If the animation below looks familiar to You then you either passed through downtown Pittsburgh or You remember it quite well as a native of the area. This is an animated image of the Westinghouse sign which was mounted on the top of the WESCO building in Pittsburgh's North Shore.
According to Wikipedia, "The sign consisted of nine repetitions of the familiar "Circle-W" logo created by graphic designer Paul Rand, each one eighteen feet in diameter. Each Circle-W was divided into ten sections—the top and bottom of the enclosing circle, the four diagonal strokes of the W, the three dots above the W, and the bar below—meaning that the entire sign comprised ninety individual elements. It is described as having been lit by neon tubes, but as the sign was blue it is likely that argon tubes were actually used.
The WESCO building stood near Three Rivers Stadium on the banks of the Allegheny River just opposite Downtown Pittsburgh, and the sign was one of several large illuminated corporate billboards that became a fixture of Pittsburgh's evening skyline."
Though local myth insisted that you would never see the same sequence of the sign's during each cycle of fully lighting the "Circle-W" logos, This was quite the myth. It would only light in combinations of fewer than 30 different sequences. This because the sign was controlled by Westinghouse built controllers which were designed more for repetition rather than generate a new sequence.
The Wesco building was demolished in 1998 to make way for the new home of the Pittsburgh Pirates known as PNC Park.
Locals also say that at least one of the nine panels was to make it's way into the Heinz History Center but it never made it because it fell apart while it was being dismantled.
The 1950's were considered a conservative era in comparison to what will follow in the 1960's.
The 1950's also gave us the Cold War between the US and Soviet Union, The introduction of Television, A fast growing recording industry which introduced new genres of music, most significantly "Rock and Roll", and Hollywood pumping out movies geared toward Teenagers.
The decade of the 1950's marked a sharp rise in the US Economy for the first time in 30 years. It was also the beginning of the "Baby Boom" when returning GI's settled into the suburbs of America.
The city of Pittsburgh began it's Renaissance I period 4 years prior to the decade of the 1950's with a total population of 676,806 in 1950 making it the 12th largest city. By 1950, a large amount of buildings would be demolished to make way for Gateway Center. 1953 would be the opening year for the Greater Pittsburgh Municipal Airport
In Hollywood, It was known as the "Golden Age" of movie making where Sunset Boulevard, All About Eve and Ben Hur were classics from their first showing featuring Actors such as William Holden, Gloria Swanson, Bette Davis and Charlton Heston.
Westerns, War Movies, Thrillers, Musicals, Comedies and Animated films were just as popular during this era with the release of the now classics such as High Noon with Gary Cooper, Bridge Over The River Kwai starring Alec Guiness, Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window, Singin' In The Rain starring Gene Kelly, White Christmas starring Bing Crosby, Walt Disney's Cinderella, Some Like It Hot with Marilyn Monroe and Tony Curtis.
1951 would be the last film for the Comedy duo of Laurel Hardy entitled Atoll K.
Albert Schweitzer would be the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1952 and Jonas Salk's Polio Vaccine would be introduced to the public in 1955.
| NOTABLE ENTERTAINERS OF THE 1950'S | |
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| NOTABLE OTHERS FROM THE 1950'S | |
The era known as the Sixties was a time of protest, cultural and political trends, individualism psychedelic music and rebellion of the conservative norms at the time.
In the USA, We saw the massive demonstrations against the government's involvement in the Vietnam War and the draft from the more serious protesters also known as "Hippies".
With the USA and Soviet Union involved the Space Race, The 1960's generation observed an increase in science and technology with inventions such as the first working laser, The first trans-Atlantic sattelite broadcast, the first computer game, Touch-Tone telephones, the Video Tape Recorder and the first demonstration of the computer mouse and E-Mail.
The space race heated up when Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin orbited Earth thus leading then President Kennedy's announcement of Project Apollo and his commitment to putting a man on the moon before the decade was over. Call it a victory for the USA as Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin would be the first on the Moon in July 1969
Closer to home, The city of Pittsburgh was still heavily involved in Renaissance I. The Civic Arena and an Apartment building were the only two buildings built as a part of a culural center which caused hundreds of small businesses and over 1,200 residents of the lower Hill District to become displaced. None of the other buildings planned were ever built.
This did not affect the Industrial Base of the city as J&L Steel expanded operations on the South Side. PPG, Heinz, Westinghouse and U.S. Steel all enjoyed vigorous operations.
April 25th, 1968 would be the day that ground was broken for construction of the now demolished home of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Pirates' Three Rivers Stadium. Below are photos of Three Rivers Stadium While still an active facility and during it's implosion on February 11th 2001.
In the music scene, The rise of America's counterculture would see the genre's of Rock, Soul, Blues and Folk music nearly explode with Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons releasing 4 back to back number one hits. Motown Records saw it's first million seller with "Shop Around" by the Miracles in 1960. The Supremes recorded 12 number one hit singles between 1964 and 1969.
Other significant events of the 1960's music scene would see the Beatles invade the USA in 1964, The Beach Boys release "Pet Sounds" in 1966 beginning what will be known as album oriented rock and Jim Morrison and the Doors would release their debut album "The Doors".
Bob Dylan, Jefferson Airplane, Jimi Hendrix, Johnny Cash, Janis Joplin, The Rolling Stone, The Who, Pink Floyd, Joan Baez, Scott McKenzie and numerous others would all play a substantial role in the diverse music of the Sixties. 1969 would be the year for the Woodstock Music and Art Fair. Woodstock would draw more than 450,000 people to a muddy pasture in Sullivan County, New York. The music started just after 5pm on August 15th, 1969 and would continue until mid-morning on Monday the 18th. According to the words of a local historian... What happened was a once in a lifetime occurence that will never happen again. The artist who designed Woodstock's symbol said of the event "Something was tapped, a nerve, in this country. And everybody just came. The festival's estimated cost was more tha 2.4 million dollars.
Some Of The Most Important Names In Rock and Roll of the Sixties
America's Counterculture would change the Golden Era of Hollywood breaking the Taboo's which caused substantial controversy with movies such as Bonnie and Clyde, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Rosemary's Baby, Easy Rider and Barbarella. Of course popular movies still found a place on the Silver Screen despite the Counterculture which included Breakfast at Tiffany's, The Sound Of Music, The Pink Panther and My Fair Lady.
On the National front, John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson would take office in 1961. Kennedy would establish the Peace Corps, American forces would begin to arrive in Vietnam in 1961, President Kennedy would be assassinated in Dallas, TX in 1963, Martin Luther Kinh would deliver his "I Have A Dream Speech" in the Nation's Capital in 1963 and Richard Nixon would become President in 1969 promising to end the Vietnam War.
NOTABLE ENTERTAINERS OF THE 1960'S ELIZABETH MONTGOMERY JOAN BAEZ BRIGETTE BARDOT JULIE ANDREWS JOHNNY CASH MAMA CASS ERIC CLAPTON SAM COOKE DONOVAN BOB DYLAN JANE FONDA JONI MITCHELL JIMMY PAGE LOU REED DIANA ROSS SLY STONE FRANK ZAPPA NOTABLE OTHERS FROM THE 1960'S MUHAMMAD ALI FIDEL CASTRO ROBERT F. KENNEDY GLORIA STEINEM GEORGE ROMERO TRUMAN CAPOTE JOE NAMATH BART STARR
Cool Stuff From The 1970's
The Seventies, Wow, What can be said about the 70's? Well the 1970's shifted away from the activism of the prior decade to activities for one's self pleasure or You could call it the "Me Decade".
Established Institutions of Family, Religion and trust in the US Government continued to lose ground during this time. The Hippie Culture carried on, The US withdrew from Vietnam and President Nixon's resignation further solidified the mistrust of the US Government.
Economies of Third World Countries made steady progress while the US economy experienced a recession. Although not as serious as the great depression of the 1930's The USA had steady inflation, A rising unemployment rate, Double digit interest rates, Soaring Oil prices and by the time President Carter was running for re-election against Ronald Reagan, Unemployment and Inflation had reached an all time high of nealy 22 percent.
Environmentalism and Feminism were the social movements of the day in the 70's
On the Science and Technology front, We saw the beginning of the Integrated Circuit Chip, The Laser, The beginning of computing, The first Microprocessor, Pocket Calculators and Video Games.
The endless loop 8-Track tape began to lose ground to the Cassette. We've seen the introduction of the Microwave Oven and the Video-Cassette Recorder into the consumer goods markets.
The 1970's were very diverse in Music. The early 70's was a time when Heavy Metal was at the top with bands such as Pink Floyd, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath emerging to success. The Ramones, Blondie, Patti Smith and the Clash to name a few of the Punk Rockers gained poularity in the mid-seventies and Disco rose to popularity in the late 70's. Hip Hop music kicked off it's run with "Rappers Delight" by the Sugarhill Gang. Country Music and Reggae Music gained popularity and remained popular respectively.
Some Of The Most Important Names In Music in the 1970's
Locally, 1970 was the year the US Steel Building and Three Rivers Stadium were completed. 1974 marked the completion of Point State Park with the fountain at the tip of the Golden Triangle.
The 1970's marked the beginning of the end of the steel industry in Pittsburgh with competition from German and Japanese Steel Mills. As Pittsburgh headed the 1980's Pittsburgh Steel Mill laid off nearly 153,000 workers which pretty much wrecked the local economy. Pittsburgh was emerging from the Recession of 1981-1982. Pittsburgh's ranking of the largest cities with the population of city nosediving from nearly 678,000 in 1950 to just over 540,000 in 1970.
As Pittsburghers and other Western Pennsylvanians would leave the area to try and make a better life following the demise of the steel industry, Those who remained witness history being made in sports as the Pittsburgh Steelers would become a football dynasty with three Super Bowl victories during the 1970's, The Pittsburgh Pirates winning two World Series championships. First in 1971 and the second in 1979 both times against the Baltimore Orioles.
Pittsburgh would also make it's mark in the Music Industry as local groups Wild Cherry would score a number one hit with "Play That Funky Music" in 1976, "Q" (Beaver County Studio Musicians Don Garvin, Bill Vogel, Bob Peckman and Bill Thomas) would chart as well in 1977 with a funky track called "Dancin Man".
Disco Music rose quite rapidly nationally but Pittsburghers and those who lived in the surrounding Counties kept pace with the craze but on funkier level. While New York was dancing to Dr. Buzzard's "Cher Chez La Femme" and Candi Staton's "Young Hearts Run Free", Western Pennsylvanians were dancing to tracks like Parliament's "Tear The Roof Off The Sucker", Lakeside's "It's All The Way Live" and The Commodore's "Brick House". Some of the top clubs locally were the 2001 on the City's North Side and The Infinity Night Club in Rochester, Beaver County.
Hollywood would release many popular movies during the 1970's which are classics by today's standards. From Drama to Science Fiction, Comedy to Thrillers, The 70's had it all. There was "The Godfather", "Star Wars", "Patton", "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest", "American Graffiti" and so many more.
Some other significant events in the 1970's included the completion of the Sears Tower in Chicago in 1973 which exceeded the World Trade Center by just over 350 feet. The 1972 Summer Olympic Games in Munich Germany were marred by violence with a deadly hostage incident involving a Palestinian Terror group. Saddam Hussein would assume the Presidency in Iraq on July 16, 1979, The Vietnam War would end with the Paris Peace Accords which led to US Troops withdrawing from the region in early 1973. However two years later, Troops from North Vietnam would invade the South and take over the government breaking the treaty.
NOTABLE ENTERTAINERS OF THE 1970'S TOM JONES ARETHA FRANKLIN BARRY WHITE DONNA SUMMER JAMES BROWN B.J. THOMAS AL GREEN CARLY SIMON JOHN TRAVOLTA OLIVIA NEWTON JOHN MARLIN BRANDO JACK NICHOLSON SEAN CONNERY GENE HACKMAN ROBERT DE NIRO CHEECH & CHONG MERYL STREEP NOTABLE OTHERS FROM THE 1970'S PRESIDENT RICHARD NIXON OLYMPIC SWIMMER MARK SPITZ HENRY KISSINGER PRESIDENT JIMMY CARTER HANK AARON ANDY WARHOL GEORGE LUCAS STEVEN SPIELBERG
Cool Stuff From The 1980's
The 1980's in Pittsburgh were, if anything, a time of change from the previous decade and some things remained the same as the locals who were affected by the demise of Steel continued to migrate to the south and west in search of a better future. Even though Pittsburgh has made changes from heavy industry to a Service, High Tech, Medical and Banking region, Unfortunately the exodus continues as Pittsburgh has lost over 50% of it's population compared to what it was in 1950 according to the US Census.
The Eighties would also make the 70's Dynasty of the Pittsburgh Steelers only a memory as many of the key players would retire such as Joe Greene, Jack Lambert and Terry Bradshaw. It would also be the beginning of the multi year drought of winning for the Pirates as well.
The decade of the 1980's ushered in the end of the Disco era which most claim began in 1980 when it was still struggling to hold on but it would eventually make way to the onslaught of one-hit wonders that would be part of another British invasion along with one hit wonders of American artists.
Nationally and Internationally, the 80's were the beginning of globalzation and the beginning of manufacturing moving to Mexico, China and Japan. The AIDS epidemic came to the forefront, It was the beginning of the Millenials generation. In 1983, 299 American and French Servicepersons were killed by two truck bombs in Libya. In 1988, PamAm Flt.103 was blown out of the sky over Lockerbie Scotland by a terrorist bomb. On January 28th 1986, The Space Shuttle Challenger disintegrated 73 seconds after launch. We would see the end of the of the failed Democratic Presidency of Jimmy Carter as he was replaced by Ronald Reagan. Motown's Marvin Gaye was killed by his Father in 1984 and Beatle John Lennon would gunned down in 1980.
Assassinations and attempts of prominent world figures and leaders were an ongoing throughout the decade. Ronald Reagan in 1981, Pope John Paul II in 1981, Egyptian Anwar Sadat in 1981, Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1984, Margaret Thatcher in 1984 as well.
Personal Computing became major industry in 1981 with IBM's launch of the PC followed by Commodore and of course the first Apple Macintosh in 1984. We also saw the introduction of the CD player when Sony released the CDP-101 which appeared locally at the Sound Store (Now Defunct) for a price of $999.00.
The Local music scene enjoyed the escalations to national exposure with Donnie Iris, BE Taylor, The Granati Brothers, Crack The Sky, Iron City Houserockers, The Silencers, Pure Gold, Modern Man and the Affordable Floors all playing a part in putting Pittsburgh on the map as a major player in the US Music industry.
The Eighties would see the end of an era for one of the greatest radio stations ever to broadcast on the Pittsburgh airwaves. 13Q (WKTQ), which began operations in 1973 was a major force in Pittsburgh radio until it went off the air in 1981 and changed to an Adult Standards format. WPEZ would also flip format from a Top 40 station to Adult Contemporary in 1980 and the call letters would be changed to WWSW.Some Of The One Hit Wonders of the Eighties
NOTABLE ENTERTAINERS OF THE 1980'S DIANA ROSS MICHAEL JACKSON LIONEL RICHIE THE ROLLING STONES PRINCE GUNS & ROSES ZZ TOP CYNDI LAUPER PHIL COLLINS AC DC ROBIN WILLIAMS TOM CRUISE RICHARD GERE DAVID BOWIE CHRISTOPHER REEVE SYLVESTER STALLONE MERYL STREEP NOTABLE OTHERS FROM THE 1980'S PRESIDENT RONALD REAGAN OLYMPIAN CARL LEWIS HENRY KISSINGER NASCAR CHAMPION BILL ELLIOTT STEVE MARTIN POPE JOHN PAUL II JOHN LENNON MARVIN GAYE
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