Christine Davis Consultants

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10089/1046574-437.stm

Archeologists from CDC discovered over 25,000 artifacts during their excavations at the site of Three PNC Plaza.  The archaeological crews worked with construction crews under the watchful and fascinated eyes of Pittsburghers who observed the process from their offices in nearby high-rise buildings.

After the existing buildings were demolished, the archaeology team began their excavations of the 1.5 acre site.  Instead of trowels and brushes, the crew worked with skilled backhoe operators to successfully locate 13 brick water wells and privies. Buried up to 26 feet beneath Fifth Avenue – amidst a sea of rock, concrete and metal – were fragile hand painted dolls, delicate French urns decorated with gold, a sash pistol, and thousands of other unique objects. The last time these artifacts were seen, canal boats entered Pittsburgh on a watered viaduct and Native Americans Indians hunted buffalo across the Plains.

Back in the laboratory, as archaeologists carefully cleaned and identified the artifacts, an unknown and extraordinary chapter in the city’s history was revealed.  Discovering the relationships between these artifacts and written history created a new perspective of the lives and work of those who once occupied the space where Three PNC Plaza now stands.  The chronicle of this excavation documents their place in history, a time when Pittsburghers shaped a frontier village into a great city.

See the artifacts in person on permanent exhibit in the new Fairmont Hotel Pittsburgh Opening Soon….

CDC mentioned in the D.G. Stewart Elevator and Feed Mill article.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10068/1041196-437.stm?cmpid=news.xml

CDC is featured in the latest installment of Rick Sebak’s Pittsburgh History Documentary Series “Right Beside the River”.

http://www.wqed.org/tv/sebak/right-beside-the-river/index.php

Tags: WQED

CDC installed an urban archaeology exhibit in the Science Center. Artifacts found beneath the old Sports Works are displayed on the stairway to the IMAX Theater.

 

Before construction of Three PNC Plaza, CDC archaeologists found thousands of artifacts in a series of brick-lined wells dating from the 1830 to the 1865.  The brick wells were used by some of Pittsburgh’s earliest merchants and boarding houses.  The unique and beautiful artifacts found during the survey revealed a very different view of the people who lived and worked in Pittsburgh, challenging the concept of Pittsburgh as just a “Smoky City.”  

Client:
City of Pittsburgh

Project:
Three Rivers Heritage Trail Interpretive Signs

Location:
Three Rivers Heritage Trail

Our Role:
Creating themes, image selection and text

Pittsburgh’s beautiful interpretive signs line the Three Rivers Heritage trail system along the three rivers. The city contracted CDC to prepare 33 historic signs depicting significant events in Pittsburgh’s rich history.

Additional Interest: Bikers and hikers enjoy these popular signs located on the sites where important events occurred from George Washington’s landing on Herr’s Island to the Hot Metal Bridge across the Monongahela River to Panther Hollow.

Client:
Urban Redevelopment Authority & Sports and Exhibition Authority

Project:
Urban Archaeology in Pittsburgh

Location:
City of Pittsburgh

Our Role:
Cultural Resource studies and Section 106 Coordination

This brick well was found during construction of the Point Park Dance Studio.

Additional Interest:

Tags: African American Cultural Center, Heinz Field, North Shore Connector, PNC Park, Point Park

Client:
Pittsburgh Department of Planning

Project:
Westinghouse Park

Location:
Point Breeze, City of Pittsburgh

Our Role:
Archaeological Survey, Landscape documentation

The most significant discoveries found during an archaeological survey of George Westinghouse’s home were excavated on his birthday, October 6th. Known as Solitude, the site was not only Westinghouse’s home but his private laboratory, a place of invention, creation, and experimentation. At Solitude, Westinghouse invented ways to control and transmit natural gas to both industrial and residential consumers. Natural gas derricks occupied Solitude’s backyard near the family’s Victorian gardens. The experiments conducted here made natural gas a new source of clean and cheap fuel for the iron and steel industries at a critical period.

Additional Interest: Archaeological testing was successful in identifying the sites of Westinghouse’s home and his laboratory connected by a spectacular brick tunnel. Also found were four natural gas wells, another tunnel, and landscape features including stone steps, entrance pillars, carriage roads, and specimen trees. Finding an authentic and significant archaeological site within a city park attaches a distinctive importance to this public space. The Westinghouse Site is an important part of our region’s history and development. Thousands of Americans can relate with the life and work experiences of this extraordinary man and his times. What lies buried in Westinghouse Park will impart exceptional knowledge about one of Pittsburgh’s most important individuals, a man whose ideas changed the world.

Client:
R. B. Shannon & Associates, Inc.

Project:
Beatty Mills Bridge

Location:
North Buffalo Township, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania

Our Role:
Phase I Archaeological Survey, Effect, MOA, State Level Documentation

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PENNDOT) is proposing to replace the existing Beatty Mills Bridge carrying T-659 over Buffalo Creek in North Buffalo Township, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania. Beatty Mills Bridge is a wrought iron Bowstring pony truss constructed ca. 1875 by the Wrought Iron Bridge Company (WIBC). This 86-foot long, single span bridge is eligible for the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) as a remarkably complete and important example of an early metal truss bridge. Out of the 11,855 Pennsylvania bridges included in a survey conducted in the 1990s by PENNDOT, only four others are Bowstring pony trusses. In addition, less than one percent of these bridge (or 55 bridges) are fabricated of wrought iron. After applying the Criteria of Effect and the Criteria of Adverse Effect, it was recommended that there would be an adverse effect to this historic resource as a result of the proposed undertaking. The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Bureau for Historic Preservation (PHMC/BHP) concurred with this recommendation. A Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) was prepared. State Level Documentation will be completed as a measure to mitigate the adverse effect. A Phase I Archaeological field survey was conducted in 2003. Based on the results of the Phase I survey, a very small portion of one archaeological resource, the previously recorded Ray Site (36Ar414), was re-identified within the boundaries of the project area. It was determined that this small portion would not be likely to yield significant information; therefore, no additional archaeological survey was required for this project.