Home - Steel City History

A black-and-white photograph of St. Anthony’s Chapel around 1900, showing its Gothic architecture, arched windows, and bell tower. People in period clothing gather outside after Mass, capturing the religious and community life of Troy Hill.

The History of Troy Hill

High atop a narrow plateau on Pittsburgh’s North Side, the neighborhood of Troy Hill has watched over the city’s rivers and industries for nearly two centuries. In the mid-1800s, one might have stood on this hill and heard the sounds of church bells mingling with the din of mills below, or even the squeals of…

Black-and-white photo of early 20th-century bakers in a Pittsburgh bakery kneading dough and baking loaves, representing Mancini’s humble beginnings.

The Rise of Mancini’s Bread: A Pittsburgh Baking Legacy

When it comes to Pittsburgh comfort food, few aromas evoke nostalgia like the warm, yeasty scent wafting from a fresh loaf of Mancini’s bread. For nearly a century, Mancini’s Bakery has been more than just a purveyor of bread – it’s a beloved institution and a family legacy woven into the fabric of the Steel…

An 1892 engraving showing steelworkers confronting armed Pinkerton agents at the Homestead mill, with crowds gathered and smoke rising from gunfire.

Inside the Homestead Strike of 1892: Labor’s Bloody Stand

Inside the Homestead Strike of 1892: Labor’s Bloody Stand In the summer of 1892, the steel town of Homestead, Pennsylvania, erupted into one of the most dramatic and violent labor conflicts in American history. The Homestead Strike wasn’t just a battle over wages or working conditions—it was a fierce confrontation over the very future of…

A rusting steel mill in the Mon Valley with smoke stacks silhouetted against a gray sky, symbolizing the industrial decline of towns like Braddock and Homestead.

Forgotten Steel Towns: Braddock, Homestead, and the Decline of the Mon Valley

Nestled along the Monongahela River just southeast of Pittsburgh lie the remnants of once-mighty steel towns: Braddock, Homestead, Duquesne, McKeesport, and Clairton. These towns weren’t just dots on the map—they were vital arteries in the industrial heart of America. They forged the steel that built bridges, skyscrapers, and warships. But today, echoes of molten furnaces…

A gritty black-and-white photo-style image of 1950s Pittsburgh at night. Shadowy figures in trench coats and fedoras approach a smoky social club, with vintage cars lining the street. The industrial skyline looms behind them, evoking the secretive atmosphere of the LaRocca-era mob.

Mobsters of Pittsburgh: The LaRocca Era and the Rise of Organized Crime

Mobsters of Pittsburgh: The LaRocca Era and the Rise of Organized Crime In the smoke-filled back rooms of Pittsburgh’s working-class neighborhoods, amid the clinking glasses and whispered deals of its social clubs, a quiet but ruthless empire was born. Pittsburgh’s mafia history often sits in the shadow of more famous cities like New York and…

A faded black-and-white photograph of Raymond “Charlie No-Face” Robinson standing at night on a rural Pennsylvania road. He wears a cardigan and dark glasses with a prosthetic nose attached, revealing his severely disfigured face (no eyes or nose). The dim roadway behind him disappears into darkness, evoking the eerie atmosphere that gave rise to the Green Man legend.

The Real Story Behind “Charlie No-Face”

On a moonless summer night in Western Pennsylvania decades ago, a group of teenagers parks on the side of a lonely country road. They kill the engine and nervously honk the horn three times, daring a local legend to emerge from the darkness. According to the story they’ve heard since childhood, a glowing green ghost…