ABOUT THESE PHOTOS: All these images were taken between 1900 & 1915. These high-resolution reproductions of glass plate negatives were donated to the SteelCactus Foundation by Douglas Haney. |
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania "AT LEISURE" |
SUNDAY SHOPPING ON FIFTH AVENUE 1908 |
LUNA PARK ENTRANCE Corner of Baum Blvd. & South Craig Street |
EXPOSITION PARK - 1910 First Home of the Pittsburgh Pirates |
FORBES FIELD 1912 |
INSIDE LUNA PARK Burned to the Ground in 1909 |
WHY IN THESE OLD PHOTOS IS PITTSBURGH SPELLED WITHOUT AN 'H'? Pittsburgh, named by General John Forbes in honor of Sir William Pitt, has officially ended in an 'h' since its founding in 1758 with the exception of the time period from 1890-1911. In 1890, President Benjamin Harrison established the t10-man U.S. Board on Geographic Names to help restore order to the naming of cities, towns, rivers, lakes, mountains and other places throughout the U.S. At the time, some states actually had as many as five different towns with the same name which, understandably, caused confusion. One of the first codes established by the new Board to help restore order to U.S. place names was that the final 'h' should be dropped from the names of all cities and towns ending in 'burgh.' The proud citizens of Pittsburgh, considering their town an obvious historical exception to this ruling, refused to give in to the Board's ruling and mounted a campaign to keep the traditional spelling. Twenty years later, in 1911, the Board finally relented and restored the 'h' to Pittsburgh. To this day people remain confused! There are 18 other towns in the United States called "Pittsburg." |
531 East Ohio Street Pittsburgh, PA 15212 (412) 231-7881 |
Any historic auto enthusiast or parts geek will love the old car in this photo. Turn of the century cars were built much simpler than the high-tech computerized models of today. Many of these old models are still on the road today which is why Parts Geek reviews of their original design are usually very good. |