Brookline Boulevard - 1950
The Great Thanksgiving Blizzard

Brookline Boulevard - 1950
The 800 block of Brookline Boulevard after the Thanksgiving Day Blizzard of 1950. The photo
also shows the Boulevard Theatre,
Brookline's neighborhood cinema from 1937 to 1954.

The Thanksgiving Day Blizzard struck on November 25, 1950. The snowfall began in the early morning and did not taper off until evening. By then, the storm had dumped a record 30.5 inches of snow in Pittsburgh. The heavy accumulation was so severe that the entire city was immobilized. All traffic ground to a halt.

Brookline Boulevard - 1950   Brookline Boulevard - 1950
Two pictures taken on November 26, 1950, showing Chelton Avenue covered in snow. The photo
to the right is looking in the direction of the Cannon Memorial and Brookline Boulevard.

The National Guard was called in, and tanks were used to assist in clearing the snow. The city was not fully reopened to vehicular traffic for nearly a week, until December 1. Across the eastern seaboard and the upper midwest, the devastating N'oreaster became known as the Great Appalacian Storm of November 1950. The massive storm affected twenty-two states and was, at the time, the most costly storm ever for insurance companies across the United States.

The Liberty Tunnels in 1950.   Thanksgiving Blizzard - 1950
Soldiers of the Pennsylvania National Guard (left) were in Pittsburgh to clear snow and restore order after
the Thanksgiving Day Blizzard of 1950. This photo was taken on November 30, five days
after the storm, showing soldiers directing traffic outside the Liberty Tunnels.
Tanks were used to pull stranded trucks out of the snow.

Brookline Boulevard - 1950   Brookline Boulevard - 1950
Snow covered vehicles along Saw Mill Run Boulevard in Overbrook.

A view of Saw Mill Run Boulevard
near Library Road after the
Thanksgiving Day Blizzard of 1950.    Men push an automobile through the snow after
the Thanksgiving Day Blizzard of 1950.
Saw Mill Run Boulevard near the Library Road intersection.

Here in the community of Brookline, as in neighborhoods around the city, friends and neighbors came together to help clear the snow and do their best to survive the temporary paralysis that beset the area. To this day, those that lived through the Thanksgiving Day Blizzard of 1950 remember it as the worst snowfall ever in the Pittsburgh area.

Trolley service around the city ground to
a halt during the Thanksgiving Blizzard.

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