Submitted by LostEnroute t3_11zpg9w in pittsburgh
Lil_Phantoms_Lawyer t1_jddn4it wrote
It's a really great center for anyone who hasn't been, I highly recommend it.
Western Pennsylvania has such a fascinating history with glass, even today we are still a leader in manufacturing and innovation for the aviation glass market. It's not a huge market, but the players involved are all mixing a different combination of old techniques with modern technology and it's an enjoyable niche rabbit hole to get lost in.
And then of course there is this fascinating little footnote from local history:
>The United States Glass Company was located near the Monongahela River on Seventh Street. The company specialized in "pressed glass," tableware, and other glass products made from molds. Unfortunately, in 1963 the United States Glass Company was damaged by a tornado, and their 80-foot water tower collapsed through the building's roof. The furnaces shut down and the liquid glass cooled and hardened. Afterwards there was left a 250-ton block of solid glass, making any plans to rebuild too costly.
Anyway, yeah. Glass and Pittsburgh. I'm glad the long journey the two have shared has led (in part) to us having this wonderful facility, go check it out.
SpinyElectron t1_jde15ew wrote
Is that 250 ton glass block still there?
Lil_Phantoms_Lawyer t1_jdeip01 wrote
I've always been curious about the specifics, but info is limited. The scope of damage was much larger than just the glass factory though, so I imagine someone had to come in and clean everything out. I'm sure plenty of it just ended up in the river.
>Property damage ran into the millions. The full force of the storm hit the U.S. Glass House (never worked again), Copperweld, the High School Stadium, and the Steel City Lumber Company. Sheets of corrugated steel were ripped from Copperweld and tossed far up the hill. The roof of the Reliance Hose Co. was dumped in the entrance way of Copperweld Office Building which had been severely damaged by flying debris. Copperweld’s new office building (2 years old) built in the excess of $500,000.00 was “practically in shambles”. The heaviest losses were in the casting department, the rolling mill, ground rod department, laboratory and the engineering departments. Gratefully, the mill was closed for the annual summer vacation or the loss of lives may have been heavy.
>Glassport Memorial Stadium damages were estimated at $100,000.00. Heavy steel floodlights were bent and twisted, one set of lights was flung over a car parked in front of the Roller Rink. The steel bleachers were crumpled like paper and huge holes were punched in the concrete wall. Broadway Roller Rink on Ohio Avenue had a group of approximately 25 teenagers inside when the wind virtually disintegrated the building. The roof was torn off and the walls collapsed, trapping the youngsters inside. By the grace of God, none of the youngsters were seriously injured but the building was never used again.
>The Petrosky Hotel was seriously damaged. Mr. William Petrosky and Mr. Robert Martin’s dead bodies were found in the debris.”
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