· Writing

Allegheny City’s Legacy

       Examine Allegheny City’s legacy-- both her rich and storied history, as well as the controversy that was her Consolidation. This discussion will inspire residents to appreciate their neighborhood’s noteworthy past, and help visitors (and those interested in attracting visitors) see her acclaimed place in early southwestern PA. A must for teachers desiring to spark the fire of curiosity and civic involvement in students. As well, it will help all Pittsburgh and Allegheny County citizens better understand the forces behind the shaping of not only neighborhoods, but larger metropolitan areas.

for children--

FREE  Fall Workshops for Youth
October - November  2008

“Old Maps & Neighborhood Discoveries”-- Field Trips  for ages 7- 14

       Come learn about historic Allegheny City-- the original name of the North Side of Pittsburgh!  Examine maps showing sunken islands, gilded mansions, the Allegheny Canal and where old Chief Killbuck was laid to rest under a mulberry bush.  All of these will be tracked down on foot on FOUR SATURDAYS. Explore the land of the North Side’s ‘Old Allegheny’-- it has such a tale to tell!

       October 18, 2008 ~ 9:30 - 11:30 a.m.   Traverse the East Commons & trek over towards “Hopeville”-- the lost neighborhood where the Hope Cotton Mill workers lived.  Look up at  O’Hara’s High, Rough Land  from the perspective of the earliest land-owners in later-Deutschtown.  See how the Canal came into Allegheny, where the Aqueduct brought the water over to Pittsburgh, and much more!

       October 25, 2008 ~ 9:30 - 11:30 a.m.   Today the North Shore, but once three islands!  Stand where the back channel was, and where schoolboys of the 1820s found Delaware George & other Indian graves!  Walk over ground above sunken islands, see the “humpbacked hill” as early natives did, explore General Robinson’s plantation and even “Barefoot Square”-- where Andrew Carnegie romped as a boy.

       November 1, 2008 ~ 9:30 - 11:30 a.m.   Let’s track down the McKnight mansion and Chief Kilbuck’s mulberry-bush grave!  We will examine the location of the Union Skating Pond, the early Penitentiary, the Irwin Rope Works, the solemn site of Allegheny Town’s earliest “Burying Grounds,”  sleuth the location of the “Glass House Riffle,” and more.

       November 22, 2008 ~ 9:30 - 11:30 a.m.   We’ll be high up above the great ridge of the Venango Trail, that the ailing General Forbes wanted to see and which Commodore Perry later travelled all the way to Erie.  Walk across what was once the campus of the Western University of PA, where Langley did his whirlybird experiments off the hilltop, and see the still-standing house and Factory of John Brashear, who patiently taught students about optical lenses for studying the heavens!

Come along on these fun and stimulating Field Trips-- learn about history,
how to get involved in your North Side of  today, and also
earn extra credit from your school !!

` ` ` ADULTS WELCOME AS CHAPERONES ` ` `

RSVP required- - To Register for these FREE Field Trips,
please email artist-teacher Lisa Miles:   

Information will then be sent to you about Meeting
Locations for each Saturday, logistical concerns, etc.     

Support provided by the Buhl Foundation, and in
collaboration with the Sarah Heinz House & YouthPlaces