The Pittsburgh Oddcast

“There Will Be Blood” - the Great Railroad Strike of 1877

On July 21 1877, the height of the Railroad Riots reached its peak in Pittsburgh.

As a crowd of rioting railroad workers and their families gathered downtown, the PA National Guard was called in to help disperse the crowd.

What happened next is one of the darkest days in modern Pittsburgh history.

In this episode we dive deep into a story direct from the newspapers, which tells of the mayhem and destruction that encapsulated the city.

 

See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information.

George Westinghouse – the Genius, the Inventor & the War of the Currents – PART 2

The conclusion of our story about George Westinghouse takes a captivating turn when he hires a 32-year-old, relatively unknown inventor named Nikola Tesla to come work & live in Pittsburgh!

On this episode of the Pittsburgh Oddcast, we explore the fascinating tale of the friendship between Westinghouse & Tesla and how together, they revolutionized the modern world.

See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information.

George Westinghouse was not alone a great inventor, but also an amazing organizer, and above all, a visionary.

It is hard for us to even realize the very scope & extent to the diversity of his activities.

 Westinghouse filed one patentable invention every six weeks for 48 years, this along with all of his wide-ranging companies & ideas. Realizing that a happy & safe workforce was essential, he was considered by many as a “Gentle Genius” and was admired by his workers.

See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information.

We are all familiar with the great museums around Pittsburgh, but did it all begin with the Carnegie? 

In this episode of the #PittsburghOddcast, we visited Richard Pell, the founder of the world-famous Center for Post-Natural History to talk about what it is like to own a museum of your own and the history of Pittsburgh's very first museum - James Reid Lambdin’s Museum. 

We then dive deep into the fascinating story of the infamous character street preacher Robert Lansberry, who Richard also has a connection to. 

See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of the Pittsburgh Oddcast, we bring on special guest, Gloria Forouzan to discuss the importance of female history, Pittsburgh’s Suffragist movement & many other wonderful, important stories of the women who made up Pittsburgh’s past.

See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information.

In this week’s episode of the #PittsburghOddcast, we had the opportunity to sit down and talk about the history of our great city with none-other then the current Mayor of Pittsburgh, Bill Peduto.

We discuss some of our favorite factoids about mayors of the past, our favorite time period in Pittsburgh’s history, just what it is like to be the Mayor of a major city and even sage advice from the Dalai Lama.

See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information.

Allegheny County! It’s the banner county of the Union!” – Abraham Lincoln, Pittsburgh, February 14, 1861.

What do George Washington, Charles Dickens, and  Mark Twain have in common? They all visited Pittsburgh and granted us with memorable quotes along the way.

In this episode of the #PittsburghOddcast, we read verbatim some of what these well-known historical figures had to say about our “Smoky City” and dive deep into one of the most infamous quotes in Pittsburgh history - “Hell with the lid off”.

See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information.

Like St. Nicholas, whose life morphed into the legendary Santa Claus, John Chapman’s real life was so unusual that it inspired a legend. The true stories of the people behind the legends are often more interesting & inspirational than the folklore themselves.

In this episode of the Pittsburgh Oddcast, we put on our tin-can hats & dive deep into the legend of the man behind the myth & how the true story begins right here in our very own city, Pittsburgh.

See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information.

PITTSBURGH (Newsradio 1020 KDKA) - "As I got down before the canoe, I spent some time viewing the rivers, and the land in the fork, which I think extremely well situated for a fort, as it has the absolute command of both rivers”. George Washington, Pittsburgh 1753

As a 21yr old Major in the British Colonial Army, a young George Washington set off on a journey that would lead him to our Three Rivers and later, the presidency of the United States. He would visit Pittsburgh at least seven more times during his life – from marching with Gen. Braddock on his ill-fated ‘Battle of the Monongahela’ to leading a force of 12,000 American soldiers to put an end to the Whiskey Rebellion.

See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information.

Many Pittsburghers may know of our City’s worst flood – the Great St. Patrick’s Flood of 1936, but one much more devastating seems to have washed away from people’s memories as quickly as it occurred - the Butcher’s Run Flood of 1874.

See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information.