{"id":666197,"date":"2026-04-06T10:17:02","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T10:17:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/666197\/"},"modified":"2026-04-06T10:17:02","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T10:17:02","slug":"the-nfl-draft-joins-pittsburgh-north-shores-lively-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/666197\/","title":{"rendered":"The NFL Draft joins Pittsburgh North Shore\u2019s lively history"},"content":{"rendered":"

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2026 Pittsburgh
NFL Draft<\/p>\n

Forgive the throngs attending next month\u2019s NFL Draft, when their favorite team\u2019s next big star is announced, if they dance atop the graves of sports venues past.<\/p>\n

The North Shore will host its biggest-ever event from April 23-25, but it has been building toward this moment in the sporting spotlight for nearly 150 years, since Exposition Park began hosting baseball games. The ghost of that diamond \u2014 which hosted the baseball Burghers, who were renamed the Alleghenies and then the Pirates \u2014 is joined by that of Three Rivers Stadium, where so much of Pittsburgh\u2019s sports glory took place.<\/p>\n

\"BlackA sketch of baseball at Exposition Park in 1878, 13 years before the Pittsburgh Pirates called it home. (Allegheny Conference on Community Development, Detre Library and Archives, Heinz History Center)<\/p>\n

The shore\u2019s transformation from one stadium to two dominated late-1990s politics in the region, as taxpayers were asked to foot the bill, said no, and ended up largely paying anyway<\/a>. Transformation from one stadium to two wiped out the last of the neighborhood\u2019s residences and led to the current carnival of strolling families, bobbing boats, zipping bikes \u2014\u00a0and geese.<\/p>\n

As the draft puts the North Shore through another round of changes, Pittsburgh\u2019s Public Source dug into archives at the Heinz History Center and found the bones of much more than stadiums.<\/p>\n

\"ASpectators at an early baseball game at the third Exposition Park, 1901. (Melvin Seidenberg Photographs, Detre Library and Archives, Heinz History Center)<\/p>\n

Before the stadium-dominated North Shore was part of Pittsburgh, it was the southern flank of Allegheny City, incorporated in 1840<\/a> when it had a population of around 10,000 and annexed 67 years later.<\/p>\n

In those decades before the merger, there was Exposition Park in Allegheny City. The first Exposition Park, along the shores of the Allegheny River and up against the former Union Bridge, was built for a mix of entertainment, from circuses to baseball to horse races. Frequent flooding mired the outfields through\u00a0all three renditions of the park. House rules stipulated that a ball hit into the water was an automatic single.<\/p>\n

By 1900, Allegheny\u2019s population had surged to nearly 130,000, making it the third-largest city in Pennsylvania<\/a>. Pittsburgh at the time had around 322,000 residents \u2014 a little more than its current total<\/a> \u2014\u00a0and Philadelphia boasted around 1.3 million.<\/p>\n

\"WorkersH.J. Heinz workers load a rail car in 1904. The North Shore factory famous for its condiments was not far from stadium-going snackers. Though hot dogs didn\u2019t gain their legendary association with baseball until later, German hot sausages could have been a popular choice. (H.J. Heinz Co. Photographs, Detre Library and Archives, Heinz History Center)<\/p>\n

Allegheny\u2019s population was dominated by the ethnicities that were then immigrating to the U.S., including Scottish, Irish, German, Croatian, Czech, Slovak, Russian, Ukrainian and Greek households. Many found employment in the nearby steel, textile, glass and cotton mills.<\/p>\n

While rail served the area, during the frequent floods of the early 1900s, some got around by boat.
\"BlackA view of the flooded Allegheny City on March 15, 1907, looking south on Federal Street and Lacock Street. (Pittsburgh City Photographer Collection, 1901-2000, Detre Library and Archives, Heinz History Center)<\/p>\n

Allegheny ceased to exist as a city in 1907, when it was forcibly annexed by Pittsburgh. It\u2019s been called<\/a> \u201cone of the most controversial annexations in U.S. history,\u201d achieved by a 1906 vote that was skewed heavily in favor of \u201cyes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AAn illustrated postcard from 1907 celebrates Allegheny City\u2019s contentious merger with Pittsburgh. (Illustration by Meda Logan\/GPCC Postcard Collection, Detre Library and Archives, Heinz History Center)<\/p>\n

Along the pre-flood-controlled shores near what is now Tequila Cowboy, a mix of fire and water damage, along with fears that the city\u2019s red light district was creeping ever closer, led the Pirates to move to higher ground. The new Forbes Field opened in Oakland in 1909, home to the Pirates and the University of Pittsburgh\u2019s football Panthers. When the Pittsburgh Steelers were formed in 1933, the new franchise started at Forbes Field before transitioning to Pitt Stadium beginning in 1958.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Exposition Park continued to host other events until its demolition in 1915. The North Shore remained a hub for industry.<\/p>\n

\"\"The North Side Market House (also called the Allegheny Market House), in July 1940. Built in 1863, it was demolished in 1965 during the planned urban redevelopment of Allegheny Center and the Central North Side. It was replaced by an apartment high-rise and Allegheny Center Mall. (Buck Family Papers and Photographs, Detre Library and Archives, Heinz History Center)<\/p>\n

\"Black-and-whiteTrolley tracks cut through the business district of East Ohio Street, 1967. (Melvin Seidenberg Photographs, Detre Library and Archives, Heinz History Center)<\/p>\n

The Pirates moved to Forbes Field in 1909. Eventually, plans emerged for the team to return from Oakland to the North Shore. By the mid-60s, most of the buildings on the North Shore had been razed in preparation for Three Rivers Stadium. Throughout its three decades as the city\u2019s venue for the Pirates and Steelers, parking lots would dominate its perimeter.<\/p>\n

\"AerialAn aerial view of Three Rivers Stadium. (Allegheny Conference on Community Development, Detre Library and Archives, Heinz History Center)<\/p>\n

\"ABaseball fans watch the Pittsburgh Pirates play the San Diego Padres at Three Rivers Stadium on Aug. 14, 1970. 1970 was the first season played by the Pirates at Three Rivers Stadium after relocating from Forbes Field in Oakland. (Pittsburgh City Photographer Collection, 1901-2000, Detre Library and Archives, Heinz History Center)<\/p>\n

Three Rivers was never a great park for baseball, and talk of supplementing or replacing it started in earnest in 1991, when Mayor Sophie Masloff\u2019s administration proposed a 44,000-seat home for the Pirates which she tentatively called Clemente Field. The idea was widely mocked<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But it resurfaced under Mayor Tom Murphy, who worked with Allegheny County commissioners Mike Dawida and Bob Cranmer to craft plans for a regional sales tax add-on (defeated by voters) and then a cobbled together funding plan. Down went Three Rivers Stadium, replaced by PNC Park and what\u2019s now Acrisure Field. Both opened in 2001.<\/p>\n

\"ThreeSteelers fans tailgating outside Three Rivers Stadium and waving the \u201cTerrible Towel\u201d before a game against the Buffalo Bills in January 1996. (Joel B. Levinson Photographs, 1950-2006, AIS.2015.01, Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System)<\/p>\n

\"FourThe Great Pierogi Race runs around the warning track of PNC park between innings of a baseball game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Cincinnati Reds in Pittsburgh on May 29, 2012. The race has been run by Pittsburgh\u2019s favorite personified dumplings between innings of Pirates games since 1999. (Photo by Gene J. Puskar\/AP Photo)<\/p>\n

\"AThe amphibious vehicle \u201cDahntahn Dottie\u201d of Just Ducky Tours traversed both land and water, as seen entering the confluence of Pittsburgh\u2019s three rivers along the North Shore promenade. The tour company closed in 2019 after 22 years of encouraging riders to \u201cquack\u201d at passers-by. (Kathleen Holden Photographs, Detre Library and Archives, Heinz History Center)<\/p>\n

Riverlife, formed in 1999, led the rebirth of the shore as a promenade with greenspace and features including water steps \u2014 and sometimes too much water.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"The North Shore Riverfront Park promenade outside PNC Park in Pittsburgh is flooded by the overflowing Allegheny River on April 3, 2024. (Photo by Gene J. Puskar\/AP Photo)<\/p>\n

Since its rebirth, the North Shore has hosted high school and college football games, NFL and MLB playoff contests (though never a Super Bowl or World Series) and countless concerts. The draft will be the biggest single gathering it\u2019s seen. By the time it\u2019s matched or exceeded, the neighborhood could be on its next round of stadiums<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"AFans celebrate as the Clairton High School football team wins the WPIAL Championship at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pa., on Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025. (Quinn Glabicki\/Pittsburgh\u2019s Public Source)<\/p>\n

Stephanie Strasburg is a photojournalist with Pittsburgh\u2019s Public Source who can be reached at stephanie@publicsource.org or on Instagram\u00a0@stephaniestrasburg<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Quinn Glabicki is the environment and climate reporter at Pittsburgh\u2019s Public Source and can be reached at\u00a0quinn@publicsource.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Rich Lord is the managing editor at Pittsburgh\u2019s Public Source and can be reached at rich@publicsource.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\tRELATED STORIES\n<\/p>\n

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