The new block of 4th Street: Park Road to Ohio River Blvd., 1945 - '46

 

Intersection of Park Rd. and 4th St.
April 10, 1946
Laughlin Memorial Library archives

The photo above shows the practically brand-new intersection of Park Rd. and 4th St. The photo must have been taken from the American Bridge Office building which stood southwest of the new intersection.

John Domansky IDed the small building on the southwest corner of the intersection as belonging to the gas company. But so far, I don't have any confirming information.

Here are more views of the new brick-paved intersection:

Intersection of Park Rd. and 4th St.
north side of American Bridge Office shown on upper left
American Bridge Co. plant in background, right
April 10, 1946
Laughlin Memorial Library archives

Intersection of Park Rd. and 4th St.
looking west toward American Bridge Co. plant
American Bridge Office building on left
April 10, 1946
Laughlin Memorial Library archives

Intersection of Park Rd. and 4th St.
American Bridge Park on right
American Bridge Co. plant in background
April 4, 1946
Laughlin Memorial Library archives

Intersection of Park Rd. and 4th St.
looking toward 400 block of Park Rd.
April 10, 1946
Laughlin Memorial Library archives

That house on the corner of Park Rd. and 4th St. is still there, as is the darker house on Park Rd. above it, only now there's another house between them. 

During the spring and summer of 1945, that new block of 4th St. had been constructed to connect Park Rd. to the new extension of Ohio River Blvd. from the Allegheny County line to Ambridge's 8th St.

Ohio River Blvd. and 4th St.
construction
looking east from Ohio River Blvd.
American Bridge Office building on right
October 18, 1945
Laughlin Memorial Library archives

Ohio River Blvd. and 4th St. 
construction on 4th St.
American Bridge Co. plant in background
October 18, 1945
Laughlin Memorial Library archives

Construction of 4th St. between Park Rd. and Ohio River Blvd.
north side of American Bridge Office bldg.
October 18, 1945
Laughlin Memorial Library archives

Intersection of Park Rd. and 4th St.
looking west toward American Bridge plant
October 18, 1945
Laughlin Memorial Library archives

I believe that the sign to the right of the parked car says:

"Entrance at Merchant St. to American Bridge Co. and Penna. R. R. Station"

But extending 4th St. from Park Rd. to the boulevard had a legal complication: the land needed for the extension was owned by the American Bridge Co. The extension would go right through the American Bridge Park.

The legal issues involved in extending 4th St. through American Bridge's private property was nicely resolved in a "Deed of Dedication" which was memorialized as Ambridge Borough's Ordinance No. 562. Here's the beginning of the lengthy handwritten ordinance which included the signed deed:

An ordinance approving and accepting a Deed of Dedication from the American Bridge Company for the purpose of dedicating to public use that portion of Fourth Street, extended, in the said Borough of Ambridge, between Park Road and the new Pennsylvania State Highway.

In the deed, the American Bridge Co. agreed to give Ambridge Borough the legal right to the portion of 4th St. between Park Rd. and the new extension of Ohio River Blvd. For that right, Ambridge paid American Bridge Co. $1.00.

_____

Thanks to the Borough of Ambridge's Marilyn Sheleheda for scanning Ordinance No. 562 for me. The ordinance was not only not available online, but bound in a large book with other old handwritten ordinances. Scanning that couldn't have been easy.

Big Sewickley Creek Bridge 1917: "Longer to complete than did the building of the Panama Canal"

 

Big Sewickley Creek Bridge
From Allegheny Co. looking north into Ambridge, Beaver County
1917
credit: Allegheny Co. Dept. of Public Works

About the photo above:

Streetcar tracks crossed the bridge in 1917. The dark building just above the photo's center and the first building on the right were on the part of Beaver Rd./Beaver St. that leads into Ambridge from the bridge. To the dark building's left is a home that I think was on Bank St. and the backs of some buildings in the 300 block of First St. The dark building and all buildings to its left have been razed. The tall building farther up the left side of the street must be the S. P. Kristufek Department Store. If you enlarge the photo enough, you can see a horse standing next to the Kristufek store. And, above the first utility pole on the right, a carriage.

The nearest building on the right is still standing; Hark's Place bar is now there, 70 Beaver St./Rd. Beyond that, the building with all the porches was one of the infamous "Crackerbox" tenements that stood on the hill above Merchant St./Beaver Rd., razed in 1960.

Far in the background are homes in the 100 block of Merchant St. And behind them, the domes of Holy Ghost Orthodox Church, 210 Maplewood Ave.

_____

Long before Ohio River Boulevard connected Ambridge with Allegheny Co., the small Big Sewickley Creek Bridge provided the connection.

The Economy Centennial was being celebrated when Ambridge's June 6, 1924, Citizen* newspaper noted on its front page: 

an important milestone in the history of Ambridge...the beginning of the end of the work on the Big Sewickley Creek bridge between Ambridge and Fair Oaks, which has been a bone of contention between two counties, a street car company, residents of three boroughs and tourists of 48 States for a number of years.

Because that very morning, a contractor had started pouring concrete in the bridge's road bed and expected the work to be completed "in about two weeks."

Even though the bridge is only about 200 feet long, that same Citizen article claimed it took "longer to complete than did the building of the Panama Canal and has cost enough to build a bridge across the Ohio River."

The history of the bridge's construction is murky. The Citizen article said Allegheny County records showed a bridge at the site    "[96] years ago" according to a construction inspector, who said he had found a 1828 "road view plan" showing a bridge at the same location.

However, the inspector's history was questioned by John Frederick (Fred) Knoedler, who was a non-Harmonist caretaker of Old Economy and its property both before and after the Harmony Society dissolved. Knoedler said that according to Harmonist records, "the Economites drove through the creek to get to Leetsdale" during their early years in Economy. But, he says, "much later," there was a bridge across the creek when the Harmonists had pastures on both sides of Big Sewickley Creek. Knoedler remembered "wire gates hung from the bridge to keep the [Harmony Society's] cattle from going up the creek." 

The Citizen also said that "during the youth of John Duss," who was born in 1860, the bridge was condemned, and Duss designed an arch under the bridge to strengthen it. "The original arch still stands, but is is now encased in concrete."

A 1906 G. M. Hopkins & Co. map shows a narrow bridge in that spot. Eventually, the bridge was raised and the walls heighted to accommodate street cars.

Then, during the WWI years, a decision was made by some entity to further widen and rebuild the bridge. Beaver County's commissioners claimed they had no money for such a project. So Allegheny Co. undertook the work on its own. I believe the photo above shows that reconstruction project. 

But the work did not go well. In fact it went so wrong that The Citizen said:

The [whale] may have swallowed Jonah, according to tradition, but no one who ever had any thing to do with the Big Sewickley Creek Bridge from that time on would believe that Jonah was anywhere but right handy to that bridge. His hoodoo seemed to be always present.

What was supposed to be a one year project took two. Twice high water moved the derrick. Once all the bridge's "large stones were washed down the creek, requiring lines to be tied to them to 'snake' them out of the creek." 

Even after the construction project finished, problems continued when the streetcar company said it wouldn't pay to move its tracks. So in 1923, the two counties agreed to do the job themselves. But then, after the contractor had moved one of the tracks, he claimed that he didn't have enough money to finish the job. And the work dragged on and on into the spring on 1924--bad weather didn't help. But finally--finally--the bridge construction appeared to be nearing completion.

But wait, there's more!

If you enlarge the photo at the top, you can see what appears to be the back of a carriage, and near that carriage, part of a sign peeking out on the right side of a pole. And if you're like me, you thought, "I wish I could read what that sign says. 

Well, wish granted. Because there's another photo! And while the photo was focused on the bridge's stone arch, it shows more than that.

Big Sewickley Creek Bridge
from the Allegheny County side of Big Sewickley Creek
1917
credit: Allegheny Co. Dept. of Public Works

First, an enlargement of the sign: 

Ambridge speed limit sign
Merchant St. near Valley Rd.
1917

About the photo above:

The sign says "Ambridge Borough, Speed Limit, 15 miles per hour." It appears to have stood about where the "Welcome to the Borough of Ambridge" sign is now, just north of the intersection of Valley Rd. and Merchant St.

An enlarged photo also shows a tailor's signs painted on the windows of the building with the awning, now Hark's Place.  I think the left window says "Merchant Tailor." The one on the right window says "John [last name I couldn't read], Tailor."

The sign on the side of the one story wooden building says "Favorite Cigarettes." While there are more signs on the side and on the front, I can't make them out. 

Could the house on the right side of the photo, above those two buildings, have been on Valley Rd.? And the houses on the very top of the hill on Glenwood Dr.?

And towards the right side of the photo, a man wearing a hat is standing, looking toward the photographer. And us.

_____

Thanks to Debby Rabold, Bell Acres Borough's historian, for sending me the two photos above. Debby has also written about the Ambridge-Leetsdale Big Sewickley Creek Bridge and provides a somewhat different history of its construction than the one written in The Citizen. She also has included some early photos of that bridge. Here's a link to Debby's article: "Big Sewickley Creek...Early Bridges," which also includes information about other bridges that cross Big Sewickley Creek. 

_____

* The Citizen's June 6, 1924, article was republished in the March 21, 1939, Daily Citizen. The latter did correct several typos in the original article, including that a bridge was at the site "6 years ago." That befuddled me at first, because I knew that the bridge had been built before 1918. In 1939, the bridge was referred to as the "Ambridge-Fair Oaks Bridge."

The Prince Theatre Building

Prince Theatre Building
600 block of Merchant St., East (even numbered) side
1951
courtesy Jeffrey Snedden

This wonderful photo of Ambridge's Prince Theatre Building came from Jeffrey Snedden, the writer of the "Histories and Mysteries" column in the Beaver County Times. Ambridge's Dollar General store and its parking lot are now where this building once was.

Although the long-closed theater auditorium, which was behind the row of storefronts on Merchant St., was razed in 1991, the storefronts remained for a number of years, but were gone by 2008.

In the photo you can see the Prince Theatre's marquee and entrance to the theater at 638 Merchant St., as well as the stores that lined the theater's facade. To the theater's right is Maynard's Jewelry, 628 Merchant St. On the theater's left is a storefront that says "Children's Wear." That would have been Stork's Nest, owned by Sally Rubenstein, wife of Ambridge High School's legendary football coach, Moe Rubenstein, 650 Merchant St.

That sliver of white on the far right of the photo was Timney's Appliances, 612 Merchant St., razed in July 2013. Its location is now also part of the Dollar General building.

On the second floor of the building there's a sign advertising "Signs of all kinds" and at the far end, another sign for "Guardian Loans."

Right now, I can't say with confidence what businesses were in the three storefronts to the left of Stork's Nest at the time the photo was taken, but I think I see a barber pole between the last two. If I can later confirm what those businesses were, I'll update this post.

New information about the Prince Theatre.

Here's some information I learned about the Prince since my blog post about the theater on April 30, 2016. To put the new information in context, I recommend you read that earlier blog post as well as this one.

The Prince was opened in late 1919 by G. W. Prince and at that time, it was managed by Marcus (Ben) Nadler who later owned the theater. In January 3, 1920, The Citizen announced that the Prince would temporarily close, but planned to give occasional performances. No explanation for its closing was provided.

According to the April 21, 1923, issue of the Pittsburgh Moving Picture Bulletin, the Prince had been "closed for the past two years," but was scheduled to reopen on Sept. 1, 1923, after Ben Nadler remodeled and enlarged the theater from 450 to 700 seats.

It's not clear to me yet whether the planned 1923 remodeling was ever completed or perhaps delayed, or if the theater was remodeled again three years later, or torn down and replaced.

In August 1925, S. P. Nadler (not Ben Nadler) announced on behalf of the Ambridge Amusement Co. that it would tear down the then-existing Prince Theatre and replace it with a "modern building" the following spring .(The Citizen, August 5, 1925)

But then, the April 16, 1926, Citizen reported that remodeling, not a demolition, of the Prince had begun. The theater would be 25 feet longer, 14 feet higher, and a balcony added. After the remodeling, which would cost about $85,000, the theater would seat about 1500. The theater would be closed for several months until the work was completed.

The reason the theater may have closed in 1931, as mentioned by Mike Kubek when reminiscing about working at the Prince in a 1989 Beaver County Times article, remains a mystery yet to be solved.

When I wrote the original article about the Prince, I didn't know if the theater ever re-opened after 1950's record-breaking Thanksgiving snowstorm. However, based on the photo, the answer is "yes, it did."  Maybe. The posters on the theater announce that the theater was showing Werewolf of London, originally released in 1935, and The Phantom of Paris, originally released in 1942 as The Mystery of Marie Roget. Those two movies were re-released as a double feature in 1951 according to several sources. But I'd feel more confident if I could find confirmation of the information in one of the 1951 local papers.

[Update August 5, 2019: Jeffrey Snedden found and sent to me the local newspaper reporting I was hoping to find, confirming that the Prince reopened in 1951. I'm always grateful for your help, Jeffrey.

From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, February 21, 1951:

End of update]

And while I still don't know exactly when the Prince closed, I know that it didn't survive beyond 1951 thanks to the December 15, 1951 Billboard Magazine which said the theater had become a Timney's store annex.

I also am still seeking information on when the Prince Theatre building was razed. I do know by 1980 it was a vacant lot.
_____

Part of the photo at the top of this post was published in a Beaver County Times article about old Beaver County theaters, April 30, 1978. The caption accompanying the photo said it had come from the collection of Al Tomaszewski. That cropped photo was in my April 30, 2016 blog post about the Prince.

Ambridge memorabilia: Tait's Garage sign

This "Taits Garage" sign is one of the larger pieces of Ambridge memorabilia someone has shared with me.

"Taits Garage" sign
owned by Gary Augustine
photo credit: Nancy Knisley
April 6, 2016

This white metal sign with blue lettering once hung on the Tait's Garage building at 1307 Merchant St. I didn't think to measure it when I photoed it, and I'm terrible at estimating the dimensions of things, but I'd say the sign is maybe five feet long by four inches high. When I find out the actual dimensions from the sign's owner, Gary Augustine, I'll update this post.

Tait's Garage ad
Economy Centennial Souvenir Program
June 1924

As far as I can determine, the Tait family built the garage building in 1920. The building was later occupied by R. E. Stettler & Sons, a Cadillac and Oldsmobile car dealership, then Economy Bowling Lanes. Economy Lanes was sold earlier this year and an antiques business will occupy the building.

Economy Lanes
1307 Merchant St.
April 6, 2016

Some Ambridge history buffs may recognize the name of the sign's owner, Gary Augustine, as a local LST expert. The reason he ended up with the Tait Garage sign is that his aunt was married to Harry Tait. The Tait family once owned a house at 288 Fourteenth St., now razed, as well as a livery stable behind the house that was razed in the 1980s.

Sudia Meats

This photo of the Sudia Meats market, one of many small food markets that once could be found throughout Ambridge, came from his granddaughter, Maureen Krupa.

Matthew Juricich at Frank Sudia Meats
300 First St.
pre-1930s?
photo courtesy Maureen Krupa
used with permission

Maureen says that the dapper man standing in front on the market was her uncle, Matthew Juricich. The identities of the children are unknown.

According to Maureen, Frank Sudia came to the U.S. with no money and unable to speak English, yet put three sons through college. He lost his business during the 1930s Great Depression because he had extended credit to his regular customers so they could feed their children.

From the sign at the top of the market's left window, you'll see that it offered "City Dressed Meats." As I understand it, that term was used by markets in the Eastern U.S. to refer to meat that had been locally slaughtered and butchered, and not shipped from the large meatpacking houses that had been created in the Midwestern states.

The entire First St. neighborhood was razed for redevelopment in the early 1970s.

Christmas lights, Merchant St. 1960

This is the 500 block of Merchant Street at night in December, 1960, looking north towards 6th St.: a canopy of big, colorful Christmas lights, lighted wreaths with bells, brightly lit stores open for evening shopping, and parking spaces crowded with shoppers' cars.

Christmas lights
500 block of Merchant St.
Beaver County Times
December 8, 1960

Times caption:

AMBRIDGE AT NIGHT -- The Christmas spirit prevades (sic) downtown Ambridge this holiday season with the colorful lights spreading a warm glow over the community's business section.

On the left hand side of the photo, you can see the lighted sign for Fashion Hosiery, 551 Merchant. Beyond that, the store with the huge lighted window was G. C. Murphy, 561-565 Merchant. Further north, there's the S & S Shoes sign, 599 Merchant.

On the right, the sign with "JE" was Krauss Jewelers, 546 Merchant.

Spang-Chalfant Veterans Memorial

Today is Veterans Day, so it seemed like an apt day to post this:

Spang-Chalfant Veterans Memorial
Beaver Valley Times
July 15, 1954

Original caption:

SPANG-CHALFANT MEMORIAL -- John Delai, left, and Lawrence McCandless, right, read the inscription on the new memorial bronze plaque erected in honor of employes of Spang-Chalfant Division of National Supply Company, Ambridge, who served in the U. S. Armed Forces.

According to the article that appeared with this photo, this memorial was a replacement for one that had been erected during WWII, but had deteriorated due to weather.

The new memorial, designed by two employees of Spang's industrial relations department, Lee Crane and William Cramer, was designed to withstand weather and be a "perpetual memorial." The bronze plaque was mounted on a wall 10 feet high and 8 feet wide built with 1,500 bricks, topped with a limestone slab, and resting on a concrete base.

The memorial plaque, minus its wall, is now in Ambridge's P.J. Caul Park on 11th and Merchant Sts.

Spang-Chalfant Veterans Memorial
P. J. Caul Park
March 22, 2014
credit: Nancy Knisley

The plaque's inscription reads:

SPANG

    This tablet is dedicated
    in sincere tribute to our employees
    both living and dead, who anwered
    the call of duty to serve in the armed forces
    of the United States.
    * * * * * * * * *
    Let us cherish the sacred memory of
    their struggle to preserve our American heritage, that government
    of the people, by the people,
    for the people shall not
    perish from the earth.

    Spang-Chalfant
    Division of the
    National Supply Company

Update November 12, 2015:

The wall that the plaque was on still stands on the property of the Ambridge Regional Distribution & Manufacturing Center. The photo below was provided by Debi Leopardi, Managing Director.

Spang-Chalfant Veterans Memorial Wall
Ambridge Regional Distribution and Manufacturing Center
November 12, 2015

Hidden between the walls #2

Yesterday, I updated a post from February 2, 2015: Hidden between the walls. Then Jim Ernst mentioned that as Rooks Cantina 505 was being razed after that sport bar's July 2, 2014, fire, an ad on the wall of the building next door, Perri's Barber Shop, 280 Fourth St., was exposed, adding that the ad has since been covered over.

I think this photo shows the ad Jim is referring to:

Post-fire rubble
Rooks Cantina 505,
282 Fourth St.
September 28, 2014
credit: Nancy Knisley

The ad, on the dark brickwork on the right, is rather faint, but I believe that the larger letters say "WALLPAPER." Above that, among the smaller lettering, I think I see "OUSE" (house?) and very faintly, "PAINT."

Laman's Wallpaper & Paint was once at 294 Fourth St., but I don't know if the ad was for that store or not.

700 block of Merchant Street mid-1940s

700 block Merchant Street, looking south
circa mid-1940s
National Electric "Nationalist" newsletter?

Original caption: "This is Merchant Street--the Fifth Avenue of Ambridge--along which are located many of the retail establishments."

You can enlarge the photo by clicking on it to see the details better.

Note the trolley tracks.

The above photo was published in what appears to be a newsletter, perhaps National Electric's "Nationalist." It came from the late Louis Vukovcan's collection with no accessible identifying information--other clippings are pasted on top of some areas and the back is glued down.

This is primarily the 700 block of Merchant Street looking south, but you can see some of the 600 block too.

On the left is the Ambridge Theatre, 714 Merchant Street, showing Torrid Zone (1940) and The Great Flamarion (1945) which helps to date the photo. The theater was razed in 1965 to make room for a new Pittsburgh National Bank. The current driveway on the north side of Huntington Bank is approximately where the Ambridge Theatre once stood.

At the corner of Seventh Street, there's a "Drugs" sign, but I am not sure what drug store occupied that building in the 1940s.

On the right, the first building is the State Theatre, 749 Merchant Street, razed in 1959 and replaced by a parking lot. At the time, it was hard to find a parking space on or near Merchant Street. It remains a parking lot.

Next to the State is a building with a "Peter Pan" sign. Does anyone know anything about that building? A Peter Pan Cleaners was once at 431 Merchant Street, but I don't know anything about a Peter Pan in the 700 block.

The next clearly visible sign is the huge vertical Sears sign at 653-655 Merchant Street. Sears closed that store in 1963 a week before it opened its new store in Northern Lights. The last time I was in Ambridge the building was empty.

I don't see any other signs I can identify. But I know one store was there: Romano's market at 703 Merchant Street, opened around 1942. Romano's, which carried a variety imported foods, primarily from Italy and Greece, didn't even need a sign. Shoppers could find it by the smells emanating from it: dried fish, garlic, sausages, cheese, and a host of other tasty, but smelly, foods.

If you know what other businesses were in the 700 block of Merchant Street in the mid-to-late 1940s, please leave a comment.

Hidden between the walls

The razing of an Ambridge building can reveal some long-hidden surprises.

Timney's
612 Merchant Street
The Daily Citizen Trade Area Directory
1956

When the former Timney's furniture and appliances store at 612 Merchant Street was razed in July, 2013, two huge ads painted on the wall of 610 Merchant Street were revealed.

Painted ads
610 Merchant Street
July 2013
photo credit: Carolyn Dunn Ries
used with permission

The left ad was for Wrigley Spearmint Perfect Gum; the one on the right was damaged and only a small area remained. Can you help identify the product in that ad?

[Update October 20, 2015: This update is much belated as Maria Notarianni provided this information way back on February 11:

Second ad solved! It actually is not a separate ad but an extension of the Wrigley Spearmint Gum advertisement. The symbol reads, "United profit sharing Coupons". [the partial word "rapp" is wrapped] See the symbol in this newspaper ad along with explanation of the coupon.

Wrigley's gum ad
The Miami News
March 29, 1915

Looks like Wrigley's gum was one of several companies that offered "United Profit-Sharing Coupons" in at least the mid-1910 to 1920 period.]

The two ads were only visible for a short while. Within a few weeks, they were re-covered by the wall of the new Dollar General store.

When the Charles Men's Store, 541 Merchant Street, was razed after a September 14, 2012, fire, a large, bricked-closed archway was revealed on the wall of 537 Merchant Street:

Bricked archway
537 Merchant Street
March 30, 2014

Here's a photo of 537 Merchant several months after it too was destroyed, in an July, 6, 2014 fire, showing the size of the archway:

537 Merchant Street
October 2, 2014

I have no idea what the archway might have been used for before it was bricked-up. Do you know? If so, please leave a comment.

The Ambridge-Aliquippa Bridge: what's that building?

Over the past year, I've seen this postcard, or ones like it, being discussed on several Facebook pages. The postcard is of the Ambridge-Aliquippa Bridge* crossing the Ohio River, built in 1926-27. The small building to the left with the green roof has been of particular interest, but so far, no one has definitively identified it.

"Ambridge Aliquippa Bridge Across Ohio River, Aliquippa, PA"
postcard
circa 1930-1945

I don't have much information about the postcard. It appears to be a bordered linen-era postcard, a type of postcard published roughly between 1930-45.

The picture on the postcard appears to be a drawing, not a photo, so may not be entirely accurate. Despite the "Aliquippa" location in the card's printed caption, it shows the bridge from the Ambridge side of the Ohio. If nothing else, the postcard shows the bridge's walkway on the right, meaning the bridge is depicted from the east (Ambridge) side.

Here's a 1928 photo from Ambridge's Laughlin Memorial Library's archives of the bridge showing the same small building:

Ambridge-Aliquippa Bridge
approaching from 11th Street, Ambridge
1928
credit: William J. Bowan
photo courtesy of Laughlin Memorial Library archives

I didn't find any further information about the photo in the library. However, the same photo was published in the May 13, 1991, Beaver County Times with the following caption:

This photograph presents a view of the Aliquippa-Ambridge Bridge in 1928 from 11th Street in Ambridge. The new building on the right was being constructed at the time. In 1964-68, the building and confectionery store next door were both demolished to make way for Route 65 .

I remember the building to the right with the North Pole Ice Cream sign, but I don't remember the building on the left. Does anyone know what it is and when it was demolished?

Update November 26, 2016:

I finally have a more positive identification of the small building to the left of the bridge.

After I shared the original post on Facebook, several people offered opinions on what the building may have been. One person suggested a toll house, but the Ambridge-Aliquippa bridge was never a toll bridge. I believe my cousin Frank Mish said it was a water pump house. Most of the commenters said they thought the building was a railroad switch tower.

I thought the building was in an odd location for a switch tower given the rather limited view the building gave of the train tracks that ran under the bridge, but what did I know about switch towers? Nothing.

The postcard in this post does give the impression that the building might have been just the top of a tower that was separated from 11th St. But then I took a closer look at the photo below of the bridge taken from South Heights looking east across the Ohio River towards Ambridge. The small building in question is near the far right in this photo. And although it's hard to see in the photo, the small building is not part of a tower. It sits level with 11th St. on the hill above the train tracks. Were switch towers ever not towers I wondered.

Ambridge-Woodlawn Bridge
October 21, 1927
courtesy: Dale Donna Zehnder

Here's an enlargement of that part of the photo:

Enlargement of area south of the bridge

And then, during a visit to Laughlin Memorial Library, I found the photo below showing the Ambridge end of the bridge nearing completion:

Ambridge-Woodlawn Bridge nearing completion on Ambridge side
1927
courtesy: Bowan archives, Laughlin Memorial Library

On the reverse of that photo, the late Bill Bowan, a local history expert, had written a description of the scene:

Reverse of photo of bridge immediately above

Bowan wrote:

Completing work on New Ambridge Aliquippa Pa Bridge - at 11th St. & Ohio View. Ambridge Water Pump House on Left. Later razed in 1964-65 to make right of way for New Route #65. 

Based on that, I have to conclude that the building to the left of the bridge entrance was a water pump house, not a railroad switch tower. At the time the bridge was built, Ambridge pumped its water from the Ohio River; the Service Creek Reservoir wasn't constructed until the 1950s.
_____

* Originally known as the Ambridge-Woodlawn Bridge; the town of Woodlawn eventually became part of Aliquippa.

Ambridge trivia: Did you know...? #2 French Point Monument

"The French Point Monument" at the intersection of Church and Henrici Streets commemorates the arrival of the Harmonists in the area along the Ohio River that would become Economy, their third and final home.

The marker is not one of the larger historical markers put up by the state like the ones near Old Economy or in the Harmony Society Cemetery, but rather a brass plaque set in stone, erected by the Economy Centennial Association during the 1924 Economy Centennial celebration (see #6 on program below).

Centennial Program for June 6, 1924,
Economy Centennial Souvenir Program,
Economy of Old and Ambridge of Today

The French Point Monument,
Church and Henrici Streets,
April 1, 2014

Plaque,
The French Point Monument,
Church and Henrici Streets,
April 1, 2014

The text of the plaque reads:

On May 24, 1824,

the first contingent of the Harmony Society,

who founded Economy, Pa.

embarked at New Harmony, Ind.,

on the steamboat "Ploughboy."

______

Landing here on June 6, 1824,

they encamped the first night

under a large oak tree 290 feet north of this spot.

Erected by

Economy Centennial Association,

June 6, 1924.

For signs of old Ambridge, look down

Merchant Street has changed a lot since the 1970s. Most of the businesses from the '50s and '60s are gone. But if you look carefully, you can still see signs of a few of those businesses. Sometimes you just need to look down.

If you are interested in seeing these signs, act quickly, because more disappear with each passing year.

Of all the businesses shown in the photos in this post, the only one still open is Stangl's.

Stangl's Bakery sign
572 Merchant Street
March 30, 2014

Anderson's Candy was open until recently, but it looks as though it's now closed for good. The Baden store remains open.

Anderson's Candyland sign
529 Merchant Street
March 30, 2014

Katcher's Furniture is gone, and when I was in Ambridge in March, the store was vacant.

Katcher's Furniture sign
659 Merchant Street
March 30, 2014

The Sacks women's clothing store was empty when I visited. And while the sign was still there, it was hidden by a barrier across the front of the entryway. Fortunately, Bill Orlowski had taken a photo during his 2009 visit.

Sacks sign
533-535 Merchant Street
July, 2009
credit: Bill Orlowski, used with permission

I couldn't photograph all of the Fashion Hosiery sign because the entryway is now covered with a black mat, and the lower part seems to have been replaced by a sidewalk repair. But Bill got the best part of the sign. I always loved those little naughty dogs!

Fashion Hosiery sign,
551 Merchant Street
March 30, 2014

Fashion Hosiery sign
551 Merchant Street
July, 2009'
credit: Bill Orlowski, used with permission

Bill photographed the remaining bit of the Davidson's department store's sign. Good eye, Bill; I didn't even see it. A bicycle shop is in this part of the building.

Davidson's sign
518 Merchant Street
July, 2009
credit: Bill Orlowski, used with permission

Is the Terner's men's store sign still there? I missed it when I walked by in March, but it was there in 2009.

Terner's Men's Wear sign
654 Merchant Street
July, 2009
credit: Bill Orlowski, used with permission

Timney's appliance store was razed in the summer of 2013, and the Timney sign is gone. Now the Dollar General which used to be in the old G. C. Murphy's building is there in a newly constructed building.

Timney sign
612-614 Merchant Street
July, 2009
credit: Bill Orlowski, used with permission

Historic 462 Maplewood Avenue

When I stopped at the rather unremarkable looking building at 462 Maplewood Avenue during a visit to Ambridge, it was to take a photo of the faded painted Coca-Cola sign on its south side.

Coca-Cola sign,
462 Maplewood Avenue
March 22, 2014

I didn't realize until today that 462 Maplewood is of historic interest far beyond the sign.

I knew that Beth Samuel Congregation once not only had a synagogue at 463 Maplewood Avenue, now the location of the Maple Restaurant, but also that during the 1920s, the congregation had met in a building on the opposite side of Maplewood. But I didn't realize until working on the upcoming "Church/synagogue" list on my Ambridge List of Lists that it was in that building, 462 Maplewood.

462 Maplewood Avenue
Google Street view

And what's more, before Beth Samuel, the building was home to the Ambridge Library.

How many other ordinary looking Ambridge buildings have we walked or driven by, not realizing the importance of their history?