Demolition on Penn Avenue

000187pic
Buildings are being demolished on the 400 block of Penn Avenue. Horne's Department Store can be seen in the background.
Location
Downtown
Address
Penn Avenue
Pittsburgh City Photographer Collection
More Details
Source
Pittsburgh City Photographer Collection, 1901-2002, AIS.1971.05, Archives Service Center, University of Pittsburgh Original URL
Subjects
Penn Avenue (Pittsburgh, Pa.).; Horne's Department Store.; Wrecking--Pennsylvania--Pittsburgh.; Downtown (Pittsburgh, Pa.).
Identifier
000187.PIC
Rights
Public Domain - Anybody may use this photo for any purpose
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Location
Tags
Comments
  • Matt almost 14 years ago

    Construction of gateway center, or earlier? You can see Horne's bldg way in background with newer bridge to fifth ave place.

  • Dane almost 14 years ago

    Doesn't that construction equipment look too old to be for the gateway center?

  • Matt almost 14 years ago

    Actually, not really. The first phase of Gateway center was 1950-53, and the truck and single car we can see in the distant garage are definitely mid-40s in appearance.

    The thing that makes the shovels look old is that they are shovels (not back hoes, which do most excavating today), distinguished by the direction in which they scoop. 1950 places this perfectly as the backhoe was developed in the UK in 1953 and rose to prominence in the U.S. in the late fifties, quickly displacing the use of "steam" shovels (really diesel since the thirties) that had been unchanged in form for decades.

    Interesting point, thanks.

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