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The Historical Society of
Western Pennsylvania
From
the entrance on Smallman Street, visitors enter The Great Hall, with its rich red brick
walls, steel posts and beams, and gracefully arched windows. Strips of commemorative
floor tiles made of iron, aluminum, glass and steel, inscribed with the names of
individuals, institutions and businesses from the past and present, are placed between the
steel posts. On display in The Great Hall are a 1949 restored trolley, a Conestoga
wagon and the massive Pittsburgh city fire bell that was cast after the Great Fire of
1845. Also on the first floor is “The Visible City,” the astonishing mural
by Douglas Cooper, and the Museum Shop and Great Hall cafe. A
stairway leads directly to the History Center's second floor permanent exhibition,
"Points in Time: Building a Life in Western Pennsylvania, 1750 - Today,"
featuring life-sized reconstructions of three homes with meaningful places in Western
Pennsylvania history. A log home, an immigrant worker courtyard house and a suburban
ranch home provide the framework for presenting the history of the region. Other
floors of the History Center contain a children's Discovery Place, changing exhibit
galleries, the extensive Historical Society Library and Archives and the offices of the Historical Society of Western
Pennsylvania. Museum open daily 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
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