Haunted Pittsburgh LLC

𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐘 𝟐𝟓𝟎𝐭𝐡 𝐁𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐇𝐃𝐀𝐘, 𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐂𝐀: Here's a well-known Fourth of July coincidence so weird, it's downright otherworldly.

𝐌𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐒𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐨𝐧: 𝐀 𝐌𝐚𝐧 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐫𝐞𝐚 𝐨𝐟 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭-𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝐀𝐦𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐠𝐞 𝐋𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐖𝐚𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐖𝐚𝐫 (𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐰𝐚𝐫)

𝐇𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐏𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐬𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐊𝐧𝐨𝐰 (𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐃𝐨𝐞𝐬𝐧'𝐭)

The fuse that ignited the French and Indian War ("the war that made America") and the Seven Years War (the first world war) was lit here in Western Pennsylvania by a Native American leader named Tanacharison (the Half-King) who lived near present-day Ambridge.

He was George Washington's ally, and he was with Washington in the area that is now Fayette County, at what is called Jumonville Glen (near Fort Necessity) when it happened. A shocked Washington was standing with him. (Watch the video--you'll see all this.) It was almost certainly the most significant event that ever occurred in our region simply because it set in motion events that changed the trajectory of the world.

It wasn't just the French and Indian War and the Seven Years War. Our American Revolution was connected, too. After the British prevailed in the French and Indian War, the Crown imposed onerous taxes on the colonies to pay for the war--that was a principal cause of the American Revolution.

It's not to say that these wars would not have occurred if the Jumonville skirmish didn't happen--at the very least, they would not have occurred the way they did.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐏𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐬𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐠𝐡 𝐢𝐧 𝟏𝟖𝟓𝟔 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲.

The party's first organizing convention was held at Lafayette Hall on February 22 and 23, 1856 (Fourth and Wood--the building is long gone--most of us know that site as the YWCA building). The GOP lost the election of 1856, but four years later, it nominated Abraham Lincoln.

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐎𝐅 𝐃𝐎𝐋𝐋𝐀𝐑 𝐁𝐀𝐍𝐊 𝐋𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 𝐎𝐍 𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐓𝐇 𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐔𝐄

Since 1871, minus a brief restoration period, the Dollar Bank building at Fourth Avenue and Smithfield Street has been guarded two massive stone lions. That's 155 years. These lions are not the originals--you'll see the originals in the video, they are now housed inside the building, safe from the elements. The Dollar Bank lions are among Pittsburgh's most beloved symbols. This is their story.

𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐘 𝟏𝟎𝟎𝐭𝐡 𝐁𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐇𝐃𝐀𝐘, 𝐒𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐍𝐈𝐄𝐒𝐓 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐌𝐄𝐑𝐂𝐈𝐀𝐋 𝐁𝐔𝐈𝐋𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐈𝐍 𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐂𝐀 (𝐚𝐭 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐛𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐖𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧𝐭𝐨𝐰𝐧). 100 years ago this month, construction commenced on the "Skinny Building" (Forbes and Wood):--80 feet long, just 5 feet 2 inches wide--and it was because of a legal dispute.

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐄𝐑 𝐁𝐑𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐒 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐊𝐄𝐃 𝐈𝐍 𝐃𝐎𝐖𝐍𝐓𝐎𝐖𝐍 𝐏𝐈𝐓𝐓𝐒𝐁𝐔𝐑𝐆𝐇

𝐀 𝐟𝐞𝐰 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐬 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐂𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐥𝐞, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐁𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬' 𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐦 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐢𝐧 𝐏𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐬𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐠𝐡. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐦 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬--𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐃𝐮𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐧𝐞 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲.

Harry Warner was selling suits at Kaufmanns when he saw the incredible success of the Nickelodeon across Smithfield Street. Many think this inspired him to get into the movie business. The brothers opened a theater in New Castle, but decided the real money was in film distribution. So, a few weeks later, the brothers started a film distribution company in downtown Pittsburgh called the Duquesne Amusement Supply Company--it was named after Duquesne University to tap into the school's respectability. Their offices were in a building on Grant Street where the large outdoor parking lot is now located across from the City-County Building.

Here is the way Chris Yogerst, author of "The Warner Brothers," put it: "You could look at Ohio [The family lived in Youngstown when it began showing films in nearby New Castle] as the starting point; Pittsburgh was the launching point."

𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐘𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐃: 𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐏𝐈𝐓𝐓𝐒𝐁𝐔𝐑𝐆𝐇'𝐒 𝐆𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐓 𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐂𝐄𝐒

Randyland has our vote for the wildest, most unique--and happiest--place in all of Pittsburgh. It's the all-outdoor courtyard museum and explosion of color in the Mexican War Streets neighborhood of the North Side: 1501 Arch Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15212 (corner of Arch and Jacksonia Streets). It's the brainchild of artist Randy Gilson. We can't adequately describe it, so we thought we'd give you a preview of what it looks like.

Randyland's page says it's open every day from noon til dark.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐮𝐥𝐟 𝐓𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐝, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟕 𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 (𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐥𝐮𝐱𝐮𝐫𝐲 𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐥 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟗)

It stopped being an office building last year and is undergoing a massive makeover. This project is Pittsburgh's flagship venture to repurpose office-to-residential space. For the sake of the region, we hope it succeeds.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐃𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞-𝐈𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞-𝐢𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐀𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐲 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐲.

𝐈𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐯𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐄𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐃 𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐂𝐄 𝐢𝐧 𝐔𝐒𝐀 𝐓𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲’𝐬 𝟏𝟎 𝐁𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫’𝐬 𝐂𝐡𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐁𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐃𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞-𝐈𝐧 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫!

The Dependable, located at 549 Moon Clinton Rd, Moon Township, opened in June of 1950, and it's the last drive-in theater in Allegheny County. It still has some of the classic, retro in-car speakers, but most people choose to run the sound through their FM radios (tip: bring a portable radio to save the car battery).