Hot metal Bridge Historical Marker The Hot Metal Bridge in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is two separate bridges, one for pedestrians and one for automobiles. The two bridges are unconnected physically, but their paired design has shaped their presence as a single name.[1] The original Monongahela Connecting Railroad Bridge linked the J&L Steel mill to the Eliza Furnace’s blast furnaces across the river.[2] By 1887, the original single-span bridge stood, but the growing business prompted an additional track to be constructed in 1900.[3] This higher second bridge inspired the bridge’s name as it carried the scorching molten steel across the Monongahela River.[4] Following the closure of the J&L Steel complex in 1984, the bridge was abandoned by the steel industry.[5] The first bridge dating back to 1887 is now automobile-based transportation which first opened to traffic in 2000 while the second bridge is a pedestrian walkway as of 2007.[6] I have crossed the Hot Metal Bridge numerous times while living in Pittsburgh. Admittedly it is a little bit of an odd route to take as it does drive straight through downtown. However, I had never walked on the Hot Metal Bridge until I decided to learn about its history. On an unseasonably hot day, I ventured across the Hot Metal Bridge to find signage related to both the bridge and art installation in the Three Rivers Heritage Park on the South Side bank of the Monongahela River. Hidden on the ramp walkway of the Hot Metal Bridge, below the handrail, is the dedication marker noting the organizations that made the railroad to pedestrian bridge possible. But, of course, there is no acknowledgment of the history of the bridge. Not even a date of initial construction. This is a lost opportunity. Not only is this one of the tons of bridges crossing the rivers surrounding downtown Pittsburgh, but Hot Metal Bridge also has such an intriguing name that locals and visitors alike would wonder about its historical origins. But apparently, the city is not ready to converse with this history.
The imposing rusting metal sculpture dedicated to the Steelworkers of the Pittsburgh Works and Evan James O’Toole, the artist’s father, and designed by James A. O’Toole stands towering next to the lower bridge. Every angle that I viewed this dramatic sculpture changed my perspective on what this bridge and city meant, especially within the context of the “Steel City.” This abstract sculpture is meant to capture the danger and bravery of the steelworkers. O’Toole’s design is inspired by his discussions with previous steelworkers and the legacy of steel in Pittsburgh.[7] The abstract form of the sculpture represents a steel mill with a “ladle, a shed where steelworkers could take shelter inside the mill, a catwalk, and train tracks.”[8] The holes at the top of the massive ladle represent “the graphite that snowed constantly” with a vision that rainwater will enact that same sort of route as the molten ore that once posed a constant threat in the steel mills.[9] This sculpture stands in the shadow of new development in South Side acting as a small tie to the historic industry that founded the area.
 References
[1] Frederick T Gretton, “Hot Metal Bridge,” Historic Pittsburgh, accessed March 26, 2021, https://historicpittsburgh.org/islandora/object/pitt%3AMSP328.B001.F10.I01. [2] Frederick T Gretton, “Hot Metal Bridge,” Historic Pittsburgh, accessed March 26, 2021, https://historicpittsburgh.org/islandora/object/pitt%3AMSP328.B001.F10.I01. [3] Frederick T Gretton, “Hot Metal Bridge,” Historic Pittsburgh, accessed March 26, 2021, https://historicpittsburgh.org/islandora/object/pitt%3AMSP328.B001.F10.I01. [4] Chris Potter, “The ‘Hot Metal Bridge’ -- Is It Really Hot? And Where Is It Located?,” Pittsburgh City Paper (Pittsburgh City Paper, February 10, 2021), https://www.pghcitypaper.com/pittsburgh/the-hot-metal-bridge-is-it-really-hot-and-where-is-it-located/Content?oid=1335246. [5] Blair Kamin, “There's a Lot a Guy Can Learn from Pittsburgh,” chicagotribune.com, August 28, 2018, https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2002-08-09-0208090009-story.html. [6] Grata, Joe. Bridge has long, important history, June 24, 2000. http://old.post-gazette.com/regionstate/20000624HotHistory8.asp. Lawrence Walsh, “Hot Metal Bike/Pedestrian Bridge Opens,” Hot Metal bike/pedestrian bridge opens, November 28, 2007, https://old.post-gazette.com/pg/07332/837383-100.stm [7] Patricia Lowry, “A Stream of Tears Where Molten Metal Flowed,” A stream of tears where molten metal flowed, April 21, 2001, https://old.post-gazette.com/neigh_city/20010421steel2.asp. [8] Patricia Lowry, “A Stream of Tears Where Molten Metal Flowed,” A stream of tears where molten metal flowed, April 21, 2001, https://old.post-gazette.com/neigh_city/20010421steel2.asp. [9] Patricia Lowry, “A Stream of Tears Where Molten Metal Flowed,” A stream of tears where molten metal flowed, April 21, 2001, https://old.post-gazette.com/neigh_city/20010421steel2.asp.
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 As a Colorado native there is no way to consider the Livestock Exchange Building without automatically thinking of the National Western Stock Show, the annual show held in Denver in early January. But the decaying Livestock Exchange Building and limited area for the show prompted a “reimagining” of the area. As the $8.5 million sale of the historic building has been finalized the exchange building and what will be a 250-acre complex will become a center for agricultural research and education for more than just the 2-week National Western Stock Show. The EXDO Development, Elevation Development Group, the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association, and the nonprofit National Western Center Authority (DBA National Western Center) joined together to purchase the historic building and the sale was finalized on November 30, 2020. From here they will be revamping the entire area with a $1 billion expansion project to add new buildings in partnership with Colorado State University, History Colorado, Denver Museum of Nature and Science, National Western Stock Show, and the city and county of Denver.
to Denver Landmark regulations) and requiring any exterior changes to be approved through a city review process. The pandemic highlighted some of the disappointment that lingers in the city’s surrounding areas as the National Western Stock Show cancelled for 2021. Although the work towards selling, restoring, and re-vamping the area began back in 2011 as the National Western Stock Show considered new locations due to poor building conditions, the major changes have been spurred to a new fervor with the pandemic cancelling an economic benefit centered directly in Colorado’s history as a “cowtown.” This entire ambitious project is an incredible consideration to have developed over the past few years in Denver. The consideration of both the local citizens and supporters of the National Western Stock Show was taken into account throughout the redesign of the area. The Beaux Arts-style architecture and exterior of the building remains largely intact (excluding the middle section of the building that was decimated in fire several years ago), and it ties back to a foundational identity of Denver based off of livestock and agriculture in the “Great Plains.” The articles on the sale of the Livestock Exchange Building provide only an introduction to what will happen in the area over the next few years with its transformation to the National Western Center. But as progress continues with the building and the new construction, the connection to history and potential for future opportunities will likely become clearer than their current plan.
provides a different and hopeful thought for historic preservation. Although it is only saving a few buildings from this area of Denver, the preservation and restoration of the building feel like a hopeful message in securing the historic preservation of important buildings throughout the Denver metro area. I think this proposed project of both preservation and new construction is incredibly important in maintaining the legacy of agriculture within Colorado. The inclusivity of education, the National Western Stock Show, History Colorado, Denver Museum of Nature and Science, and local neighborhoods provided one of the most substantial efforts within the Denver metro area of inclusivity of both the public and interested parties. The potential for future preservation and consideration of Colorado’s agricultural history seems to have a new emphasis and impact on Colorado’s legacy and maintenance.  References
https://coloradosun.com/2020/12/01/national-western-stock-show-building-sold/ https://historicdenver.org/national-western-stock-show-site/ https://nationalwesterncenter.com/about/what-is-the-nwc/history-about-the-site/ https://nationalwesterncenter.com/denvers-iconic-livestock-exchange-building-to-be-restored-revived-as-an-ag-business-hub/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rmv9agxOQEY Can You Truly Enjoy a Museum Without Already Knowing the History? The Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania holds the largest collection of Warhol’s artworks and archival materials. The 7 levels of art displays and history on the artist are portrayed to invoke artistry within the visitors while promoting a sense of awe for the creativity Andy Warhol possessed. While I was enraptured by the art and creativity of Warhol’s pieces, I felt continually disappointed in my knowledge and the lack of clarity on his life story throughout my visit to the museum. I visited the Andy Warhol Museum in February 2021. While I had heard of Andy Warhol as an artist, I only knew of vague references to his pop art i.e. Campbell’s Soup Cans and Marilyn Monroe's pop art portrait. My excitement to learn about this artist and understand more of the world he created for himself quickly was overshadowed. As I soon felt thoroughly unprepared to be in this space centered on Warhol’s artistry without extensive study on his art and life beforehand.  The museum is organized to start on the top floor and then work your way down to The Factory education studio and conservation lab. The top floor provided a clear introduction to Andy Warhol’s childhood and early commercial art career in New York City. The first room of the top floor was challenging to navigate with COVID-19 regulations and following the floor direction diagrams. If the floor directions were purely followed, you miss several pieces of information on his ties to Pittsburgh. However, the detail of the blotted line technique and the commercial art pieces that were displayed on that level detailed clear examples of his early ideas on art and an insight into his early success in commercial art. The floors were largely organized by decades in Warhol’s life with some small deviances from the order. Each of these floors began with a series of panels depicting each year of the decade noting major events in the artist’s life. The top floor included years both before and after the 1960s as an attempt to provide additional information. But those panels frequently left me with more confusion and questions about his life and works. A reference on the top floor of the museum noted pictures after his surgery and yet there were no references to what surgery or the reasons behind it. Additionally, there were frequent references to, what I assume is, iconic art pieces without any images or references of what those artworks looked like, or even why they were significant in the specific area of art.
 The third floor was distinctly different from the ones above it, as it was home to the archival materials and offices dedicated to research on Andy Warhol and his art. This level included displays of the vast archival materials that Andy Warhol collected as well as insights into the Time Capsules that Warhol filled, sealed, and stored. The materials selected for display demonstrated a different side to Warhol and in some instances clarified some of his life that had been truncated in the previous depictions, including his life following the attempted assassination of Andy Warhol with colorful corsets. Additionally, it was interesting that some of the clearest references to Warhol’s sexuality were on this floor rather than some of the previous floors. Admittedly there were references to his various lovers and relationships with portraits and photographs of them, but there was not a clear conversation with that until the archives floor and even then, it was still only small references. The final floor was closed during my visit for a new exhibit installation. It is also important to note that the Andy Warhol Museum has frequent exhibit changes and manages such a large collection that different works of art are rotated in their displays. The pieces that I saw in February of 2021 are representative of both limitations of COVID-19 capacity and the items chosen for exhibition at that time. Overall, the Andy Warhol Museum provided an opportunity to throw yourself into the world of Andy Warhol and attempt to understand the man behind famous pop art pieces and his controversial films. Throughout my experience, I was awed by his creativity and bizarre persona, but I was constantly wanting more information and clarity than what was provided with the signage. I read every plaque and piece of information as I moved through the exhibits, but the sheer quantity of assumed knowledge often left me floundering and confused. I left the Andy Warhol Museum with a strong desire to learn more about the artist while somewhat disappointed in being unable to get a clear depiction of his life and works while there. None of my disappointment, however, takes away from the immersive and inspiring experience that the Andy Warhol Museum evokes in its visitors. The Andy Warhol Museum truly maintained its goal as a platform for creative expression and experimentation, only falling short with its large assumption of pre-knowledge on Andy Warhol.   “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.” This simple line starts the famous classic Pride and Prejudice while setting up an ironically feminist situation that plays out throughout the rest of the novel. This novel is not only an example of classic literature written by a renowned female author, but also Pride and Prejudice holds a special place in my heart as my long-time favorite novel. Of course, I could dissect the themes, characters, and interpretations of this famous novel, but Voyant Tools provides an opportunity to analyze the words of Jane Austen in a simple yet effective method. Throughout this investigation into the word choice of Jane Austen, I chose to pursue the use of gender in the novel. Austen’s novel focuses on the Bennet family whose financial situation is secure only as long as the father remains alive which prompts the strong emphasis on marrying off the five daughters and securing their financial futures. The environment of 19th century Europe does allude to some of the gendered divisions within the novel which strengthened my reasoning for a gender-based analysis. I used the selected corpus of Pride and Prejudice which is not “big data” when considered outside of Jane Austen’s other novels. However, with my limited experience with Austen’s other novels, I felt this limitation would prevent me from making intentional decisions with how to approach the corpus. Additionally, even though the information is not “big data” it is useful to consider within the context of the time it was published to demonstrate the complication to gender roles within the early 19th century. Voyant Tools has all of Austen’s works pre-loaded into their system, but I was able to limit the words down to only Pride and Prejudice which I then pared down by selecting specific words based upon the route that I wanted to research. The first visualization analyzed the use of male/female titles including Mr., Miss, and Mrs. to determine whether male or female terms were more frequently referred to. While creating this visualization I ran into increasing issues with the need to have direct comparisons between male and female gender depictions as the female terms were split between unmarried and married women. I was able to mitigate these problems by spending additional time with Excel spreadsheets and dividing the terms by gender. Below are three separate visualizations with their respective terms. Visualization #1 Male and Female Terms
Male Terms Total Count: 875 Female Terms Total Count: 880 The first set of data included the terms: Mr., Mrs., Miss, sir, madam, lord, and lady. This rather limited set of terms reflect a rather equal representation of males and females. This representation is rather weak, as it does not include any pronouns and there are only a little over 800 words in each. The gendered terms (excluding pronouns) reflect a fairly equal presence of both male and female ideas. But this idea is flipped on its head when pronouns are added noting significantly more male pronouns whereas the list of the names of characters has a stronger emphasis on female characters. I utilized a 2-column chart to reflect the data to create an easy to identify comparison between the genders referred to in the novel. I elected for the simple depiction to counteract the problem of information density in visualizations that can complicate narratives as John Theibault notes in “Visualizations and Historical Arguments.” Visualization #2 Male and Female Terms and Pronouns
Male Terms Total Count: 7293 Female Terms Total Count: 5371 The second set of data included the terms: Mr., Mrs., Miss, sir, madam, lord, lady, her, she, he, his, him, and hers. There is strength in this representation by including a far more inclusive set of male and female reference terms. This portrays a better idea of how much men or women are mentioned outside of themselves. However, this will over-represent the men in the novel as many of the female characters use each other’s first names to refer to one another instead of Miss. For example, if any of the Bennet sisters were talking with each other they would not use the term Miss to refer to another sister. Visualization #3: Characters
Male Characters Count: 1144 Female Characters Count: 1486 The third set of data is representative of the number of times individual character names are used throughout the book in a male and female breakdown and by section of the book. The terms included are Darcy, Jane, Bingley, Collins, Kitty, Mary, Catherine, father, mother, Lydia, Wickham, Charlotte, and Georgiana. It is important to note that I did exclude some smaller characters and the Gardiners as the last name is used for the key identifier for both Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner. *As a note, the genders depicted does not refer to the status of each character. The Character Breakdown by Section noted below is also included to provide a background of when these characters were mentioned throughout the novel. Character Breakdown by Section  Altogether, the data reflects a far more female-centered novel than was common in the early 19th century. This differs from standard publications and reflects a different depiction of women in literature. The most significant piece of information that I identified was that although the terms I outlined in the first data set, the ones that I expected to have a gender disparity, actually did not portray a significant difference in gendering with only pronouns giving it a significant change. It was also interesting to note the exact opposite depiction of how frequently names were used, noting that most of the men were referred to largely by their last name rather than by their first in the novel. Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice is an example of a classic romantic novel that, along with her other novels, redefined literary ideas to incorporate stronger female characters than typically existed before. These female-centered narratives, however, are inescapable from the gendered ideas of the 19th century which were most noted in the use of gendered pronouns and titles.
One Media Outlet Alone Will Not Reach Your Audience COVID-19 has brought about an onslaught of digital content and material to endlessly scroll through. But creating that content is only the first part of engaging with an audience while people feel disengaged with the outside world, especially for museums. During COVID-19 the necessity of using social media outlets and creating new forms of content based out of employee’s homes, took on a whole new level of importance. However, creating content just to have the content will not immediately garner an audience to view it. The Carnegie Science Center’s YouTube presence during the global pandemic provides a clear example that creating content on a social media platform only works when put with other methods of communication and outreach. The Carnegie Science Center was shut down on March 14, 2020 due to the COVID-19 Pandemic health regulations and re-opened to the public on June 29th with timed entry and limited occupancy. During the height of the pandemic, the Carnegie Science Center used their social media to reach their target audience while they were unable to reach them in-person. With this emphasis on social media, there was a parallel influx in social media content across museums adding to the sense of endless scrolling that drives the need for both outstanding content and clear communication across multiple platforms. However, the Carnegie Science Center was unable to fully communicate their content across platforms leaving numerous videos on their YouTube channel to barely receive any views regardless of their content.
The Carnegie Science Center’s YouTube channel has 531 subscribers as of September 2020. However, this number is miniscule when compared to their other social media outlets. The Science Center’s Facebook has over 53,000 likes, their Twitter has over 20.9K followers, and their Instagram has 14.8K followers. Not to mention, their additional email blasts, website, and even Pinterest boards that connect to thousands of people. But without proper utilization of these audiences and directing them to new content on other platforms including their YouTube channel, the content can easily be unreachable and unknown to the target audience preventing any form of clear message delivery.  The Carnegie Science Center’s YouTube channel featured a total of 65 videos as, of September 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic. These videos averaged a total of 376 views per video. Which considering they have only 531 subscribers that is about 70% viewership, if we assumed that there were only subscribers watching. But, of course, other people watch the videos who are not yet subscribed to the Carnegie Science Center’s YouTube channel, and that difference is made increasingly clear by the comparison between featured and unfeatured. In the chart below, there is a depiction of total views on each video in order from March 20th until September 30th. Admittedly the most recent videos have not yet had the time to reach a larger audience and there is likely a misrepresentation of their unpopularity with the final week.  With this concern aside, there is a clear pattern depicting increased popularity with videos featured in their email blasts and social media rather than those that were published to YouTube alone. The average number of views for the unfeatured videos was 255 views and the featured videos averaged 912. That is a 358% difference in viewership. Now I am not claiming that every single video that is created should be featured in an email blast to increase viewership. There is no guarantee that that would work, and it would likely cause some individuals who receive emails from the Carnegie Science Center to unsubscribe from their newsletters. But the pure difference in viewership does highlight the need to cross-promote even content that is designed for social media. The other important note about the Carnegie Science Center’s YouTube channel is that after their video highlighting their re-opening, there has been minimal viewership and no featured videos. The pandemic forced the Carnegie Science Center to produce additional content on their YouTube channel, but it seems as though that may have just been a temporary surge in use and features even with the continuity of the pandemic. The longevity and emphasis on YouTube may fade soon, and we will have a better idea in the near future where their social media emphasis will lie as the year progresses. The Carnegie Science Center’s use of YouTube during COVID-19 highlights the importance of creating content and then highlighting that content across social media platforms. There is a clear difference between the YouTube videos that were featured across social media and those that were not. In order to have the most successful social media accounts, the cross-promotion of the content has to be considered and utilized in order to properly justify the creation of the content. Possibilities for Public Engagement through Short Videos
TikTok, the video-sharing app, is rather controversial with President Trump’s Executive Order 13873 to ban the app alongside rising claims that the app's data collection threatens personal security. But even with these potential safety and privacy concerns, TikTok has accrued a massive potential audience for museums and public history institutions to tap into with millions of downloads and users across the globe. But assuming the Executive Order is actually enacted this month, this growing young audience will again be far harder to reach.
It is not a new problem for museums and public history institutions to be struggling to reach this young technologically inclined audience. Especially during a global pandemic that has shut down institutions from in-person visits: the main outlet most of these institutions rely on to spread their messages. But TikTok, while it is still broadly utilized, provides a unique outlet to feel as though you are doing one-on-one interactions with visitors. It also allows institutions to embrace more of the fun side that draws people working in those institutions to it in the first place. TikTok videos allow institutions to demystify some of the behind-the-scenes actions and breakdown barriers of the “ivory tower.” Plus, institutions can share fun and exciting experiences in a new format. This app allows people to be people just having fun doing their jobs online and for people to realize how much more there is to know and learn from public historians than they may ever have realized before. A popular strategy on the platform is for fun or “relatable” individuals sharing anything they find interesting. From at home projects, dancing, or funny one-liners, there are a lot of opportunities to try new methods of engagement not to mention the easy access to a wider global audience. This individuality element and one-on-one engagement provides a new format for building connections with public history institutions as well as having employees share their favorite moments to engage in cheesy, adventurous, or even educational moments with viewers.
Public history institutions cannot let social media outlets pass them by if they want to continue or even start engaging with young curious audiences. Assuming that occasional field trips or a child’s trip with their parents to the museum will be enough to bring them back over and over again through their entire life is not reasonable. These younger audiences can be reached and engaged with through online platforms even from halfway across the world. Why limit that education to an occasional Facebook post that most twenty-year old’s will never check, or an Instagram story that is gone in moments? TikTok has grown drastically within two years since their merging with Musical.ly, and although you may think of it as only dancing videos it has an astounding variety of content typically centered around audio cues. This app allows content creators to reuse different music or audio from other TikTok videos which as they grow in popularity establishes a sense of tone and messaging. There are, of course, videos that go against that set grain with the audio; however, the audio shifts are sometimes still utilized to demonstrate that difference. Take advantage of these already created viral audio clips to show off museum collections, fun facts, behind-the-scenes surprises, and exhibits in a new and engaging way.
Now that you know some of the small secrets into TikTok; go and get scrolling. Learn more about what people find interesting and engaging. Then make some yourself. See if they gain popularity or if they don’t. Self-promote across your own platforms. And create the kind of content you, your kids, your grandparents, your cousin, or your neighbor wants to find. Authenticity and engagement: that’s where you will find the most success. |
AuthorAlex Warren is a public historian living in the Twin Cities. She is passionate about digital opportunities to engage public audiences and encourage community engagement. |
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