Great St. Patrick's Day Flood, 1936: Ambridge stories

 

Unidentified boy looking at train on flooded railroad tracks,
east side of American Bridge Co., at the Ambridge Station 
St. Patrick's Day Flood, 1936
postcard
personal collection

The cause of the 1936 St. Patrick's Day flood—the biggest natural disaster in the history of the Pittsburgh region—has been blamed on weeks of abnormal weather. First a prolonged cold spell allowed an unusual amount of snow and ice to accumulate. Then, just before St. Patrick's day, a sudden rise in temperature caused a rapid melt. And if those weren't problematic enough, an hours-long downpour added to the amount of water that had already been rising out of local streams and along the banks of Pittsburgh's rivers. Previously unimaginable destruction and death followed in Pittsburgh and many other river communities. 

During the overnight hours of March 17, the Ohio River began to rise in Ambridge. Although located along the river, Ambridge was relatively lucky thanks to its natural topography and to the American Bridge Company's occupation of most of the riverfront. American Bridge, though, wasn't so lucky.

The "crackerbox" tenements that had once stood on the river bank between 9th and 10th street, and flooded in 1907, were gone by 1936. Reportedly, only some of the Ambridge houses on Bank St. along Big Sewickley Creek were flooded. (But neighboring Fair Oaks, on the opposite, lower bank of the creek, wasn't as fortunate. See the photo below.) The rest of Ambridge—homes, businesses, and, with the exception of American Bridge, industries—were high enough above the flood water that they were spared. 

Flooding in Fair Oaks along Big Sewickley Creek, 
opposite Ambridge
photo was taken from the upper part of Ambridge's Glenwood Dr.,
houses in the foreground are on Valley Rd.
March 1936
courtesy Ambridge Borough

Importantly, no Ambridge resident was reported as drowning in the deep, swift, muddy, and debris-filled floodwater. 

However, Ambridge experienced the same disruption of transportation, news, electricity, gas, phone, and telegraph service as other communities, not only along the river, but beyond.

Duquesne Light Co. substation
across Big Sewickley Creek from Ambridge,
Beaver St., Fair Oaks
March 1936 flood
courtesy Ambridge Borough

Roads were blocked by water, mud, or rockslides, making travel in or out of Ambridge pretty much impossible. Trucks that usually delivered food and other vital supplies could not make the trip into Ambridge. Rail service was suspended; a train was stranded on flooded tracks at the Ambridge station. 

Electric service was iffy and eventually limited to Ambridge's water plant, dairies, bakeries, and the phone company. Streets were unlit; buildings were lit by candles, flashlights, lanterns, and fireplaces for several days. Burgess P. J. Caul issued a special notice on March 20: 

Gas service in Ambridge from 8th St. south was shut off for several days as a safety precaution. As a result, many homes and businesses were unheated and stoves inoperable. 

Ambridge schools were closed until March 23 because they had no lights and heat.

Phone service was limited to emergency calls to the police and fire departments, doctors, drug stores, industrial plants, news offices, and other places that might need to be contacted if there was an emergency.

A big worry was that the Ambridge Water Works, with its location near the river, and already surrounded by water, might flood. Users were urged to conserve water. Ambridge's industrial plants were closed in the hopes that would ensure enough water for residential use. Fortunately, the Water Works survived the flood without contamination from the Ohio.

The only plant in Ambridge that remained open in the immediate aftermath of the flood was National Electric Co., so it could make critically needed replacement electrical equipment for damaged public utilities. But the company had to rely on its own power and water supplies. Electricity wasn't available from Duquesne Light Co. or water from the borough. 

Mail could not be delivered for two days. Outgoing mail couldn't leave Ambridge either.

The Ohio River finally crested in the Ambridge area at noon, March 18, measuring 44.3 feet at Lock No. 4 in Legionville in Harmony Township, more than 18 feet above flood stage. The flood water continued downstream, making its way towards other river towns in Beaver County, West Virginia, and Ohio. 

The flood at American Bridge Company

American Bridge Co.
Ohio River flood
March 18, 1936
postcard
personal collection

Ambridge's American Bridge, the largest structural steel fabricating plant in the world, seems to have been caught off guard by the amount of water the Ohio was rushing towards it that fateful St. Patrick's Day.

Men working at American Bridge the night of March 17 tried to save some of the plant's important property as the river began to push its way in, but the water came in so fast, and rose so high, the men had to abandon the plant at 3 AM. Plant electricians continued to work in the plant's powerhouse until 8 AM when they had to be rescued by boat. Power to the plant was finally shut off. The water continued to rise. 

On the morning of March 18, men who reported for work were sent home. American Bridge's barge yard and main shops were reportedly covered by two feet of water, a foot higher than during the disastrous 1907 flood. As a result, the plant couldn't operate and so was shut down. The local plant manager said all they could do was wait until the water receded to assess the damage. However, the damage was expected to be more than the "thousands of dollars" incurred during the '07 flood. That expectation turned out to be true, but did not do justice to the final cost of returning American Bridge to operating condition as the water continued to rise to a record eight feet.

On March 19, American Bridge officials said that the plant was still under four or five feet of water, after dropping about three feet from its high mark at 8 PM the day before. Repairs in the plant couldn't begin until the water receded. (Daily Citizen, March 20, 1936)

By March 20, water at American Bridge had receded "to the top of the lower level of the boat yard ways." Cleanup by several hundred employees began that morning. The "reclamation" and "re-conditioning" started in offices, shops, and yards where mud and debris had to be removed. Replacement of records and files destroyed by the flood began. Motors were taken to Ambridge's National Electric Co. plant to be cleaned and dried.

Once the power was turned back on, more workers would be added to complete the cleanup which would require "weeks" to finish. 

Cleanup continuing through April 6, when the all departments finally reopened. However, only the barge yard and a limited number of other departments were back to full operation. Other departments still were unable to fully open because the power plant, while working again, couldn't yet provide enough power. (Daily Times, April 8, 1936)

The Daily Citizen publishes despite obstacles

Getting news in 1936 wasn't always quick and easy in ordinary times, but for a while during and after the flood, finding out what was happening was much more difficult than usual. 

Most people relied on local newspapers and, maybe a radio if they, or a neighbor, were lucky enough to own one during the depression years. 

But without electricity, radio stations couldn't broadcast. Pittsburgh's powerhouse station KDKA could only broadcast intermittent alerts and emergency information. And without electricity, Ambridge residents couldn't hear radio news anyway. Battery operated radios weren't common then, and the batteries required electrical recharging. 

Ambridge's Daily Citizen found gathering and printing the news to be quite a challenge, but they, with the generous help of newspapers from neighboring towns, made a valiant effort.

The morning United Press news report usually delivered to Ambridge's train depot didn't come on March 18. UP's Pittsburgh office was flooded, so the Citizen had to get most of its stories via long distance calls from Cleveland, Ohio. When UP finally was able to contact the Citizen "by special wire," the reporter had to read the information by flashlight. 

With its gas service cut off, the Citizen couldn't operate the gas-heated linotype machines used for most of its printing. But the Sewickley Herald offered the use of their linotypes, enabling the Citizen to print "a limited amount of copy." The Citizen noted the published paper's unusual appearance, since it was set with the different typefaces used by both newspapers. Beaver's Daily Times also helped by sending "five galleys of their early copy."

Yet another problem arrived two days later when the Citizen's printing plant lost electric power, stopping its ability to print. But the Citizen was able to publish a four page edition, thanks to the Beaver Falls News-Tribune, which allowed the Citizen to use its equipment.

But that wasn't the end of the problems created by the flood. Four days into the flood, all of Beaver County lost electric power, and none of the papers in Beaver County could print. But the Citizen's staff still was determined to print a paper. Here's how they accomplished that with ingenuity, some unusual help from two people in Ambridge, an Ambridge industrial plant which had its own electrical supply, an extraordinary effort by the paper's staff, and finally, the help of a newspaper in neighboring Butler County:

A small motor was dismantled from a washing machine, loaned by [Ambridge business owner] C. F. Milleman, and attached to one of linotype machines.

At 2 o'clock this morning, employees practically dismantled the mangle and sewing machine of Mrs. Anna Ross, 184 Sixth Street, in order to procure the pully and gadgets found necessary for the completion of the primitive but nevertheless effective contrivance. Operators worked all night preparing for today's issue by the light provided by two kerosene lamps, a lantern and flashlights. The entire force was kept busy this morning setting much of the copy by hand. The Citizen's portable saw was moved to the plant of the National Electric Company where their power was used in order to trim all advertising cuts.

Forms and type were then transported by [automobile] to Butler, where the paper was printed on the Butler Eagle press. 

The Ambridge marauders and one man's excuse

A number of out-of-town papers wrote about a mob from Ambridge that had gone to neighboring Leetsdale, a community that had suffered a great deal of flood damage, in order to loot. Leetsdale residents objected. A riot ensued. Leetsdale's police chief had to call the National Guard to help.

Here's the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's March 21 account of the story:

I haven't yet found Ambridge's version of the whole Leetsdale looting story in the Daily Citizen, although according to the March 24 issue, one of the arrested Ambridge men offered an explanation of his actions to a judge:

Joe Gilbert, Bank street, Ambridge, was held under $2,500 bond at a hearing before Judge Ralph Smith, in Allegheny court yesterday on a charge of larceny, and he was committed to the Allegheny county jail.

Gilbert was one of the men arrested by the Leetsdale police for looting in the flooded area. According to Gilbert's story, he had no intention of stealing, but had come across a garage lodged against a tree in the garden flats 300 yards away from any house, and that looking in, he saw a raincoat and a jack, which he thought he was entitled to, since he had found them. Judge Smith, however, thought otherwise.

The March 23 Citizen did say in an article about Leetsdale's flood damage and cleanup that eight of the nine Ambridge men who had been arrested were sent home "with a warning not to be caught back in Leetsdale again" and added:

Twenty-two Leetsdale residents, mostly members of the fire department, were deputized as special police by the [Leetsdale] Burgess and were armed with sawed off shot guns with orders to shoot in the legs anyone caught below the railroad tracks after dark. 

The missing Ambridge boy

Another Ambridge story that made a lot of out-of-town papers was about a missing 16 year-old boy who hadn't come home after visiting his grandmother in South Heights, across the Ohio, a few days after the flood had arrived in Ambridge. Naturally, his parents were frantic and search parties sent out, but they failed to find the boy. However, the story ended with a weird twist. Here's what the Daily Citizen wrote in its Monday, March 23 issue:

After three days of frantic searching for Elmer Bauder, 16-year old son of John Bauder, 554 Maplewood avenue, missing since Friday [March 20], word was received this morning that he was all-right and he had started on a trip.

Friday morning, young Bauder invited Frank McGeorge to go to South Heights to his grandmother's to get a warm dinner. When told that he would be over there for two or three hours, McGeorge declined saying that he had to be home in an hour. He asked Bauder if the "gang" would see him that night and was given the assurance that they would.

He went to the home of his grandmother, Mrs. Elmer Laughner, where he did have dinner. He was given $3 to buy galoshes and went to Beck's store for this purpose. They did not have the kind he wanted and he said he would wait until he returned to Ambridge. At 1:30 o'clock he walked out of the store and that was the last that was known of his whereabouts.

Police were notified and searches of parties of three and four have combed Ambridge and the South Heights districts. Yesterday, the state police sent out a teletype of his description. He disappearance also had been broadcast over the radio.

This morning, John Bauder, received a postal card, postmarked midnight Friday from the Oakland Branch of the Pittsburgh postoffice. It read:

"Dad, don't worry. I'm alright. I'm going someplace. I'll be back home shortly. Tell Grandmother Laughner I'm away on a trip with the DeMolays" signed, "Red."

The reference to the trip with the DeMolays was made because of the illness of Mrs. Laughner and he evidently did not want his grandmother to worry about him.

It is thought that the youth got a ride to Pittsburgh on a delivery truck and, having $8 in his pocket, decided to go to Johnstown to view the results of the flood. Another conjecture is that he is heading south with the intention of visiting Lawrence Shomo, who is attending Atlanta Military Academy at Port Defiance, Virginia, and then continuing to St. Petersburgh to visit his uncle, who owns a drug store there.

There had been no trouble between the boy and his relatives so it evidently had not been premeditated as he was not dressed up when he left home Friday.

I was told that Elmer eventually returned home, but as of yet, I don't know when. Or what his parents had to say to him when he did.

The floating garage

The floating garage crashing against a pier of the Ambridge-Aliquippa bridge let go an automobile which quickly sank while another [automobile] was lodged safely in the remaining part of the building as it moved down steam. (Daily Citizen, March 20, 1936)

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The information in this article came from reporting in Ambridge's Daily Citizen newspaper unless another source is named.

S.P. Kristufek and his stores

Stephen P.  and M. A. Kristufek's store
intersection of Merchant and Beaver Sts.
circa 1903
courtesy of Karl Urda

In 1903, Stephen (Stefan) Kristufek, a Slovak immigrant, moved to the new community of Ambridge and opened a store at the no-longer-existing intersection of Merchant and Beaver Sts. I'd previously written briefly about S. P. Kristufek's stores in an article about the series of "Triangle Buildings" at that intersection.

The photo at the top of this article is of that first store.* I don't have identifying information about the people in the photo, but I'd guess that they may include Kristufek and his wife, Mary, and that the children are some of their eight children who survived infancy.

Josh Selley, S.P. Kristufek's great-grandson, gave me some information about this store:

On November 27, 1903 he bought the corner lot there at 120 Merchant street and built a four room and then increased to a twelve room store. It first started out as a clothing business and then he increased to groceries, meat, hardware and furniture

You can also see Charles Kristufek's General Store, 300 First St., in the photo's background, right. Charles, a prominent Ambridge businessman and builder, was Stephen's older brother. It was Charles Kristufek's grandson, the late Karl Urda, who shared with me the rare photos at the top of this article and immediately below. (In the rest of this article, "Kristufek" refers to S.P. Kristufek, the owner of the Triangle stores.)

S.P. Kristufek's first store, interior
circa 1903
courtesy Karl Urda

The early ad below shows Ambridge's "Big Store" included a restaurant and offered boarding and rooming.

S. P. Kristufek's Store
ad
Ambridge-Economy Citizen
December 16, 1904

This first store was destroyed in a fire on September 6, 1908, in what was called the worst fire in Ambridge's young history. Ambridge mythos has long linked the fire to S. P. Kristufek's receipt of a "Black Hand" extortion letter the previous winter, demanding $200 protection money, which Kristufek refused to pay. However, the Aliquippa Standard of September 11, 1908, reported that Kristufek said he didn't believe the fire was connected to the Black Hand letter, although he didn't offer a theory about how the fire may have started.

The Standard also reported that the bakery of Christopher Damakos (note different spelling of last name by the Gazette Times in quote below) was in the same building and damaged in the fire.

The September 7, 1908, (Pittsburgh) Gazette Times article about the fire said the fire began in the bakery. The article begins:

The first landmarks of the new town of Ambridge with four horses were burned early yesterday morning, despite the efforts of the Fair Oaks, Economy, Ambridge and American Bridge Company's fire departments. The loss is $7,500, cover by insurance. "Triangle Square," the pride of the new steel town, went up in smoke because of an overheated oven in Christopher Damak's bakery, which occupied one building. Several persons narrowly escaped with their lives. 

Undeterred by the fire, Kristufek built a second store. The history of the construction of that second store is a bit murky as of now, and I'm still looking for more information. Selley told me:

That same year he rebuilt the store and it was all wood, no brick. On November 26, 1908 he contracted to have the store made to be brick $4.50 for 1000 bricks. It took 100,000 bricks.

Maria Notarianni found a photo of the second store being constructed--or maybe having a brick facade added to a wooden building--in The Lather, a 1909 publication of the Wood, Wire and Metal Lathers' International Union.

New S. P. Kristufek's Department Store
120 Merchant Street
The Lather
Vol. 9, No. 7
May 1909

Original text: 

The above illustrates S. P. Kristufek's new triangular store, which is being erected on the site of one burned last fall. Mr. Kristufek will be seen in the foreground. This work is in Ambridge, Pa. and is being done by local 263's men. Brother Linhorn as foreman, Warren, Buckles and Skinner.

The photo below shows the second S.P. Kristufek store, sometimes misidentified as the Kristufek store that burned down.

The man in the apron is S. P. Kristufek.* the woman on the left side of the store wearing an apron is his wife, Mary; daughter Rose, Selley's grandmother, is standing near Mary. Kristufek's mother is standing in front of the building.

S. P. Kristufek Department Store
intersection of Merchant St and Beaver Rd. (now Beaver St.)
1912
William Bowan collection

The 1912 photo was featured in a September 12, 1983, Beaver County Times article, "Nostalgia--Marketing returns the good old days" by Joe Tronzo, Beaver County Times staff.

Tronzo wrote: "Kristufek's sold meat, groceries, paints, varnishes, clothes, furniture, carpets, and everything from flypaper to wedding gowns." 

Tronzo noted the stable behind the store on the Beaver Rd. side and the horse and wagon used for deliveries. And that dark sculpture-like thing at the intersection's point?  That's a three-level water trough: one bowl for humans, a big one for horses, and the lowest one for dogs.

The Nov. 24, 1913, Pittsburgh Press reported on a Kristufek's store employee, Mary Susineck, chasing, then tussling with a burglar at the store:

Kristufek's store burglary article
Pittsburgh Press
November 24, 1913

In 1914 Kristufek enlarged the store building to 20 rooms and then 30 rooms, according to Selley.

The well-located department store was an enormous success. In November 26, 1916, a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article said that the S. P. Kristufek Department Store, "known throughout the district as the 'Big Triangle,' is one of the busy centers of the community."

Look at the wide variety of items once sold in the Kristufek's store.

Envelope with advertising for Stephen P. and M. A. Kristufek's store
circa 1903 - 1918
courtesy Josh Selley

According to Selley, Kristufek sold the Triangle building in 1919, and bought another at 133 Merchant St. before moving back to Pittsburgh where he restarted his business. He died on February 22, 1934.

In 1930, a store at The Triangle, then reportedly operated by Abraham Redlich, and owned by his mother, Mary, was destroyed by a fire. (The Daily Times, March 17, 1930). I think this may explain what eventually happened to the second store built by S.P. Kristufek, but I haven't yet verified that the Redlich's store was then operating in the building built by Kristufek.

The Stephen P. and Mary A. Kristufek family:

S.P. and Mary A. Kristufek and children
circa 1911
courtesy Josh Selley

Top row left to right: Phillip, Mary, Stephen E. (eldest), and Jeanette;

Middle row left to right: Lydia, Mary A., Stephen P., and Rose;

Bottom row left to right: John and Charles.

Another child, Katherine, died in infancy.

Stephen P. and Mary A. Kristufek
in front of their Pittsburgh home
circa late 1920s - early 1930s
courtesy Josh Selley

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* The angle of the photos of Kristufek's two stores make them look extremely narrow. However, because the lot where the stores were built was triangular, the width of the buildings increased as the width of the lot increased.

Here's a snip from a 1905 Sanborn Insurance map that shows the shape of the first Kristufek store. It's the building labeled "Hotel Kristufek."

Kristufek General Store
"Hotel Kristufek"
Sanborn Insurance map
1905

And speaking of shapes: Does anyone know what the triangular frames on the roof of the first Kristufek store are?

Briola Bros. Ice Co.

The Briola brothers, Frank and Michael, not only owned and operated the first and largest grocery store on Merchant St., they also ran a successful ice-making company for many years.

The Briolas' ice-making business began in 1904 in the Ambridge-Economy Brewery Co. building, once located on 11th St., immediately east of where the Trinity School for Ministry* is now. The 1924 Economy Centennial book, Economy of Old, Ambridge of Today, said that while the Briolas' ice business was in the brewery building, it could make up to seven tons of ice per day. The brewery went bankrupt in 1913.

The Heinz Co. later bought the former brewery building for making malt vinegar, and perhaps that was the reason the Briolas built, and moved to, a new building for their ice business. Heinz started vinegar production in April 1920, a month after the Briola Bros. Ice Plant on 10th St. and Glenwood Ave. began selling ice.

The Briolas began making making ice for wholesale only in its own plant in March 1920. The Economy Centennial book says that the new ice plant, with seven employees, was "the best equipped ice plant in this section, the capacity being 45 tons daily."

Briola Bros. ice ad
Ambridge Citizen
March 27, 1925

The small print in the ad above says:

For prompt delivery and satisfaction, come to us. We aim to please our customers at all times. 

We handle ice for all occasions, including the cracked ice, which is used for glass refrigerators, ice cream manufacturing and for many other purposes.

Preparations have been made in our plant increasing the capacity which enables us to supply Ambridge, Fair Oaks and Leetsdale.

Ice books on sale at our office, also obtainable from our drivers.

I don't know what "Ice Books" were, other than they obviously let purchasers buy ice at a discount. Anyone know what they looked like and how they worked?

The Ambridge Supply Co. was once at 1st St. and Park Rd., opened by George A. Mytinger in 1910. (Genealogical and Personal History of Beaver County, Pennsylvania, Volume 1, 1914).

Why am I mentioning the Ambridge Supply Co. and posting a photo showing its horse and wagon below? Because while that may be the Ambridge Supply Co.'s wagon, I believe that the building it's stopped at is the Briola Bros. Ice Plant building. Compare the door and window locations with the later photos of the Briola Ice Co. below.

Ambridge Supply Co. wagon at Briola Bros. Ice Plant
circa early 1920s
Courtesy Ambridge Borough

Thanks to the sign, there's no doubt about the identity of the building in the photo below. The "Belt-Line" mentioned in the information about the building's location was the spur rail line that once ran through Ambridge from French Point, across 14th and 11th Sts., behind the businesses on the east side of the 900 block of Glenwood Ave., and ended at 8th St. Some may remember it as the rail tracks that ran behind the west side of Ambridge High School's football stadium.

Briola Bros. Ice Plant
10th and Glenwood at Belt Line
1947
Courtesy Ambridge Borough

At some point, the name of the business was changed to Briola Ice Co. I don't know when it closed, but the photo below is dated 1958. None of the people in the photo are identified. Do you know who they are?

The people in the photo have been identified by members of the Briola family:

Left to right: Mike Briola, Dick Briola, David Briola, Billy or Bobby Briola, Louise Briola, and Raymond Briola.

Briola Ice Co.
1010 Glenwood Ave.
1958
Courtesy Ambridge Borough

While the Briola Ice Co. may be gone, the building is still there, although it now uses the address 421 10th St. As far as I could tell, it was occupied when I took the photo below in 2014. The current business advertising that it's in the building is Muscles' Gym.

Former Briola Ice Co. building
421 10th St.
2014

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Frank Briola was the victim of an attempted "Black Hand" extortion attempt in 1912. Usually, victims were told some harm would come to their businesses if they didn't pay the demanded amount. The May 28, 1912, Daily Times, said that the demand was for $6,000 and plans were arranged for police "to watch for the black-handers...but Biola (sic) failed to carry out his part of the agreement and the plans fell though."

However, there was apparently a second extortion attempt:  A November 16, 1912, Pennsylvania State Police report said:

At the request of U. S. Postal Inspector Craighead, of Pittsburgh, Sergeant McLaughlin and detail, of Troop "A" investigated "black hand" case in which the victim, one Frank Briola, of Ambridge, Pa., was requested to place $3,000 at a designated spot between Ambridge and Beaver Falls. By the use of a decoy package, the detail were successful in apprehending two Italians, Joseph Candilaro and Dominic Fiore.

Both men were tried, Fiore was found guilty, but Candilaro was acquitted.
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* Many older Ambridge area residents may remember the main Trinity School building as the A & P, although much renovated.

Big explosion--fire, death, injuries, and flying fruit

As I do historical research about Ambridge, every once in while I stumble across something other than what I'm looking for that makes me go "whoa!" Like this front page photo and accompanying article with the headline, "Ambridge Block is Devastated by Blast--1 Killed, 44 Flee Explosion and Fire" from the May 6, 1930, Pittsburgh Press.

Rubble from explosion, 1300 block of Merchant St.
Pittsburgh Press
May 6, 1930

Press caption:

This is all that was left of a two-story building in the 1300 block Merchant St., Ambridge, after it was apparently bombed today. One man was killed. Fire following the explosion spread to the Hotel Grant (sic).

The 3:30 A.M. explosion, presumed to be a result of a bomb according to the Press, destroyed a building on the corner of 13th and Merchant Sts. which that paper said was occupied by George Scoursis'* fruit and vegetable market and Peter Ambrosio's** shoe repair shop, as well as a second floor "club room" operated by Joseph Martin.

The May 7, 1930, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette said the blast was on the southeast corner of 13th and Merchant and destroyed a 100 year-old Harmonist building--although the building now at that corner looks like a Harmonist building, so perhaps the destroyed building wasn't exactly on the corner or was on a different corner at that intersection.

[Update February 4, 2016: Thanks to a tip from John Domansky, I may now know the correct location of the building that was destroyed: 1301 Merchant St., so the northwest corner of 13th and Merchant St. See Economy Fruit Market ad below.]

The Post-Gazette also said the blast was "mysterious" and "of unknown origin," and reported that Fire Chief A. G. Fisher said he didn't think a bomb or gas had caused the explosion. Instead, Fisher believed that "at least 25 gallons of gasoline were used."

The body of Joseph Musitino, a roomer in a building across the street, was later found in the ruins beneath a door. He was clutching a .38 caliber revolver and part of a door handle. Ammunition was found in his pocket, and a flashlight was found near his body.

The Post-Gazette said that laborers were still searching the ruins, looking for a friend who had been seen with Musitino the day of the blast.

The fire following the blast spread to a two-story building behind the fruit market, home to several families. The Press reported that "Mr. and Mrs. Michael Moses, their three children, Mary, 4; Rose, 3, and Gladys, 1, fled to the street."

The shock from the explosion was felt for blocks. Houses shook and residents were thrown from their beds. Windows in homes and businesses in the surrounding block were blown out. According to the Press, the nearby Grand Hotel*** lost over 100 windows. And like a comedic touch after a huge explosion in an action movie, fruit and vegetables from the fruit market flew through the air and smashed through hotel windows. The Post-Gazette said fruit "literally rained through the nearby windows."

According to the Press, B. S. McDonald's hotel room was "filled with vegetables blown through the windows," and he was quoted saying, "I was pelted with vegetables and with fragments of plate glass. Some of those glass slivers buried themselves in the wall right near my head." An adjoining room occupied by Walter Knox was "filled with fruit." The Post-Gazette had a photo (unfortunately, not a good one, at least in the digitized version) of another hotel resident, Mike Demo, holding a pineapple that "was hurled through his window, and into a wardrobe."

The Press also reported that James Dillon arrived at his home across from the fruit market about 10 minutes after the explosion and found his two-year old daughter, Geraldine, asleep under a pane of glass which had blown out of the window, but remained intact. Amazingly, the toddler not injured--and still asleep.

When the two articles were written, police were looking for two men seen just before the explosion by a milkman, running from the building.

Damage from the explosion was estimated to be $30,000.

I don't know why Musitino was in or about to enter the destroyed building with a gun in his hand. I also don't know if Musitino's friend eventually was found in the rubble, if the cause of the bombing was ever conclusively determined, or if a bomber or arsonist was ever found. If I find any additional information, I'll update this article.
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Another article I found in my meanderings through old newspapers that made me say "whoa!" led to my June 25, 2015, article, "Daring daylight holdup, plucky girl clerk."

* The Post-Gazette identified the fruit market as the Economy Fruit Store, owned by "George and John Crocous." If anyone can confirm the name(s) of the market's owners, please let me know.

[Update February 4, 2016:  John Domansky pointed me to this ad in the program for Ambridge's Canady-Hull Post American Legion's February 10 and 11, 1927, musical "The Bimbo," showing the address of the Economy Fruit Market was 1301 Merchant St., owned by Geo. Scourcos.

Economy Fruit Market ad
program for "The Bimbo"
Canady-Hull Post American Legion
February 10 and 11, 1927
program courtesy of John Domansky

** I believe the Press is referring to Peter D'Ambrosio, a long-time Ambridge shoe repair shop owner who owned a shop on the southwest corner of 13th and Merchant in the 1940s (and beyond?). [Update February 4, 2016: Given the other incorrect information in the Press and Post-Gazette's articles about the explosion, I'm now wondering if D'Ambrosio moved his shop across 13th St. to the southwest corner after the explosion. Or if his shop was always on the southwest corner, perhaps damaged, but not destroyed, by the explosion, and the newspapers got it wrong. Does anyone know for certain?]

*** The Press and Post-Gazette articles mistakenly refer to the Grand Hotel/Hotel Grand as the "Hotel Grant" in the articles. You can read more about the Grand Hotel in my February 24, 2014, article, "The Grand Hotel and the Moose."

Ambridge's triangle buildings--there was more than one

We interrupt the blogging about the Ambridge Golden Jubilee celebration to bring you this post by popular demand.

People keep asking about "the triangle building" that once stood at the intersection of Beaver and Merchant Sts., and if I have a photo of it. Frequently, some folks also ask, "What was that triangle building?" A lot of people remember the building because anyone traveling over the Big Sewickley Creek Bridge from Ambridge into Fair Oaks had to go right by it.

The Slovenian National Home
The triangle building we remember was the Slovenian National Home, or in Slovenian: Slovenski Narodni Dom (S.N.D.), sometimes called the "Slovenian Auditorium," sometimes called "The Slovenian Club," often simply referred to as "the triangle building."

Slovenian Auditorium
120 Merchant St.
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Daily Citizen Trade Area Directory
1956

The area's Slovene's first organized in 1925. Like many ethnic groups, the Slovenian immigrants, many who didn't speak English, wanted a place to speak their language, share stories about and news from "the old county," and socialize. That group eventually became the basis for the S.N.D.

The S.N.D.'s first home was in rented space at 135 Merchant St., then, in 1937, the S.N.D. moved to its own building at 127 Merchant St., and in 1946, it bought and moved into the larger triangle building at 114-120 Merchant St.

Here's the southern end of a map of Ambridge from the Beaver County Bicentennial Atlas showing the intersection of Beaver Rd. and Merchant St. It's the area in pink. Later, Beaver Rd. was re-named Beaver St., although many long-time residents continued to call it Beaver Road. It is still called Beaver Rd. on the map below.

Map
south Ambridge
edited from
Beaver County Bicentennial Atlas
1976

S.N.D. bar

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Daily Citizen Trade Area Directory

1956

Members?
"Old Slovenian Club"
Date unknown
First Street Reunion book, 2009

The S.N.D. building was, at one time, home to a number of Slovenian organizations including: S.N.D. Ladies Auxiliary; S.N.P.J. #33 (Slovenska Narodna Podporna Jednota or Slovene National Benefit Society); S.N.P.J. #699; K.S.K.J. #183 (Kranjsko slovenska katoliška jednota or Carniolan Slovene Catholic Union); S.Z.Z. #74 (Slovensko zavarovalno združenje or Slovenian Insurance Association); Reveliers Lodge #699; Revelier Youth Circle; and Junior Revelier Chorus.

Like most other Ambridge ethnic clubs, the S.N.D. offered a variety of activities: dances, banquets, softball teams, and, of course, bowling. 

The S.N.D. remained at the triangle building until 1972 when the First Street area was being cleared for redevelopment. The two photos of the building below must have been taken shortly before the building was razed, the "Slovenian Auditorium" sign is gone. I also remember a large sign that said, "Slovenski Narodni Dom" once being near the top of the building in the late 1950s - 1960s; it's also gone.

"Triangle Building"
intersection of Merchant St. and Beaver St.
1972
Laughlin Memorial Library archives

"Triangle Building"
intersection of Merchant St. and Beaver St.
1972
Laughlin Memorial Library archives

Folks older than I am remember that in the 1930s and, perhaps 1940s, Levy's Furniture store was on the ground floor of the building, and the S. N. D. was on the floor above, with a third floor being added later. 

After the Beaver County Redevelopment Authority bought the building in 1972, the S.N.D. moved to a new building at 199 Park Rd., on land either bought from, or donated by, American Bridge (U.S. Steel Corp.), depending on what account one may find.

That new building, usually referred to as The Slovenian Center, was sold in 1993, after the organization's expenses had become larger than its income. According to a June 28, 1993, Beaver County Times article, membership and events had dropped because members were older and less active, younger people weren't interested in joining, and--this is so Ambridge--new, stricter drunk driving laws cut into liquor sales.

The Beaver County Jobs Center moved into a new building built where the S.N.D. building once stood. The Social Security Administration is now in that building. 

Earlier triangle buildings
But the S.N.D. wasn't the first "triangle building" that stood at that intersection. 

 S. P. Kristufek's Store
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Ambridge Economy Citizen
December 16, 1904

A 1905 Sanborn insurance map of Ambridge shows a general store on the first floor, and "Hotel Kristufek" on the second floor, of what appears to be a triangular building at the intersection of a street labeled "Duss Av." and Merchant St., between First and Second Sts. (A 1917 Sanborn map shows the same street intersecting with Merchant labeled "Beaver Rd. (Duss Av.)")

That building burned down, and a second building was built. A photo of that new building being constructed appeared in a 1909 publication of the Wood, Wire and Metal Lathers' International Union, The Lather. Thanks to Maria Notarianni who found this gem:

New S. P. Kristufek's Department Store
120 Merchant Street
The Lather
Vol. 9, No. 7
May 1909

Original text: 

The above illustrates S. P. Kristufek's new triangular store, which is being erected on the site of one burned last fall. Mr. Kristufek will be seen in the foreground. This work is in Ambridge, Pa. and is being done by local 263's men. Brother Linhorn as foreman, Warren, Buckles and Skinner.

The department store was a success. A November 26, 1916, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article about Ambridge businessmen said that the S. P. Kristufek Department Store, "known throughout the district as the 'Big Triangle,' is one of the busy centers of the community."

The photo below shows the S. P. Kristufek Department Store in 1912. The man in the apron is S. P. Kristufek,* the woman on the left side of the store wearing an apron is his wife, Mary; daughter Rose is standing near Mary; his mother is standing in front of the building.

The street on the left was then called Beaver Rd., later changed to Beaver Street. Merchant Street runs along the right side. Across Merchant stands a water tower and the east end of the Marshall Alley homes.

S. P. Kristufek Department Store
intersection of Merchant St and Beaver Rd. (now Beaver St.)
1912
William Bowan collection

The 1912 photo was featured in a September 12, 1983, Beaver County Times article, "Nostalgia--Marketing returns the good old days" by Joe Tronzo, Beaver County Times Staff.

Tronzo wrote: "Kristufek's sold meat, groceries, paints, varnishes, clothes, furniture, carpets, and everything from flypaper to wedding gowns." **

He says:

The Kristufek store was burned when Kristufek refused a demand that he pay $200 in protection money.

A man named Redlilck later built a brick building at the site dealing in grocery and meats. 

So both Kristufek's stores were destroyed by fire? Or was the first building the one torched by extortionists? I hope that more research will clear up the sequence of events.

[Update: December 18, 2015: Unless S. P. Kristufek was threatened with extortion and was a victim of arson twice, the Kristufek Store shown being constructed in 1909 in the photo above and shown in the 1912 photograph, is not the store that was destroyed in a fire after an extortion attempt. That fire was in 1908.

In Laughlin Memorial Library, I found some notes that I believe were written by the late Ambridge historian William (Bill) Bowan that, as far as I can tell, were based on research in the Ambridge-Economy Citizen. According to the notes, the newspaper reported on January 25, 1908, that S. P. Kristufek had received a "Black Hand" letter*** demanding $200. Another note, probably from the September 11, 1908, issue of the Aliquippa Standard says, "S. P. Kristufek Store at Triangle Burned. Thought to be work of previous threat from Black Handers."

However, the September 7, 1908, (Pittsburgh) Gazette Times article about the fire gives a different cause of the fire. The article begins:

The first landmarks of the new town of Ambridge with four horses were burned early yesterday morning, despite the efforts of the Fair Oaks, Economy, Ambridge and American Bridge Company's fire departments. The loss is $7,500, cover by insurance. "Triangle Square," the pride of the new steel town, went up in smoke because of an overheated oven in Christopher Damak's bakery, which occupied one building. Several persons narrowly escaped with their lives. 

That article further reported these losses: S. T. and M. A. Kristusk (sic), three-story brick and frame buildings, $5,000; Tony Dolenso, four-story fame building used as a butcher shop and apartments, $2,500.

End of update].

The "man named Redlilck" mentioned in the Times article was actually named "Redlich." Max and/or Mary Redlich owned the building in the 1920s. Then their building was also destroyed by fire. And their last name again was misspelled in a news article about the fire, only misspelled differently:

A front page story of the March 17, 1930, The Daily Times, headlined, "Truck Driver Rescues Two Girls From Roof, Fireman Badly Hurt," reported:

Sunday morning at 2 o'clock fire destroyed the three-story Triangle building, Merchant street and Beaver road, Ambridge, causing damage estimated at $56,000...The interior of the building was burned out, leaving only the walls standing.

The article said that Abraham "Redlick" **** was the proprietor of a department store on the ground floor and the owner was Mary Redlick, wife of Max Redlick. A Greek coffee house was on the second floor. Apartments were on the "two upper floors."

At the time the article was written, the cause of the fire was undetermined.

Bill Bowan noted on the aerial shot below of the First Ward, also known as "Hunky Town," that it was taken in 1925. So the triangle building shown on the far right, mid-photo,***** must have been the one owned by Redlich's before the 1930 fire.

Ambridge's First Ward aerial
1925
Laughlin Memorial Library Archives

The Redlich's rebuilt their building, but ran into financial problems. In 1931 their property was listed in a Sheriff's Sale notice which described a brick building with a store, and a Greek coffeehouse on the second floor. An adjoining three-story brick building had three five-room apartments.

Except for the Levy's Furniture store being there, I'm not sure yet what happened to or in the building between 1931 and 1946 when it was bought by the Slovenian National Home.
_____

* Note this store was owned by S. P. (Stephen) Kristufek, not his better-known brother, Charles Kristufek, who owned a realty and insurance company and Ambridge Lumber and Builders Supplies on Duss Avenue. However, in 1903, Charles Kristukek also owned a general store, on First St. That wood-framed building was also destroyed in a fire, and replaced by a three-story brick building at 300 First St. in 1908. (Historical Voyage, Pictorial Review of the Beaver Valley, The Beaver County Times, 2004)

There were more Stephen Kristufeks who owned other small groceries in Ambridge: Stephen E. Kristufek, S. P.'s son, owned a store at 290 First St. Stephen E. Kristufek and his wife, Agnes, owned Kristufek's Market on Spruce St. And Stephen G. Kristufek, son of Stephen E., owned Kristufek's Grocery at 2658 Beaver Rd.

** In The Beaver County Time's article, Tronzo noted the stable behind the store on the Beaver Rd. side and the horse and wagon used for deliveries. And that dark sculpture-like thing at the intersection's point?  That's a three-level water trough: one bowl for humans, a big one for horses, and the lowest one for dogs.

*** "Black Hand" letters were apparently a well-known means of extortion in the early 20th Century. I have found at least two other old news reports of Ambridge residents receiving a Black Hand letter. One was the well-known Ambridge businessman Frank Biola.

**** I don't know if there was once another Abe Redlich from Ambridge, and so, a very unfortunate coincidence, but an Ambridge man named Abe Redlich, a confessed firebug, was part of a notorious arson gang. Among its jobs in Western PA, the gang set fire to the Better Value Shoe Store, 706 Merchant St. Twice. Within a few months of each other. The first fire was on December 25, 1931, the second, in April 1932. The gang was paid by the store owners, William Lazor and his nephew, Daniel Lazor, to burn down the store. Twice.

***** The photo, part of a much larger aerial photo of the south part of Ambridge, also shows the three rows of Marshall Alley homes, slightly below the center of the photo, as well as the Bank Street homes and apartments at the bottom. All are now gone.