Historical Markers

Walk in the steps of people or events that have had a significant impact on Pittsburgh. The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission installs plaques to commemorate significant individuals, events and landmarks throughout the state. The guidelines require that the "person, event or site to be commemorated have had a meaningful impact on its times and be of statewide or national rather than only local significance." Below are just a few of the historical markers in Allegheny County. View a complete list of markers in the Western PA region on the PHMC website.

• Bost Building

  Plaque at 617-623 E 8th Ave., Homestead

  "Completed, early 1892. Through that summer it was headquarters for the strike committee of the Amalgamated Association of Iron & Steel Workers. Telegraph lines installed here transmitted the news from journalists who were covering the Homestead Strike."

• Birthplace of Gertrude Stein (1874-1946)

  Plaque at 850 Beech Ave., North Side, Pittsburgh

  "Allegheny West. Birthplace of Gertrude Stein. In this house on February 3, 1874, Gertrude Stein was born to Daniel and Amelia Stein. Author, poet, feminist, playwright, and catalyst in the development of modern art and literature. 'In the United States there is more space where nobody is than where anybody is. This is what makes America what it is.' Allegheny West Historic District."

• Mary Cassatt (1844-1926)

  Plaque at Allegheny and Ridge Avenues, North Side, Pittsburgh

  "Born near here, Cassatt studied art in Europe. She lived in Paris, befriended by the Impressionist painter Degas. She was an innovative painter, printmaker, and etcher and is noted for her works depicting women and children."

• Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919)

  Plaque at Carnegie Library, 4400 Forbes Ave., Oakland

  "A poor Scottish immigrant, Carnegie became a millionaire steel magnate and proponent of the 'Gospel of Wealth.' Seeing to benefit society with his fortune, he built over 2,500 libraries and endowed institutions advancing education and peace."

• John A. Roebling (1806-1869)

  Plaque at corner of Smithfield Street Bridge and West Carson Street

  "Here in 1846, Roebling built the first wire rope suspension bridge to carry a highway over the Monongahela River. He also designed a bridge across the Allegheny River, a railroad bridge at Niagara Falls, and the Brooklyn Bridge."

• Birthplace of August Wilson (1945-2005)

  Plaque at 1727 Bedford Ave., Pittsburgh

  "Co-founder of Pittsburgh's Black Horizon Theater and the author of a cycle of ten plays that have been hailed as a unique triumph in American literature. The plays cover each decade of the 20th century and most focus on African American life in the Hill District. Two of the plays, 'Fences' and 'The Piano Lesson', won Pulitzer prizes for best drama in 1987 and 1990; 'Fences' also won Broadway's Tony Award. This site is Wilson's birthplace."