If the Walls Had Ears

Choose one of the historic buildings from the series--whether still standing or not -- and write a first-person narrative of a fascinating moment you imagine the building must have "witnessed." The event can be fictional, but it should be believable.

Step-by-step

Research the building you've chosen

Review the history of the eras the building has "lived" through;

Brainstorm some of the events that might have happened inside or outside of the building

Choose one event to write about--write as if the building is telling the story.

Post your story on this web site in our "If the Walls had Ears" Gallery (coming soon).

Need a jumpstart?

P&LE Railroad Terminal (now Station Square) welcomed many soldiers home from war—some here in the passenger terminal, but the others in flag-draped caskets came into the freight terminal. What were those home-comings like?

Pittsburgh History & Landmarks

What kinds of letters did the North Side's Old Post Office (now the Children's Museum) receive?

Pittsburgh History & Landmarks

How did St. Peter's Episcopal Church "feel" when it heard that it would be torn down--a second time?

Pittsburgh History & Landmarks

What did the Fort Pitt Blockhouse think about Pennsylvania signing the brand-new Constitution of the United States to became the second state in the Union?

Pittsburgh History & Landmarks

What conversations did Clayton overhear when President Theodore Roosevelt visited Henry C. Frick in 1902?

Pittsburgh History & Landmarks

Source: Adapted from material previously copyrighted in 1990 by Susan Donley. Used by permission.

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