KENNYWOOD SIGN
Before Google Maps, there were large yellow Kennywood signs all over Allegheny County helping drivers find their way to the amusement park. Few, if any, of these signs remain along streets today; however, there is still one large sign above a gas station on Route 837 across from the Rankin Bridge.
HOMESTEAD STEEL MILL SMOKE STACKS
The twelve smokestacks remaining from the soaking pits stand 130 feet high and constitute one of the last vestiges of the steel mills that once defined the neighborhood’s economy, life force and atmosphere. They are featured in the music video for Wiz Khalifa’s “Black and Yellow”.
THE THOMPSON RUN WATERFALLS
The Thompson Run waterfalls can best be seen in the winter after the leaves have fallen off the trees and honeysuckle bushes. The falls is located at about GAP Mile 135.8 across the train tracks, over the Duquesne Water Treatment Plant, and under the east side of the Route 837 Bridge. These seldom-seen falls are one of the highest, widest, and most voluminous waterfalls along the GAP Trail. On a quiet day, you can hear the falls from the trail. Thompson Run is part of the Ohio River Basin and drains approximately 5.5 square miles in area (mostly in West Mifflin).
ROLLER COASTER
One of Kennywood Park’s steel roller coasters is the “Phantom’s Revenge”, formerly the Steel Phantom. When this ride debuted in 1991, it was the world’s fastest roller coaster at 85 miles per hour and contained the longest plunge at 232 feet. One of the unique features of Kennywood’s roller coasters is that they take advantage of the natural valleys inside the park. This coaster’s biggest dip actually goes over the hillside to the bottom of the hill just a few hundred feet from the GAP Trail. From the trail, riders can easily hear the screams of the riders. The coaster also passes through the Thunderbolt roller coaster, which was dubbed the Ultimate Roller Coaster and King of the Coasters by the New York Times in 1974.
STEAMBOAT AND BARGES
The three rivers in the Pittsburgh area are among the busiest commercial rivers in the country. Barges loaded with coal can still be seen going up and down the rivers.
ANDREW CARNEGIE (on a bike)
(November 25, 1835 – August 11, 1919) Andrew Carnegie immigrated to Pittsburgh at the age of 12 in 1848. By the 1860s, he had investments in railroads, railroad sleeping cars, bridges, and oil derricks. He accumulated further wealth as a bond salesman, raising money for American enterprise in Europe. He built the Edgar Thomson Works, a steel mill that is still in operation and can be seen across the Monongahela River (GAP Mile 136.5). In 1891, he acquired the Homestead Steel Works, the Duquesne Steel Mill, and the National Tube Mill. In 1901, he sold his steel plants to J. P. Morgan for $303 million ($8.53 billion in 2024). That sale formed the basis for U.S. Steel and made Carnegie the richest man in the world. He devoted the remainder of his
life to large-scale philanthropy with special emphasis on building local libraries, working for world peace and scientific research.
E. R. CRAWFORD (on a bike)
Edwin R. Crawford was arguably the most powerful and wealthiest man 100 years or so ago in McKeesport. In 1903 he founded the McKeesport Tin Plate Company in Port Vue, the current site of the ELG Metals. The factory employed over 3,000 workers and was the largest and most successful independent steel company in the world, second only to the much larger U. S. Steel Corp in the production of steel plate. His home was the Crawford Mansion, which was in Duquesne on the hillside just above this tunnel. At his death in 1936, he had a net worth of about $3.8 million – over $60 million in today’s standard. Half of the estate was used to establish a charity in his name, which remains in operation almost 80 years later. This mural was funded in part by his McKeesport-based E. R. Crawford Trust.
THE CARRIE FURNACE OR RANKIN HOT METAL BRIDGE
A hot metal bridge is designed to carry crucibles of molten iron from the blast furnaces on one side of the river to the open hearth furnaces in a steel mill on the other side of the river. Hot metal bridges contain solid steel floors and troughs as high as 6 feet on both sides of the rails to make sure that no molten iron would spill into the river, which would cause a huge explosion. There were about a dozen hot metal bridges in the world, and most of them were in the Pittsburgh area. The Carrie Furnace Hot Metal Bridge, which is located on the upstream side of the Rankin Bridge, is perhaps the only remaining intact hot metal bridge in the world. It has been designated as a National Historic Landmark. There are two train tracks on the bridge, with only the upriver track being a hot metal bridge. The other side of the bridge is a regular commercial bridge. The Carrie Furnace Hot Metal Bridge is being considered to be converted into a trail bridge, which would eventually connect trails from the north side of the river to the GAP Trail.
LADLES AND INGOTS
Ladles containing liquid steel and iron could be seen in the steel mills being carried by overhead cranes. At times the molten steel would be poured into upright containers to become ingots. Ingots from the Homestead and Duquesne Steel Works would be transported by Union Railroad trains across the Riverton Bridge (also known as the McKeesport Connector) to the National Tube Works Rolling Mill to be rolled into short pieces of tubular steel.
WALL AND WORKERS
The Homestead and Duquesne Steel Works had cement walls built around them. Parts of the Duquesne wall can be seen along the trail between Grant Avenue and this tunnel. Steel workers are pictured outside the Duquesne Steel Works wall.
BLAST FURNACES AND DOROTHY SIX
Dorothy Six, built in 1963, was the jewel of the Mon Valley. At that time, it was the largest and most technically advanced blast furnace in the world. A local newspaper had written that with this new modern blast furnace, the steel industry would be thriving for decades! On August 1, 1986, a group of onlookers watched as the blast furnace was about to be demolished. Four years earlier, taps were played on the public address system as the work crew finished their final shift operating the mill’s primary blast furnace. To no avail, a group of citizens had started the “Save Dorothy” campaign. The demolition of this furnace was sort of a final blow to the hopes of saving the Pittsburgh steel industry in the Mon Valley.
THE PITTSBURGH SKYLINE
Buildings forming the Pittsburgh skyline
THE HOLE IN THE WALL
This was the open hearth Number 4 wall showing the employee entrance where employees entered “Fort Frick”. Trucks used this entrance to enter and exit the plant.
OVERCOAT SAM
(November 11, 1899-December 24, 1978) Overcoat Sam was a McKeesport character named Sam Evanoff. He wore multiple overcoats regardless of the season, thus earning the nickname Overcoat Sam. He was born in Czechoslovakia and immigrated to the USA at the age of 12. He worked in coal mines, on the railroads, and on a beehive coke oven in Uniontown. There were many rumors – One rumor was that he once was a wealthy doctor. He was often seen wandering the streets of McKeesport, certainly an oddity back then.
THE CASTLE ON THE HILL
The original McKeesport Hospital was called the Castle on the Hill and was dedicated in 1894. The cost of the original building was $60,000. The castle on the hill no longer stands; however, the hospital has gone through several expansions and is now part of UMPC. In the old days, the hospital was grappling with things like the bubonic plague. The hospital trained nurses who would eventually serve in two World Wars.
TROLLY 68
The 68 trolley, trolley number 1655, used to travel from McKeesport, through Duquesne, West Mifflin, Whitaker, and Munhall, and into Homestead (Route 837) and cross the Homestead Grays Bridge on its way to Squirrel Hill, Oakland, with its final destination in downtown Pittsburgh. It
was quite a long ride! The trolley has been replaced by the 61C bus, which basically follows the same route.
JAISONS AND COX’S
McKeesport was once a prosperous city with a thriving downtown shopping area. Jaison’s and Cox’s were two of the clothing stores where you could purchase fancy dresses. There was a children’s clothing store where you could purchase all of your child’s back-to-school outfits. With the closing of the Mon Valley steel mills and the opening of nearby shopping centers, the McKeesport downtown stores saw business decline, and eventually most of the stores closed. The city has yet to rebound.
CRAWFORD MANSION
E.R. Crawford’s home was the Crawford Mansion, which was in Duquesne and was on the hillside just above this tunnel. At his death in 1936, he had a net worth of about $3.8 million – over $60 million in today’s standard. Half of the estate was used to establish a charity in his name, which remains in operation almost 80 years later. This mural was funded in part by the McKeesport-based E. R. Crawford Trust. After the death of his wife (E. R. Crawford preceded her in death) the mansion was demolished. The Crawfords did not have any descendants, so the mansion was offered to the City of Duquesne. However, Duquesne did not have the funding to maintain the home