7. Berkman’s Escape Attempt from Western Penitentiary

WEST TERMINUS OF THE NORTH SIDE TRAIL On July 6, 1892, the unionized workers in the Carnegie Steel Company’s Homestead plant went on strike. Andrew Carnegie, out of the country at the time, turned the feud over to his second hand man, Henry Clay Frick. Frick ordered the lockout of the workers, and hired the

6. The Pittsburgh Conference

CANAL & CHESBRO Faction, subdivisions, prefixes, and hyphens continually divide much of the political left. These divisions are not new and have actually left an historical trail throughout the years. One such division occurred in 1872 during the Congress of the International held at the Hauge. Through the course of the meetings, tensions between Anarchists

5. The Great Railroad Strike of 1877

21ST & PENN With the Industrial Revolution, the late 1800s saw a rise in the power and reach of corporations in America causing workers to explode in 1877 once they were pushed far enough.   For two days in July 1877, Pittsburgh was controlled, according to Harper’s Weekly, “by a howling mob, whose deeds and violence

4. The Weather Underground Attack the Gulf Building

7TH & GRANT Built in 1931, the Gulf building was the centerpiece of Pittsburgh’s first Renaissance. Look up to the 29th floor, nine floors down from the top. This floor was destroyed on June 13, 1974 when the Weather Underground placed dynamite under a chair near the freight elevators, one floor below the senior directors’ offices.

3. No Conscription League

6TH & ROSS One of the unfortunate realities is that many old buildings have been razed. Such is the case of the McGeagh Building, located at 607 Webster, which would be somewhere just east of here. In opposition to World War I, the No Conscription League was formed by anarchists Alexander Berkman, Emma Goldman, and

2. Jewish Labor Lyceum and the Stogie Workers

MILLER & REED  Four stories high with seven windows on each floor across the front, it was a solid, imposing looking building. There was no street number or name on it and a stone arch over the boarded up central doors is one of the few architectural ornaments.  On the right front corner of the building

1. Arthursville Abolitionists and the struggle for the Hill District

CENTRE & CRAWFORD From this point you can see a huge parking lot and construction site. This is the former site of the Civic Arena, the home to the Pittsburgh Penguins hockey team, and is now considered one of the worst planning blunders of the ‘60s “Urban Renewal” era. The arena razed and uprooted not

THE MAP and ROUTE

A Select History of Radicals and Subversives in and around Downtown Market Square While the words of this tour were written years ago, in light of the recent protests in response to the murder of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin, while three other cops watched, it seems appropriate that