These 10 Rare Photos Show Pittsburgh’s Steel History Like Never Before
Pittsburgh earned – and has held onto – the nickname Steel City for good reason. Steel production in Pittsburgh was powered by Andrew Carnegie and Henry Clay Frick, the founders of the United States Steel Corporation at the start of the 20th century. These vintage steel photos from Pittsburgh will give you a peak at our city’s rich history.
1. Smoke billows from the Jones and Laughlin Steel Mill in Pittsburgh in this photo from 1900.
2. A nighttime view of the downtown Pittsburgh skyline with a smoke stack in the foreground circa 1900.
3. Two Pittsburgh employees cut sheets of steel to a specific size in this 1938 photograph by Arthur Rothstein.
4. Photographer Jack Delano captures several steel workers, in this January 1940 shot, as they make their way to work at the Pittsburgh Crucible Steel Company in nearby Midland, PA.
5. A smoky shot of a steel mill in the South Side with the Jones and Laughlin Steel Mill in the background as captured in 1940.
6. Railroad cars line up along the tracks at Jones and Laughlin Steel Mill in Pitttsburgh in this 1941 photo by John Vachon.
7. The Allegheny Ludlum Steel Corporation in Brackenridge in 1942. The photo, taken by Alfred T. Palmer, partially shows the plant in which steel workers turn scrap iron and steel into steel alloys.
8. Members of the United States Armed Forces watch as a machine at Allegheny Ludlum Steel in Pittsburgh turns steel into military weapons and equipment. Photo taken by Alfred T. Palmer in 1942.
9. A United States Army Sergeant, who recently toured Allegheny Ludlum Steel in Pittsburgh, visits with a new friend as the two enjoy a slice of devil's food cake. Photo taken in 1942 by Alfred T. Palmer.
10. Mary DaVanzo works at the Pennsylvania Railroad in Pitcairn in a steel shop boiler room in 1943. The former nurse made 72 cents an hour at the time. Photo by Marjory Collins.
These vintage steel photos from Pittsburgh give us a glimpse into our city’s rich past. For another rare look at Pittsburgh’s past, click here.
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