shtetlinks

 
the
Jewish
aspects
of
 Pittsburgh
Pennsylvania
USA 
 

Location

 Pittsburgh, PA is in the SouthWest corner of the state of Pennsylvania.
.
 
 

Background Information

Pittsburgh is situated at the headwaters of the Ohio river formed by the joining of the Allegheny and Monogehela rivers.  This location forms a triangle often called "The Golden Triangle", and more informally, "The Point".

The point once held a fort originally built by the French and named Fort Duquesne, it was later captured by the English, and renamed Fort Pitt.  The name Pittsburgh is derived from Fort Pitt.  Today all that is left of the original fort is a single building known as "The Block House".

In the days of the Western Colonization of the United States, Pittsburgh was referred to as the "Gateway to the West".

In the days of the Industrial revolution Pittsburgh was referred to as the "Steel City" due to its preponderance of Steel manufacturing plants.  The city had a reputation for being a filthy place due to the large amount of soot in the air and pollutants in the water, mostly due to waste products of Steel production.

Pittsburgh was at one time famous for having the very first movie house in the United States. The Nickelodeon Theatre on Smithfield Ave, opened in 1905.

In the late 1970's - 1980's  much of the Steel production  became uneconomical (mostly due to foreign competition), and the bulk of the Steel plants were shut down.  The city began a program of environmental, economic, and cultural revitalization, and referred to itself as the "Renaissance city".

Today the air is clean, the rivers are blue green, and a large number of new skyscrapers have been built in the downtown area. Pittsburgh is becoming a center for technology boasting some great learning centers such as Carnegie-Mellon University, The University of Pittsburgh, and Duquesne University, among many others.

Pittsburgh has a large Polish population.  This may account for the most common reason that Polish and Galician Jews emigrated to Pittsburgh.  Major Jewish emigrations occurred after after the resumption of the Russian Pogroms (in 1881), after WWI. (early 1920s),  and after WW II.
 

Jewish History of Pittsburgh

 

 Synagogues of Pittsburgh

  Search for more yourself

 

 Jewish Communities of Pittsburgh  (past and present)

Some Famous Jewish Pittsburghers  Jewish Resources in Pittsburgh
Jewish Cemeteries in Pittsburgh Jewish Genealogy Resources in Pittsburgh

    Jewish Genealogical Society of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,

Maps

Pictures
 
 a photographic history of Pittsburgh,
 a nice page with lots of photos of Pittsburgh,
The 1935 Congregation Keser Torah Silver Anniversary
The 1917 Pittsburgh Jewish Community Book

JewishGen Family Finder

Do you have roots in Pittsburgh? Would you like to connect with others researching the same community? Click the button to search the JewishGen Family Finder database for Pittsburgh


Interested in finding other Shtetls? Click the button below to go to the top level of the Jewish Gen Family finder, and search for your own mishpuchah (misplaced).


Acknowledgments
 

 
 

 

This page is being maintained by Jim Stein. 
If you have relevant material worth adding, or if you are interested in Pittsburgh please e-mail me at jstein56@yahoo.com  
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  Initially created by Jim Stein 11-Jan-00  Last update by Jim Stein 23-Apr-04
 
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