Andrew Mellon
Andrew William Mellon, sometimes A. W. was an American banker, industrialist, art collector, politician. From the wealthy Mellon family of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he established a vast business empire before transitioning into politics, he served as United States Secretary of the Treasury from March 9, 1921, to February 12, 1932, presiding over the boom years of the 1920s and the Wall Street crash of 1929. A conservative Republican, Mellon favored policies that reduced taxation and the national debt in the aftermath of World War I. Mellon's father, Thomas Mellon, rose to prominence in Pittsburgh as a attorney. Andrew began working at his father's bank, T. Mellon & Sons, in the early 1870s becoming the leading figure in the institution, he renamed T. Mellon & Sons as Mellon National Bank and established another financial institution, the Union Trust Company. By the end of 1913, Mellon National Bank held more money in deposits than any other bank in Pittsburgh, the second-largest bank in the region was controlled by Union Trust.
In the course of his business career, Mellon owned or helped finance Alcoa, the New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Old Overholt whiskey, Standard Steel Car Company, Westinghouse Electric Corporation, the Pittsburgh Coal Company, the Carborundum Company, Union Steel Company, the McClintic-Marshall Construction Company, Gulf Oil, numerous other businesses. He was an influential donor to the Republican Party during the Gilded Age and the Progressive Era. In 1921, newly-elected President Warren G. Harding chose Mellon as his Secretary of the Treasury. Mellon would remain in office until 1932, serving under Harding, Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover, all three of whom were members of the Republican Party. Mellon sought to reform federal taxation in the aftermath of World War I, cutting taxes on top earners but leaving in place a progressive income tax; some of Mellon's proposals were enacted by the Revenue Act of 1921 and the Revenue Act of 1924, but it was not until the passage of Revenue Act of 1926 that the "Mellon plan" was realized.
He presided over a reduction in the national debt, which dropped in the 1920s. Mellon's influence in state and national politics reached its zenith during Coolidge's presidency. Journalist William Allen White noted that "so did Andrew Mellon dominate the White House in the days when the Coolidge administration was at its zenith that it would be fair to call the administration the reign of Coolidge and Mellon." Mellon's national reputation collapsed following the Wall Street Crash of 1929 and the onset of the Great Depression. Mellon participated in various efforts by the Hoover administration to revive the economy and maintain the international economic order, but he opposed direct government intervention in the economy. After Congress began impeachment proceedings against Mellon, President Hoover shifted Mellon to the position of United States ambassador to the United Kingdom. Mellon returned to private life after Hoover's defeat in the 1932 presidential election by Franklin D. Roosevelt. Beginning in 1933, the federal government launched a tax fraud investigation on Mellon, leading to a high-profile case that ended with Mellon's exoneration.
Shortly before his death in 1937, Mellon helped establish the National Gallery of Art, a national art museum. His philanthropic efforts played a major role in the establishment of Carnegie Mellon University and the National Portrait Gallery. Mellon's paternal grandparents, both of whom were Ulster Scots, migrated to the United States from County Tyrone, Ireland in 1818. With their son, Thomas Mellon, they settled in Pennsylvania. Thomas Mellon established a successful legal practice in Pittsburgh, in 1843 he married Sarah Jane Negley, an heiress descended from some of the first settlers of Pittsburgh. Thomas became a wealthy landowner and real estate speculator, he and his wife had eight children, five of whom survived to adulthood. Andrew Mellon, the fourth son and sixth child of Thomas and Sarah, was born in 1855. Though he lacked strong convictions about slavery, Thomas Mellon became a prominent member of the local Republican Party, in 1859 he won election to a position on the Pennsylvania court of common pleas.
Because Thomas was suspicious of both private and public schools, he built a schoolhouse for his children and hired a teacher. In 1869, after leaving his judicial position, Thomas Mellon established T. Mellon & Sons, a bank located in Pittsburgh. Andrew joined his father at the bank becoming a valued employee despite being in his early teens. Andrew attended Western University, but he never graduated. After leaving Western University, Andrew worked at a lumber and coal business before joining T. Mellon & Sons as a full-time employee in 1873; that same year, the Panic of 1873 devastated the local and national economy, wiping out a portion of the Mellon fortune. With Andrew taking a leading role at T. Mellon & Sons, the bank recovered, by late 1874 the bank's deposits had reached the level they had been at prior to the onset of the Panic. Mellon's role at T. Mellon & Sons continued to grow after 1873, in 1876 he was given power of attorney to direct the operations of the bank; that same year, Thomas introduced his son to Henry Clay Frick, a customer of the bank who would become one of Mellons's closest friends.
In 1882, Thomas turned over full ownership of the bank to his son, but Thomas continued to be involved in the bank's activities. Five years Mellon's younger brother, Richard B. Mellon, joined T. Mellon & Sons as a co-owner and vice p
United Mine Workers
The United Mine Workers of America is a North American labor union best known for representing coal miners. Today, the Union represents health care workers, truck drivers, manufacturing workers and public employees in the United States and Canada. Although its main focus has always been on workers and their rights, the UMW of today advocates for better roads and universal health care. By 2014, coal mining had shifted to open pit mines in Wyoming, there were only 60,000 active coal miners; the UMW was left with 35,000 members, of whom 20,000 were coal miners, chiefly in underground mines in Kentucky and West Virginia. However it was responsible for pensions and medical benefits for 40,000 retired miners, for 50,000 spouses and dependents; the UMW was founded in Columbus, Ohio, on January 25, 1890, with the merger of two old labor groups, the Knights of Labor Trade Assembly No. 135 and the National Progressive Miners Union. Adopting the model of the American Federation of Labor, the union was established as a three-pronged labor tool: to develop mine safety.
After passage of the National Recovery Act in 1933 during the Great Depression, organizers spread throughout the United States to organize all coal miners into labor unions. Under the powerful leadership of John L. Lewis, the UMW broke with the American Federation of Labor and set up its own federation, the CIO, its organizers fanned out to organize major industries, including automobiles, electrical equipment, rubber and chemical, fought a series of battles with the AFL. The UMW grew to 800,000 members and was an element in the New Deal Coalition supporting Democratic President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Lewis broke with Roosevelt in 1940 and left the CIO, leaving the UMW isolated in the labor movement. During World War II the UMW was involved in a series of major strikes and threatened walkouts that angered public opinion and energized pro-business opponents. After the war, the UMW concentrated on gaining large increases in wages, medical services and retirement benefits for its shrinking membership, contending with changes in technology and declining mines in the East.
The UMW was founded in Columbus, Ohio, on January 22, 1890, by the merger of two earlier groups, the Knights of Labor Trade Assembly No. 135 and the National Progressive Miners Union. It was modeled after the American Federation of Labor; the Union's emergence in the 1890s was the culmination of decades of effort to organize mine workers and people in adjacent occupations into a single, effective negotiating unit. At the time coal was one of the most sought natural resources, as it was used to heat homes and to power machines in industries; the coal mines were a dangerous place to work. With the owners imposing reduced wages on a regular basis, in response to fluctuations in pricing, miners sought a group to stand up for their rights. American Miners' Association The first step in starting the union was the creation of the American Miners' Association. Scholars credit this organization with the beginning of the labor movement in the United States; the membership of the group grew rapidly. "Of an estimated 56,000 miners in 1865, John Hinchcliffe claimed 22,000 as members of the AMA.
In response, the mine owners sought to stop the AMA from becoming more powerful. Members of the AMA were blacklisted from employment at other mines. After a short time the AMA began to decline, ceased operations. Workingman's Benevolent Association Another early labor union that arose in 1868 was the Workingmen's Benevolent Association; this union was distinguished as a labor union for workers mining anthracite coal. The laborers formed the WBA to help improve working conditions; the main reason for the success of this group was the president, John Siney, who sought a way both to increase miners benefits while helping the operators earn a profit. They chose to limit the production of anthracite to keep its price profitable; because the efforts of the WBA benefited the operators, they did not object when the union wanted to take action in the mines. Because the operators trusted the WBA, they agreed to the first written contract between miners and operators; as the union became more responsible in the operators' eyes, the union was given more freedoms.
As a result, the health and spirits of the miners improved. The WBA could have been a successful union had it not been for Franklin B. Gowen. In the 1870s Gowen owned the Reading Railroad, bought several coal mines in the area; because he owned the coal mines and controlled the means of transporting the coal, he was able to destroy the labor union. He did everything in his power to produce the cheapest product and to ensure that non-union workers would benefit; as conditions for the miners of the WBA worsened, the union disappeared. After the fall of the WBA, miners created many other small unions, including the Workingman's Protective Association and the Miner's National Association. Although both groups had strong ideas and goals, they were unable to gain enough support and organization to succeed; the two unions did not last long, but provided greater support by the miners for a union which could withstand and help protect the workers' rights. Although many labor unions were failing, two predominant unions arose that held promise to become strong and permanent advocates for the miners.
The main problem during this time was the rivalry between the two groups. Because the
Bituminous coal
Bituminous coal or black coal is a soft coal containing a tarlike substance called bitumen or asphalt. It is of higher quality of poorer quality than anthracite. Formation is the result of high pressure being exerted on lignite, its coloration can be sometimes dark brown. These distinctive sequences, which are classified according to either "dull, bright-banded" or "bright, dull-banded", is how bituminous coals are stratigraphically identified. Bituminous coal is an organic sedimentary rock formed by diagenetic and sub metamorphic compression of peat bog material, its primary constituents are macerals: vitrinite, liptinite. The carbon content of bituminous coal is around 60–80%. Bank density is 1346 kg/m³. Bulk density runs to 833 kg/m³; the heat content of bituminous coal ranges from 24 to 35 MJ/kg on a moist, mineral-matter-free basis. Within the coal mining industry, this type of coal is known for releasing the largest amounts of firedamp, a dangerous mixture of gases that can cause underground explosions.
Extraction of bituminous coal demands the highest safety procedures involving attentive gas monitoring, good ventilation and vigilant site management. Bituminous coals are graded according to vitrinite reflectance, moisture content, volatile content and ash content; the highest value bituminous coals have a specific grade of plasticity and low ash content with low carbonate and sulfur. Plasticity is vital for coking as it represents its ability to form specific plasticity phases during the coking process, measured by coal dilatation tests. Low phosphorus content is vital for these coals, as phosphorus is a damaging element in steel making. Coking coal is best if it has a narrow range of volatility and plasticity; this is measured by the free swelling index test. Volatile content and swelling index are used to select coals for coke blending as well. Volatility is critical for steel-making and power generation, as this determines the burn rate of the coal. High volatile content coals, while easy to ignite are not as prized as moderately volatile coals.
The smelter must balance the volatile content of the coals to optimize the ease of ignition, burn rate, energy output of the coal. Low ash and carbonate coals are prized for power generation because they do not produce much boiler slag and they do not require as much effort to scrub the flue gases to remove particulate matter. Carbonates are deleterious as they stick to the boiler apparatus. Smithing coal is a type of high-quality bituminous coal ideally suited for use in a coal forge, it is as free from ash and other impurities as possible. The constituents of the coal should be as follows: Cannel coal is a coal which ignites producing a bright flame; the name derives from the Scottish pronunciation of candle coal. It contains a high volatile content, is non-coking and was a source for coal oil in West Virginia during the mid-1800s. While the use of Cannel has diminished over the past century, it is still valued by artists for its ability to be carved and polished into sculptures and jewelry.
When used for many industrial processes, bituminous coal must first be "coked" to remove volatile components. Coking is achieved by heating the coal in the absence of oxygen, which drives off volatile hydrocarbons such as propane and other aromatic hydrocarbons, some sulfur gases; this drives off a considerable amount of the contained water of the bituminous coal. Coking coal is used in the manufacture of steel, where carbon must be as volatile-free and ash-free as possible. Coking coal is heated to produce coke, a hard, porous material, used to blast in furnaces for the extraction of iron from the iron ore. Bituminous coal in the United States is between 300 million years old. In the United States, Cretaceous bituminous coals occur in Wyoming and New Mexico. In Canada, the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin of Alberta and British Columbia hosts major deposits of bituminous coal that formed in swamps along the western margin of the Western Interior Seaway, they range in age from latest Jurassic or earliest Cretaceous in the Mist Mountain Formation, to Late Cretaceous in the Gates Formation.
The Intermontane and Insular Coalfields of British Columbia contain deposits of Cretaceous bituminous coal. Extensive but low-value coals of Jurassic age extend through the Surat Basin in Australia, formed in an intracratonic sag basin, contain evidence of dinosaur activity in the numerous ash plies; these coals are exploited in Queensland from the Walloon Coal Measures, which are up to 15 m thick of sub-bituminous to bituminous coals suited for coking, steam-raising and oil cracking. Coals of Triassic age are known from the Clarence-Moreton and Ipswich Basins, near Ipswich and the Esk Trough. Coals of this era are rare, many contain fossils of flowering plants; some of the best coking coals are Australian Triassic coals, although most economic deposits have been worked out. The second largest deposits of the world's bituminous coal are contained within Permian strata in Russia. Australian deposits in the Bowen Basin in Queensland, the Sydney Basin and Perth Basin are Permian coal, where thicknesses in excess of 300 m are known.
Current reserves and resources are projected to last for over 200 years. Australia e
Economy of Pittsburgh
The economy of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is diversified, focused on services, higher education, banking, corporate headquarters and high technology. Once the center of the American steel industry, still known as "The Steel City", today the city of Pittsburgh has no steel mills within its limits, though Pittsburgh-based companies such as US Steel, Ampco Pittsburgh and Allegheny Technologies own several working mills in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. Pittsburgh was chosen for the 2009 G-20 summit as its transformation is an example of a 21st-century economy. On September 8, 2009, President Barack Obama stated, "Pittsburgh stands as a bold example of how to create new jobs and industries while transitioning to a 21st century economy."On the list of best cities for job growth in 2009, created by Tara Weiss, a writer for Forbes magazine, Pittsburgh secured its spot because of its strength in the health care and education industries with healthy foundations in technology or robotics and banking industries.
The 2009 list of all cities places Pittsburgh as the 169th-best city for job growth. Pittsburgh has ranked in the top five most livable cities in four of the seven multi-year rankings of Places Rated Almanac. During the mid-18th century, the economy of the Pittsburgh region was focused on agriculture and trade. After the American Revolutionary War, the government placed a tax on whiskey in order to pay off national debt. In 1794, the Whiskey Rebellion occurred in Pittsburgh and was the first challenge to the government.“The fledgling Federal government had decided to levy its first tax against whiskey, but the farmers argued they didn't have cash to pay taxes on bartered goods, marched in protest. Washington had to send troops to squelch the protest and enforce the tax laws.”During the 18th century, large coal deposits were discovered throughout Pittsburgh. Mount Washington called "Coal Hill", the “most valuable deposit of bituminous coal in the entire United States, was discovered there in 1760”.
Along with the natural resources of the area, Pittsburgh was located at the intersection of the Monongahela and Allegheny Rivers, that is, along the major trade routes of the United States, thus making Pittsburgh "one of the world's leading industrial powerhouses". “The first and largest industry emerging in the 1800s was boat building—both flatboats to transport waves of pioneers and goods downriver, keelboats, which a strong crew could propel upstream as well.” The second biggest industry in the region was glass production. The first glass factory was built in 1795 by Isaac Craig. Pittsburgh’s wealthiest industrialists during the 19th century all lived in a single neighborhood known as East Liberty; the major list of industrialists includes H. J. Heinz, George Westinghouse, Andrew Carnegie, Thomas Mellon, Andrew Mellon, Henry Clay Frick and Philander Knox. All of these men shared similar ideas in the system of capitalism and utilized their skills to net the world’s highest income per capita during the 19th century in this single neighborhood.
Andrew Carnegie was known as a philanthropist to the region. “In 1889 he wrote "The Gospel of Wealth", in which he asserted that all personal wealth beyond that required to supply the needs of one's family should be regarded as a trust fund to be administered for the benefit of the community”. Subsequently, the Carnegie Library, free to the public, opened in Pittsburgh in 1890 and is still open presently. Overall, Carnegie donated over $350 million for the establishment of organizations that benefit the public. Wealthy industrialists founded the Duquesne Club in 1873 and the Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce in 1874; the Pittsburgh Stock Exchange was formed in 1864 as the "Oil Exchange" before becoming the "Coal Exchange" in 1870 and back to the "Oil Exchange" in 1878 until opening for all general stocks by 1894. The stock exchange closed its Fourth Avenue "financial district" doors in August 1974 after computerization had consolidated trades in New York and other global centers but not before a 1966 response from the New York Stock Exchange board of relocating their trading floor to the city's facilities.
Railroad networks reached the Pittsburgh area in the mid-19th century. The Ohio and Pennsylvania Railroad opened in 1851, which allowed passengers to travel through Allegheny and New Brighton while the Pennsylvania Railroad established "Pittsburgh service" as close as Turtle Creek from their Philadelphia hub that same year. A year in 1852, the Pennsylvania Railroad was completed to Downtown Pittsburgh. In 1856, the Allegheny Valley Railroad was built. Andrew Carnegie was one of the first to capitalize on the railways. In 1892, the economy of Pittsburgh faced the Homestead Strike between the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers and the Carnegie Steel Company. After the workers' previous wage contract expired in 1892, a new negotiation was not reached, a violent conflict ensued leaving several dead and wounded; the Carnegie Steel company won and had avoided union formation in Pittsburgh. After Carnegie Steel was reorganized as U. S. Steel in 1901, it and J&L Steel dominated the local economy.
Several secondary players contributed to the capacity of the metro area such as Cyclops Steel in Bridgeville, Pennsylvania from 1908 until 1987, Mesta Machinery in West Homestead, Pennsylvania from 1898 until 1983, Dravo Corporation at Neville Island, Pennsylvania until 1984, National Steel Corporation until 1992, Wean United as an independent until 1993, Harbison Walker Refactories as an independent until 1967 (while stil
Allegheny County Courthouse
The Allegheny County Courthouse in downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is part of a complex designed by H. H. Richardson; the buildings are considered among the finest examples of the Romanesque Revival style for which Richardson is well known. The complex is bordered by wide thoroughfares named for city founders James Ross, John Forbes and James Grant; the current building, completed in 1888, was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1976. Richardson referred to it as his "great achievement". Pittsburgh's original courthouse, first occupied in 1794, was a wooden structure located on one side of Market Square; the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and from December 7, 1818, until 1841 the Western District of Pennsylvania held court sessions at Market Square. Land for a new courthouse was purchased in April 1834; this was a tract of land on Grant's Hill. Construction took place between 1836 and 1840; this court house was built with polished gray sandstone, quarried at Coal Hill, opposite Water Street along the Monongahela River.
The building was designed by John Chislett. The Greek Revival design included a domed cupola housing a rotunda 60 feet in diameter and 80 feet high; the building was completed in 1841. The building's second floor again served as the headquarters for both the Commonwealth Supreme Court Pittsburgh region and the Federal Western District, serving the latter until a new U. S. Customs House/Post Office opened on Fifth and Smithfield in 1853. Due to corrosion caused by coal smoke, the building deteriorated: the dressed surface of the facade dropped off, some of the cornices near the roof began to fall, the building had a scaly appearance. In its deteriorated state, it was a handsome structure. On May 7, 1882, a fire ruined the building. Subsequently, it was demolished; the third, present, courthouse was erected on the same spot. Following the destruction of the second courthouse, Allegheny County Commissioners decided to hold a competition to design a replacement; the winner of the competition was Boston architect Henry Hobson Richardson and construction of the buildings was begun by the Norcross Brothers, Richardson's construction firm of choice, in 1884.
The design of the main building, which Richardson considered to be his finest, was innovative in that the building is built around an interior courtyard, thus allowing natural light and fresh air to reach most of the building. The courtyard is surrounded by four stories in three sides. A tower rises five stories from the courtyard's open side; as was the case with Richardson's buildings, the roof is steep with dormers placed at all the corners. A prison is connected to the courthouse via the "Bridge of Sighs"; the design was based on the Bridge of Sighs in Venice. The entire complex was built of large rusticated blocks of granite, with the entrance ways and windows topped with wide arches; this gives the building a heavy and dignified appearance. In the 1900s the street level in front of the building was lowered as part of a general re-grading of Pittsburgh. Richardson had anticipated this and courses of finished masonry had been buried underground, now to be revealed; this left the ceremonial entrance a full story above the street.
A grand stairway was built, but removed during street widening in the 1930s- the low arched doorways were extended downwards to street level, with the result that the visitor is not greeted by the grand entrance hall Richardson planned, but by the low corridors which were once the basement. Muralist Vincent Nesbert completed five murals for the building on its first floor in 1937: "Industry," "Justice," "Peace," "Fort Duquesne" and "The Battle of Grant's Hill."In 1973, the building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1976, it was designated a National Historic Landmark; the design of the Allegheny County Courthouse has influenced buildings in many cities across America, such as Minneapolis City Hall, Altgeld Hall on the campus of the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign and James W. McLaughlin's Wayne County Courthouse in Richmond, Indiana. In 2007, the American Institute of Architects asked Harris Interactive to survey 2,000 people, who were shown 247 photographs of buildings and other structures in different categories chosen by 2,500 architects.
The Allegheny County Courthouse was ranked 35th overall on the list and above every other courthouse in the nation except the United States Supreme Court Building. Several big-budget films have portrayed the Courthouse. Striking Distance and Hoffa used interior shots, while Desperate Measures and The Next Three Days used both interior and exterior shots, with Boys on the Side and Mrs. Soffel featuring the Ross Street side of the complex and the "Bridge of Sighs"; the designs of Toronto City Hall, Minneapolis City Hall, the Milwaukee Federal Building and Altgeld Hall on the campus of the University of Illinois were influenced by the Allegheny County Courthouse. Allegheny County Courthouse and Jail Architectural Records, 1883-1948, AIS.1980.20, Archives Service Center, University of Pittsburgh Smoke Control Lantern Slide Collection, University of Pittsburgh Archives Service Center, AIS.1978.22, Digital Research Library Historic American Buildings Survey No. PA-610, "Allegheny County Courthouse & Jail, 436 Grant Street, 420 Ross Street, Allegheny County, PA", 13 photos, 35 measured drawings, 3 data pages, 1 photo caption page "Pittsburgh, The Story of an American City," 5th edition, Stefan Lorant, Esselmont Books, LLC.
Pittsburgh, PA, 1999. Kvaran, Einar Einarsson, Pilgrimage to H. H. Richardson, unpublished manuscript Och
Pittsburgh City-County Building
The Pittsburgh City-County Building is the seat of government for the City of Pittsburgh, houses both Pittsburgh and Allegheny County offices. It is located in Downtown Pittsburgh at 414 Grant Street, Pennsylvania. Built from 1915-17 it is the third seat of government of Pittsburgh. Today the building is occupied by Pittsburgh offices with Allegheny County located in adjacent county facilities. At the start of the 20th century, City of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County officials began to realize that the current structure which housed the city and county government offices was insufficient for the city's rapid growth; the offices at that time were located in the Smithfield Street City Hall building, built in 1868-1872. The demand for new offices grew exponentially with the incorporation of Allegheny City into the City of Pittsburgh in 1907, which added 130,000 new residents to the city. In 1909 plans for a new City Hall began. Mayor William A. McGee proposed selling the current offices in the Smithfield Street City Hall and the Public Safety building, using these funds to buy the Allegheny County Courthouse and use it as the space for construction of a new City Hall.
By 1912 the plans moved forward with both the City of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County approving a joint venture to purchase the land and both occupy the new building. The architect for the new building was to be chosen through a competition, only accepting architects residing and doing business within Allegheny County. Regional favoritism was used in the building's construction as well, as in 1914 Mayor Joseph Armstrong claimed that all material for the building should come from manufactures who produce and are located in Pittsburgh, that all labor employed should be obtained or taken from Allegheny County; the plans for the development of the new building extended to some of the prominent organization within Pittsburgh such as the Carnegie Library, the Civic Club of Allegheny County who both had plans for space in the new building. Construction was postponed for more than a year though as the general contracting firm of W. F. Trimble & Sons filed an injunction claiming that the selection of James L. Stuart as consulting and supervising engineer was done through an improper bidding process.
The case was decided by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and resolved by a legislative act, development on the building was allowed to continue. The groundbreaking on the building occurred with a ceremony on July 6, 1915 with County Commissioner I. K. Campbell striking the first blow with a pick and Joseph G. Armstrong Jr. lifting the first shovel of dirt. Both the pick and the shovel were silver plated and preserved as mementos in the office of the Mayor. Following significant progress in construction a cornerstone laying ceremony was planned to coincide with the celebration of Pittsburgh's Centennial. On March 26, 1916 the celebration of the 100th anniversary of incorporation was held in Pittsburgh and a parade wound through downtown Pittsburgh ending at a steel-framework of what would become the new City-Council Building. Three cornerstones were laid during the celebration, including one for the City, one for the County, one for the workers, each of which contained time capsules; the construction on the new building finished in 1917, was completed under budget.
In April 1917, the City Law Department was the first to switch into the new building, with the rest of the remaining offices allocated by June. The building was nominated in January 2016 to become a City Historic Site by Preservation Pittsburgh. In 1914, a competition was held for a new Pittsburgh City Hall; the 16-entry competition led to the commissioning of Edward B. Lee, a respected Pittsburgh architect, with Palmer, Hornbostel, & Jones as associated architects; the completed design was done by Henry Hornbostel. The building was designed with elements of the City Beautiful Movement; the City-County building is a representation of a distinctly American extrapolation of the Beaux Arts mode. Hornbostel was known for this architectural style, architectural historian James Van Trump has stated that Hornbostel kept the principles of the Beaux Arts central with his designs, but frequently departed from the precepts, integrated elements of other styles akin to industrially-inspired brutalism; the design of the building was influenced by the City Beautiful Movement.
This movement featured urban planning with soaring Neoclassical buildings and orderly designs, included the concept of the “White City”. The City-County Building was one of Pittsburgh's first attempts at incorporating the City Beautiful Movement into its urban design; some of the most significant design elements of the building include the Grand Lobby, a lit atrium with a 47-foot high barrel-vaulted ceiling. The ceiling is held up by bronze columns crafted by Louis Tiffany Studios, they feature at their bases, the Seals of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County, frontiersman Guyasuta, Pittsburgh's oldest surviving building, the Fort Pitt Blockhouse. The rooms ornate elevator doors feature a series of reliefs detailing the previous homes of municipal government; the reliefs age with the building's they clutch, reaching adulthood with the present City-County Building and Allegheny County Courthouse. The building is unique in that most of the furniture was designed by the building's architect, Hornbostel.
The Office of the Mayor, Council Chamber, Supreme Court Room all feature 1917 furniture still in use today. On the seventh floor of the building is a massive mural completed in 1940 entitled "Justice" by award-winning artist Harry Scheuch. 1922's In the Name of the Law starred Pittsburgh Pirates great and future Hall of Famer Honus Wagner as the hero, as a Pit
Washington County, Pennsylvania
Washington County is a county located in the U. S. state of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the population was 207,820, its county seat is Washington. The county was created on March 1781, from part of Westmoreland County; the city and county were both named after American Revolutionary War leader George Washington, who became the first President of the United States. Washington County is part of PA Metropolitan Statistical Area; the county is home to Washington County Airport, located three miles southwest of Washington. According to the U. S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 861 square miles, of which 857 square miles is land and 3.9 square miles is water. Beaver County Allegheny County Westmoreland County Fayette County Greene County Marshall County, West Virginia Ohio County, West Virginia Brooke County, West Virginia Hancock County, West Virginia As of the census of 2000, there were 202,897 people, 81,130 households, 56,060 families residing in the county; the population density was 237 people per square mile.
There were 87,267 housing units at an average density of 102 per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was 95.27% White, 3.26% Black or African American, 0.09% Native American, 0.36% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.19% from other races, 0.82% from two or more races. 0.58% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 18.3% were of German, 17.2% Italian, 10.6% Irish, 8.6% English, 7.9% Polish and 6.2% American ancestry. There were 81,130 households out of which 28.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.20% were married couples living together, 10.30% had a female householder with no husband present, 30.90% were non-families. 27.00% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.20% had someone living alone, 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 2.96. In the county, the population was spread out with 22.20% under the age of 18, 7.70% from 18 to 24, 27.20% from 25 to 44, 25.00% from 45 to 64, 17.90% who were 65 years of age or older.
The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 92.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.00 males. As of 1800, this county was settled by people of Scot-Irish heritage because "prime lands" were taken by the Germans and the Quakers; the County of Washington is governed by a three-member publicly elected commission. The three commissioners serve in legislative capacities. By state law, the commission must have a minority party guaranteeing a political split on the commission; each term is for four years. The three current commissioners for Washington County are Lawrence Maggi, Diana Irey, Harlan G. Shober Jr.. Maggi was the Democratic nominee for Pennsylvania's 18th congressional district against Republican incumbent Tim Murphy in 2012. Maggi earned only 36 percent of the vote. Irey was the Republican candidate for Pennsylvania's 12th congressional district and lost to the late Democratic incumbent John Murtha in the 2006 election; the Washington County Court of Common Pleas, the Twenty-Seventh Judicial District of Pennsylvania, is the state trial court, sitting in and for Washington County.
It serves as the court of original jurisdiction for the region. There are five judges, which the county's citizens elect to ten year terms, under the laws of the Commonwealth; the President Judge is Katherine B. Emery. Judges of the court are: Katherine B. Emery, P. J. John F. DiSalle, J. Gary Gilman, J. Valarie Costanzo, J. Michael J. Lucas, J. Additionally, magisterial district judges serve throughout the county to hear traffic citations, issue warrants, decide minor civil matters; the Democratic Party has been dominant in county-level politics and national politics, only voting Republican for president in Richard Nixon's 1972 landslide victory over George McGovern. However, like much of Appalachian coal country, Washington has trended Republican in recent years. In 2000, Democrat Al Gore won 53% of the vote and Republican George W. Bush won 44%. In 2004, Democrat John Kerry received 50.14% of the vote and Bush received 49.57% a difference of 552 votes. In 2008, Republican John McCain won 51% to Democrat Barack Obama's 46% and each of the three state row office winners carried Washington County.
As of November 7th 2017, there were 139,790 registered voters in the county. Registered Democrats have a plurality of 67,424 registered voters, compared to 56,274 registered Republicans, 752 registered Libertarians, 123 registered Greens, 15,217 voters registered to other parties or none. Clerk of Courts, Barbara Gibbs, Democrat Controller, Michael Namie, Democrat Coroner, Timothy Warco, Democrat District Attorney, Eugene Vittone, Republican Prothonotary, Phyllis Ranko-Matheny, Democrat Recorder of Deeds, Deborah Bardella, Democrat Register of Wills, Mary Jo Poknis, Democrat Sheriff, Samuel Romano, Democrat Treasurer, Francis L. King, Democrat Public Safety Director, Jeffrey A. Yates, Independent Jim Christiana, Republican, 15th district Richard Saccone, Republican, 39th district John A. Maher, Republican, 40th district Jason Ortitay, Republican, 46th district Tim O'Neal, Republican, 48th district Bud Cook, Republican, 49th district Pam Snyder, Democrat, 50th district Guy Reschenthaler, Republican, 37th district Camera Bartolotta, Republican, 46th district Guy Reschenthaler, Republican, 14th district Pat Toomey, Republican Bob Casey, Jr. Democrat Pony League baseball was founded in Washington County in 1951 for
