What Do You Do with a Historic Atom Smasher?
With the Westinghouse site on the Forest Hills/Chalfant border sold to a developer, the structure needs a new use or a new home.
The iconic blue "W" within a circle that was the Westinghouse logo is a bit faded. The odd, pear-shaped metal structure a bit weathered. And its future uncertain at best. It was on the hill above Ardmore Boulevard, nestled between Chalfant and the "lettered" avenues plan in Forest Hills, where the world's first industrial Van de Graaff atom smasher made history in 1937—and Westinghouse Electric and the nation became a dominant force in nuclear energy. The Forest Hills landmark, which smashed its last atom in 1958, is one of 50 historical "milestones" listed by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. In 2000, the atom smasher was designated historically significant by the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation. That …
Marni Blake Walter
1:53 pm on Monday, February 4, 2013
As a Forest Hills native, I'll be very sad to see the atom smasher go, if it comes to that. Personally I'd love to help create a local heritage center with this great piece of history as its centerpiece. That idea, however, would require a pile of money (from Westinghouse? Smithsonian? Anyone?). I hope that the Pittsburgh community can rally to save the atom smasher in some way! -Marni Blake … more ›