OTHER SITES OF INTEREST (THE CITY)

IBEW Local 5 – In 1897, Local 5 of the National Brotherhood of Electrical Workers was organized at the Knights of Labor Hall on Third Avenue. Two years later in 1899, the national organization, recognizing the importance of Pittsburgh as the “home of electricity,” assembled in a hall on Smithfield St. and with the admission of a Canadian and a Mexican local changed its name to the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. (!BEW). The state-of-the-art !BEW union hall and training center at 5 Hot Metal Street in the South Side is the location for many union and political meetings.

August Wilson Home – Built in the 1840s, recently added to the National Register of Historic Sites,
to be renovated for use as an artists’ center by the non-profit Daisy Wilson Artist Community. 1727 Bedford Ave., Hill District.

Consol Energy Center – Built with American union made steel and glass by union building trades workers, employing union members of the Hotel and Restaurant workers UNITE HERE local 57, this venue is the proud home of the Pittsburgh Penguins hockey team. 1001 Fifth Ave., Uptown.

Thomas Armstrong statue – Honors the editor of The Labor Tribune, a national Pittsburgh union newspaper in the 19th Century, near Pittsburgh Aviary, Allegheny Commons, North Side.

Henry Clay Frick sites – A marker on median by Frick Building, 437 Grant St.; the Frick Mansion, 7227 Reynolds St., Point Breeze.

Jewish Labor Temple – Aided mainly Jewish workers, many women, in clothing, manufacturing and other industries and trades. Part of the slogan “Workers of the World Unite” is still visible near the entry. Miller and Reed Streets, Hill District.

IWW /Socialist Meeting Hall – Upstairs in what is currently James Street Gastropub and Speakeasy Tavern, 420 Foreland St., North Side.

Teamsters Temple – The drivers’ union headquarters and hall, 4701 Butler St., Lawrenceville.

Public Employees – Federal, state and local – have strong collective bargaining rights in Pennsylvania, and are an important part of today’s labor movement. One public workers’ union, Letter Carriers, converted an old theater into a union hall at 841 California Ave., Northside.

Teachers unions – The Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers and PSEA share a headquarters at 10 S. 19th St., South Side. In the 1930s, “Little New Deal” legislators in Harrisburg passed legislation to allow Pittsburgh female teachers to marry and become pregnant without dismissal from their teaching positions.

Heinz History Center – Important local historical exhibits, programs and archives in a converted ice storage warehouse, 1212 Smallman St., Strip District.

“The Workers” Sculpture – This monumental work honoring the city’s steel and iron workers was created from parts salvaged from Pittsburgh steel mills by 21 artists belonging to the Industrial Arts Cooperative headed by Tim Kaul en. Taking more than six years to fabricate, the massive steel figures were moved from the Hazelwood mill site to its current home by Iron Workers Local 3 apprentices. South Side, Riverfront Park.

South Side Glass Industry – Dozens of glass factories once produced window glass, bottles and fine cut glass along the Monongahela. The East Carson Street Historic District, a turn-of-the-century Main Street, was crammed with working-class shot-and-a-beer joints, ethnic clubs and a vibrant political and social working-class life.

Oliver Pool – An early indoor public swimming pool for working class residents donated by Henry Oliver, the native of South Side who developed the rich Mesabi Iron Range in Minnesota for the benefit of Carnegie Steel, is still in service at 38 S. 10th St., South Side.

Polish Falcons Hall – In 1917, at the Polish Falcon’s Hall, the great pianist Jan Paderewski called for a Polish army to restore Polish independence after the nation had disappeared for 123 years. Recalling the great Polish patriots who fought for American Independence, Casimer Pulaski and especially Thadeusz Kosciuszko, the call from Pittsburgh helped Poland regain independence. 18th between Carson St. and Sarah St. South Side.

Pittsburgh Agreement – A similar plea to President Woodrow Wilson, who championed national self-determination at the Versailles Peace Conference in 1919, from Czech and Slovak Pittsburghers, helped achieve the independence of Czechoslovakia after World War I. Penn Avenue and 7th Street, the Theater District.