storyteller

Jim Kastner was a 70-year resident of Pittsburgh. Born and raised on Spring Hill and schooled on Troy Hill, he spent most of his free time as a kid in the Northside’s old East Street neighborhood, known today as the Parkway North. He saw his first movie at the Garden Theatre in 1955.

It was his fondness for theatres and movies that led to his publishing Where the Movies Played in Downtown Pittsburg(h), which begins with a tribute to his Northside roots when he and all the neighborhood kids walked to the movies. Jim is now retired and living in Raleigh, North Carolina, and is honored to share this journey with DOORS OPEN Pittsburgh ticketholders and patrons.

Jewish Squirrel Hill: 1907-1957

Squirrel Hill has been the “Jewish part of Pittsburgh” for nearly a century. How did that happen?

To find the answer, we’ll follow the trail year by year, looking at the development of subdivisions, the establishment of businesses and the arrival of synagogues, schools and community centers.

We will also consider Squirrel Hill in relationship to the larger Jewish population of Allegheny County, following migrations into the neighborhood as Squirrel Hill gradually consolidated the Jewish population of a broad and disparate region.

When you register on Patreon through the button below, you gain access to all of our Virtual Storytelling On-Demand recordings for $10 per month.  Cancel at any time. 

This story was recorded on December 13, 2021.

Your Storyteller

Eric Lidji is the director of the Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center. He is a child of Squirrel Hill and a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh. He spent 15 years as a journalist before joining the Rauh Jewish Archives–first as a volunteer, then as a researcher and for the past three years as its director. He curates its Jewish history website “the Jewish Encyclopedia of Western Pennsylvania,” oversees its Small Towns Jewish History Project, and hosts its podcast “The Cornerstone.”

He writes and speaks extensively about the Jewish history of Western Pennsylvania. He is the author of The Seventeenth Generation: The Lifework of Rabbi Walter Jacob and a coeditor of the anthologies Her Deeds Sing Her Praises and Bound in the Bond of Life.

Obscure Pittsburgh

Did you know the ball in Pittsburgh goes up instead of down?

Join DOORS OPEN Pittsburgh and storyteller Chris Whitlatch as he shares the obscure holiday traditions of Pittsburgh along with other stories you may not have heard before.

What do a scary face, a shrine to traffic, columns that reveal a past, a car that got a second life and Snoopy all have in common?  They are obscure sites in Pittsburgh that you can explore.

Explore your city further; Obscure Pittsburgh will take you to places you may not know existed.

When you register on Patreon through the button below, you gain access to all of our Virtual Storytelling On-Demand recordings for $10 per month.  Cancel at any time. 

This story was recorded on December 7, 2021.

Your Storyteller

Christopher Whitlatch currently works for the International Rhino Foundation, helping to save the five species of rhinos in the wild.

In his spare time, he likes to tell stories about Pittsburgh, especially of the notorious kind. He is also proud to serve on the DOORS OPEN Pittsburgh Board of Directors.

He has a degree in journalism and mass communications from New York University. Christopher’s passions are nature, wildlife, toys, and stories. He plans to release his first book of stories in 2022.

Secrets of Pittsburgh’s Bridges

Think you know Pittsburgh’s bridges? Think again.

Join author and engineer Todd Wilson for a virtual tour of Pittsburgh’s bridges where he will point out many of the secrets of Pittsburgh’s bridges. From the incredible stories behind the design and construction of the city’s bridges to the still visible remnants of former bridges and pointing out the hidden structural details of current bridges, this exciting photo-based presentation will show you Pittsburgh’s bridges in a way you have never seen them before.

He will also attempt to answer the question: “How many bridges are in Pittsburgh?” And, as you will see, it is far from a simple question.

When you register on Patreon through the button below, you gain access to all of our Virtual Storytelling On-Demand recordings for $10 per month.  Cancel at any time. 

This story was recorded on November 29, 2021.

Your Storyteller

Todd Wilson, MBA, PE, is an award-winning transportation engineer and author with a deep appreciation for Pittsburgh bridges. The son of a photographer and a great grandson of an ironworker who built bridges, Todd has been photographing them his whole life. His photography trips growing up gave him an interest in the built environment–bridges, roadways, transit, and aviation–leading him to pursue civil engineering with an additional major of engineering and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University.

He also holds an MBA from Point Park University. In his spare time, he has co-authored two books on Pittsburgh’s bridges, Arcadia Publishing’s Images of America Pittsburgh’s Bridges and the History Press’s Engineering Pittsburgh a History of Roads, Rails, Canals, Bridges, and More. He was named a New Face of Civil Engineering by the American Society of Civil Engineers, serves as a Trustee of Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation, and was a Pittsburgh 40 under 40 winner.

Behind the Walls: Western State Penitentiary

Western State Penitentiary is a former Pennsylvania state prison, originally constructed between 1878 and 1893 on the east banks of the Ohio River.

The facility has been closed since 2017, but due to a documentation project undertaken by the PA State Historic Preservation Office with the support of the Department of General Services, you can see inside this massive complex, and hear the history and significance of the prison.

Learn how at the time of its completion, it was the most expensive and modern prison in the world. Led by Edward S. Wright, the institution became a leader in penology during the late 19th century. The 22-acre site includes the historic Warden’s Residence and, behind the 25-foot walls, an auditorium, power plant, industrial shop buildings, dining hall, a library/chapel, a health services building, an administration building and inmate housing.

When you register on Patreon through the button below, you gain access to all of our Virtual Storytelling On-Demand recordings for $10 per month.  Cancel at any time. 

This story was recorded on November 22, 2021.

Nationality Rooms: Uncover a Connection

Join DOORS OPEN Pittsburgh as we visit the Nationality Rooms in Oakland’s Cathedral of Learning.  These rooms were created to celebrate the cultural diversity of Pittsburgh.

Learn about the thematic approaches to the various Nationality Rooms which open up connections across architecture, history, art and science and will give you an awareness of the long-standing place in local history that these Nationality Rooms inhabit.

When you register on Patreon through the button below, you gain access to all of our Virtual Storytelling On-Demand recordings for $10 per month.  Cancel at any time. 

This story was recorded on November 20, 2021.

Your Storyteller

Michael Walter is the Tour Coordinator for the Nationality Rooms and Intercultural Exchange Program at the University of Pittsburgh. Mr. Walter is an exhibiting artist and educator and his interests and public presentations have involved history, art and science.

Mapping: From Pittsburgh to Middle-Earth

Maps change how we see the places where we live. For the past seven years, local cartographer Stentor Danielson has been drawing maps of Pittsburgh and other real cities in a style drawn from fantasy maps like Tolkien’s famous map of Middle-earth.

During this virtual storytelling experience Danielson talks about what maps do and don’t show, and how they can help us to reimagine our world.

When you register on Patreon through the button below, you gain access to all of our Virtual Storytelling On-Demand recordings for $10 per month.  Cancel at any time. 

This story was recorded on November 15, 2021.

Your Storyteller

Stentor Danielson is a cartographer, geography professor and cat wrangler based in Pittsburgh. He has loved maps ever since encountering the Lord of the Rings at age 9.

Pittsburgh: America’s Glass City

For more than 200 years, Western Pennsylvania has been a center for the production, design and marketing of glass. It is also home to an internationally-known education center and studio, Pittsburgh Glass Center.

Anne Madarasz from the Heinz History Center and Heather McElwee of Pittsburgh Glass Center will talk about the history of glass in the region and how Pittsburgh Glass Center is upholding the tradition and contributing to Pittsburgh’s thriving cultural landscape.

This virtual experience compares and contrasts the historic hot glass industry with a major glass art studio. In addition, you can watch Pittsburgh artists at work and understand how the overall processes may differ, but the tools, skills and fascination remain the same.

When you register on Patreon through the button below, you gain access to all of our Virtual Storytelling On-Demand recordings for $10 per month.  Cancel at any time. 

The story was recorded on November 8, 2021.

Your Storytellers

Heather McElwee is the Randi & L. Van V. Dauler, Jr. Executive Director of Pittsburgh Glass Center where she has worked since 2001, overseeing educational programming, exhibitions, fundraising and strategic direction for the organization. She has curated numerous shows in PGC’s Hodge Gallery including Lifeforms, Pittsburgh Biennial and Turned On: Lighting Hooks Up with Sculpture. Her own artwork is an investigation of the relationship of vessel to architecture and has been shown in galleries across the country. For more information, visit the Pittsburgh Glass Center.

Anne Madarasz has been at the Heinz History Center since 1992 and currently holds the titles of Curatorial Division Director, Chief Historian, and Director of the Western PA Sports Museum. A graduate of Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, she completed the coursework for her Ph.D. at the University of Pennsylvania. She served as Project Director and Curator for Glass: Shattering Notions and authored the accompanying catalog. She was awarded a Richards Fellowship for research from the Corning Museum of Glass and lectures and writes frequently about Pittsburgh glass, regional industry, and the history of Pittsburgh sports.

August Wilson’s Hill District

This story will provide a sense of what the Hill District was like during the era when Pulitzer prize-winning playwright August Wilson was growing up there and how this iconic neighborhood inspired his best-known plays, including Jitney, Fences and The Piano Lesson.

Highlights include St. Benedict the Moor Church, Freedom Corner across the street from the church and the old Connelley Vocational School on Bedford Avenue. You will see August Wilson’s former home, located at 1727 Bedford Avenue as well as learn about current and ongoing restoration efforts.

Additional tour locations include:

• A scenic overlook, where you will have fabulous views of downtown Pittsburgh, the Strip District and the North Side

• A large former synagogue which provides evidence of the Jewish community presence in the Hill

• The Crawford Grill

• The New Granada Theater (also undergoing renovations)

• The former Hill House Community Center

When you register on Patreon through the button below, you gain access to all of our Virtual Storytelling On-Demand recordings for $10 per month.  Cancel at any time. 

This story was recorded November 1, 2021.

Ghosts of Pittsburgh

Join storyteller Alan Irvine for an evening exploring the darker side of Pittsburgh’s history with ghost stories from the City’s days as a frontier settlement up to modern times. Discover the spirits of the Heinz History Center and the old Pittsburgh Playhouse, as well as the most fiendishly haunted house in the city.

When you register on Patreon through the button below, you gain access to all of our Virtual Storytelling On-Demand recordings for $10 per month.  Cancel at any time. 

This story was recorded on October 25, 2021.

Your Storyteller

Alan Irvine told his first story over 40 years ago while working as a camp counselor in Louisiana: a ghost story told in the cabin after lights out. He has been telling ghost stories ever since. Over the years, he has collected Pittsburgh ghost stories, “true” tales and legends, and delights in sharing Pittsburgh’s darker side with audiences.

When George Washington Defeated Death…Again

George Washington played a critical role in what turned out to be the worst British-American defeat during the French and Indian War. That disaster–Braddock’s Defeat–took place less than 10 miles from Pittsburgh’s Point.

In July 1754, young George Washington surrendered the fort he had built near what is now Uniontown to French and Indian forces.

He wrote a description of the battle of Fort Necessity to his brother that suggests more bravado than strategic thinking: “The right wing, where I stood, was exposed to and received all the enemy’s fire…I heard the bullets whistle, and, believe me, there is something charming in the sound.”

Learn more about Washington’s actions and enjoy a virtual tour of the Braddock battlefield with your guide, Len Barcousky.

When you register on Patreon through the button below, you gain access to all of our Virtual Storytelling On-Demand recordings for $10 per month.  Cancel at any time. 

This story was recorded on October 18, 2021.

Your Storyteller

Until his retirement in 2015, Len Barcousky worked as a reporter and editor at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. He is the author of a Pittsburgh trilogy that describes some of the important, unusual and odd events in southwestern Pennsylvania history.

Len’s three books about the region are: Remembering Pittsburgh: An Eyewitness’ History of the Steel City (2010); Civil War Pittsburgh: Forge of the Union (2013); and Hidden History of Pittsburgh (2016). All are published by The History Press.

For 12 years, he wrote a bi-weekly “Eyewitness” column for the P-G. In it, he investigated how now historic and not-so-historic events were reported as breaking news in the Post-Gazette and its predecessor publications.

Kennywood Behind the Screams

Kennywood Park has been Pittsburgh’s playground since the 19th century, when baseball games, track races and pony rides were more common than Potato Patch fries and amusement rides!

One of only two amusement parks recognized as a National Historic Landmark, this little trolley park has outlasted all the trolleys and is recognized by amusement enthusiasts worldwide for its tradition of preservation, highlighted by three classic wooden roller coasters that date back to the 1920s.

But while the park is a time-honored tradition and civic institution for the region, so much happens behind the scenes–or, behind the Screams!–that you may not realize.

When you register on Patreon through the button below, you gain access to all of our Virtual Storytelling On-Demand recordings for $10 per month.  Cancel at any time. 

This story was recorded on April 25, 2021.

Your Storytellers

Kennywood’s Director of Corporate Communications Nick Paradise and Heinz History Center Director of Publications Brian Butko, author of multiple Kennywood books, peek inside several Kennywood spots rarely seen by the average Jack Rabbit rider.

Jonas Salk Ends Paralyzing Summers

Everyone who is old enough remembers where they were on April 12, 1955 when the Polio Vaccine was heralded.

Horns honked, church bells rang, people celebrated in the streets. It was official: The Salk Vaccine Is Safe and Works!

Jonas Salk was, and is, a popular hero, but some in the scientific community were not so happy with his discovery. This is the story of Salk’s journey to discovery, the setbacks, the grit, the naysayers, and the triumph of a national hero.

When you register on Patreon through the button below, you gain access to all of our Virtual Storytelling On-Demand recordings for $10 per month.  Cancel at any time. 

This story was recorded April 12, 2021.

Your Storyteller

Pamela Gianni, MD is a native Pittsburgher and second generation Italo-American, who loves all things Pittsburgh. She joined DOORS OPEN Pittsburgh as a volunteer tour curator, and now virtual storyteller, in 2019. In her day job, she’s a Medical Consultant to the Social Security Administration.

Inside the City of Pittsburgh Vault

Get virtual access inside the City’s Vault.  The City Vault is where hundreds of years of legislative records are stored and preserved.  In 2016 the City hired the first-ever archivist to endeavor on preserving thousands of archived materials about the City of Pittsburgh.  Learn more about this process and even some of the interesting finds along the way!

When you register on Patreon through the button below, you gain access to all of our Virtual Storytelling On-Demand recordings for $10 per month.  Cancel at any time. 

This story was recorded on April 5, 2021.

Your Storyteller

Nick Hartley became the first Pittsburgh City Archivist in August of 2016. Prior to joining the City, Hartley worked as an archivist for the Heinz History Center. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature and a Master of Library and Information Science degree from the University of Pittsburgh and is a Certified Archivist and Certified Records Manager.