Homestead to Braddock Driving Tour

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1. Bulgarian Macedonian National Educational and Cultural Center

Established in 1930, the Bulgarian Macedonian National Educational and Cultural Center (BMNECC) preserves and shares the history and culture of the Bulgarian and Macedonian residents. The center is the oldest Bulgarian-Macedonian organization in the nation and offers numerous cultural and history programs throughout the year. The organization also has the most extensive collection of collection of Bulgarian books, art, and artifacts in the United States.

2. National Carpatho-Rusyn Cultural Center

Formerly the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, this building now houses a Carpatho-Rusyn cultural center. It was built in 1903 for the Carpatho-Rusyn community by Hungarian architect Titus de Bobula, who gave it a striking resemblance to the Rusyn Greek Catholic Cathedral of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, located in Uzhorod, Subcarpathian Rus. The parish began in 1897 and grew to over 700 families by the 1920s. Since 2004, the church has belonged to the Carpatho-Rusyn Society, which maintains it as a national cultural center--the first of its kind in the United States.

3. The Bost Building

The Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers was one of the earliest steel worker labor organizations in Pittsburgh. This organization heavily used the Bost Building as a meeting place and as a watchtower over Homestead mill. During the Homestead Strike, the AAISW played a major role in acting against the Carnegie Steel Company.

4. The Homestead Strike

As depressed steel prices scattered across Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the late 1800s, corporations continued to grow in power. Working conditions diminished, forcing dedicated steelworkers to conform although they were extremely unsatisfied. The Homestead Strike, which lasted from June to November of 1892, is one of the many episodes of conflict concerning rights of labor during American History. The overt violence fabricated by this labor movement is immersed throughout the town.

5. Carrie Blast Furnaces, Homestead Steel Works (1907-1978)

Built in 1907, these two furnaces are all that remain of the massive Homestead Steel Works that operated on both sides of the Monongahela River. At its peak, Homestead employed over 12,000 workers and occupied 430 acres. The two remaining furnaces, furnaces number six and seven, are known as the Carrie Furnaces and operated until 1978. The entire Homestead Works closed in 1986 and most of the structures were dismantled. These two massive furnaces were left standing as a lasting memorial to Pittsburgh’s steel producing past. Today, tours of the furnaces and surrounding site are offered May through October by the Rivers of Steel Heritage Corporation. Carrie Furnace was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2006 and there are plans for future development on the site.

6. The Battle of Braddocks Field

This stamp commemorates the 175th anniversary of the Battle of Braddock’s Field. This stamp is significant because during the struggle of the British to free the Northwestern Territory from French occupation (French and Indian War), General Edward Braddock ignored the advice of George Washington about Indian methods of fighting from ambush. At the Battle of Braddock, British troops were scared by war whoops and confused by Indians fighting from behind trees. General Braddock was killed and his troops defeated. Another significant fact about Braddock is he's buried further away near Great Meadows, PA and many things are named after him.

7. Braddock's Battlefield History Center

Located in North Braddock, Pennsylvania, Braddock’s Battlefield History Center commemorates and provides information about the Battle of the Monongahela, or “Braddock’s Defeat” which was an early battle during the French and Indian War. The Center opened in 2012 and displays 50 works of art, over 250 artifacts from the battle, and numerous reproductions of period weapons and uniforms. It also presents various informational films in its video room.

8. Braddock Carnegie Library

The Braddock Carnegie Library is the first Carnegie Library built in the country. Completed in 1889, it was designed by William Halsey Wood in an eclectic medieval style. Andrew Carnegie attended the dedication ceremony. A large addition was built in 1893, featuring a music hall, pool, gym and a duckpin bowling alley. The library operated until 1974 when lack of funds and the building's poor condition, particularly the roof, forced it to close. A group of concerned citizens, led by the last head librarian, saved the building from demolition. The library opened in 1983 as a small children's library and began to make repairs. Renovations have continued ever since. The basement was converted from a bathhouse to ceramics studio in recent years. As the first Carnegie Library in the country, it was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2012. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.

9. Steel Strike of 1919 Historical Marker

This historical marker is located near the local chapter of the United Steelworkers union and the current Steel Mon Valley Works. The marker commemorates one of the largest strikes in American history in which 350,000 workers stopped work at steel mills across the country. From September 21, 1919, to January 8, 1920, steelworkers in Pittsburgh went on strike against U.S. Steel as a result of post-war downsizing. Worker discontent was made apparent not only in Pennsylvania, but also in Colorado, Illinois, West Virginia, Ohio, and New York. The marker also credits Reverend Adalbert Kazincy, a priest from St. Michael Parish in Braddock, who had long assisted the European immigrants for helping the workers during the strike.

This Tour is a Driving or Biking Tour.

Homestead to Braddock Driving Tour

Created by Clio Admin on January 19th 2019, 12:21:18 pm.

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Description

This short drive includes stops at several historic buildings, including former steel mills and buildings such as churches and cultural centers that preserve the history of immigrants who came to the region to work in the steel industry. The tour also includes markers and buildings related to labor groups and some of the remains of historic blast furnaces. The tour concludes with the Braddock Carnegie Library and Braddock’s Battlefield History Center.

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Homestead to Braddock Driving Tour

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