Pittsburgh's Golden
Triangle
The Great Saint Patrick's Day Flood
March 17/18, 1936
In mid-March of 1936, unseasonably warm temperatures caused snow and ice to melt along the upper Allegheny and Monongahela rivers basins. By Monday, March 16, the rivers rose to 21.7 feet and were beginning to overflow their banks, threatening the City of Pittsburgh. On Tuesday, March 17, Saint Patrick's Day, the waters reached flood stage of twenty-five feet and had yet to crest under the current conditions. That evening, heavy rains led to one of the worst catastrophies in the history of Pittsburgh.
The rain accelerated the snow melt and, by midnight, flood waters had risen to over thirty-four feet. The water inundated the Point and began working it's way into the downtown district. As conditions worsened, the rising tide caused major utility outages and a mass of refugees fleeing low-lying areas. Transportation ground to a halt, power and telephone lines were downed, and isolated fires began to rage. Amidst this confusion and chaos, water levels continued rising.
The flooding reached it's climax on the afternoon of Wednesday, March 18, when river levels peaked at forty-six feet plus four inches, the highest ever recorded in the city of Pittsburgh. By then, downtown Pittsburgh was under several feet of muddy, debris filled water. Near the Point, water levels reached nearly fifteen feet, flooding the entire first floor of some buildings. This devastation was felt all along the Monongahela and Allegheny River, and the wave of destruction continued down the Ohio River basin.
Although the waters began to drop during the evening hours of March 18, river levels in Pittsburgh remained above flood stage for another three days. The level dropped to thirty-two feet on March 19, and did not drop below flood stage until the 21st. Throughout the city, there was a severe shortage of palatable water. Fear of epidemics and looting caused the downtown section to be placed under martial law. The National Guard and the State Police worked hard to keep order. Refugee centers were set up around the city and the Red Cross was on hand to give aid to those who had lost their homes.
During the crisis, over one hundred citizens perished, sixty-nine in the city of Pittsburgh alone. Nearly 3000 had been injured and more than 100,000 buildings were destroyed. Monetary damages were estimated at $250 million. Steel mills along the three rivers were severely crippled and over 60,000 steel workers were out of work. Sixty-five percent of the downtown business district was under water, from the Point all the way to Grant Street. Meteorologists classify the 1936 event as a 500-year flood, one of the worst possible scenarios. Many surviving downtown buildings still have markers showing the height of the water during the Great St. Patrick's Day Flood of 1936.
One positive outcome of the 1936 Flood is that the federal government finally allocated funding for a system of flood control reservoirs to be constructed above Pittsburgh. City officials had been petitioning for such action for nearly thirty years, since the Big Flood of 1907. In the years since these flood control measures have been in place, Pittsburgh has seen a noticeable decrease in major flooding events, and hopefully will never again experience another riverborn catastrophe like that of March 17/18, 1936. Post-Gazette article: Universal Newsreels Video: Wikipedia: Pittsburgh Flood of 1936. On a personal level, my great grandfather Jayson Patrick Ferns was an Electrical Inspector for the City of Pittsburgh at the time of the historic Pittsburgh flood. He was responsible for boating around the city and checking on the electrical systems in the flooded city buildings. <><><><> <><><><> <><><><> <><><><> <><><><> <><><><> Images from the Saint Patrick's Day Flood Click on images for larger photos
<><><><> <><><><> <><><><> <><><><> <><><><> <><><><> The Cleanup After The Flood
<><><><> <><><><> <><><><> <><><><> <><><><> <><><><> Pittsburgh's Golden Triangle in 1938 |