Stephen Karlinchak
skarlinchak@post-gazette.com
January 4, 2026
Some of the biggest stories from Pittsburgh in the first quarter of this century have shaped the region forever.
Here’s a look at some of the top moments from around Western Pennsylvania over the first 25 years of the century.
2000
Jan. 1 “Spirited beginning: City sails smoothly into 2000” Pittsburgh sails smoothly into 2000 after Y2K concerns had people worried about whether their computers would work as the world transitioned to the new millennium.
June 11 “Zoo aquarium opens” At what becomes the Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium, the aquarium officially opens on the zoo’s campus.
March 1 “2 dead, 3 wounded in bloody rampage” Ronald Taylor carries out a racially motivated shooting spree, killing two people and wounding three in Wilkinsburg. Taylor is convicted and sentenced to death in November 2001. He died in prison in April 2024.
April 28 “Cold killer’s 20-mile trail leaves five dead” Richard Baumhammers commits a series of racially motivated killings and attacks, killing five and wounding two, as well as shooting two synagogues. He was convicted and sentenced to death in May 2001. He remains on death row.
2001
Three Rivers Stadium, the former home of the Steelers and Pirates, is demolished in a controlled implosion.
March 31 “A four-star ballpark: Glitches minor as PNC Park draws rave reviews in debut” PNC Park opens with the Pirates hosting the New York Mets for exhibition games.
Aug 31 “Fred Rogers rides into the sunset” The last episode of the locally produced and nationally distributed children’s program “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” airs.
The hijacking of United Airlines Flight 93, which crashed in Stonycreek Township, Somerset County, is part of terrorist attacks that profoundly impact Pittsburgh and the nation, leading to a nearly empty Downtown, church vigils, and emotional community responses.
2002
July 12 “Homestead span honors baseball team” The Homestead High-Level Bridge is renamed the Homestead Grays Bridge to recognize the former Pittsburgh-area Negro League baseball team.
July 28 “‘Help! Help! Please get us out’” After 78 hours in the dark, fearing they would drown, the miners saw the drill break through. All nine Quecreek coal miners are rescued alive in Somerset County.
2003
Sept. 21 “Convention center wows small crowd” The new David L. Lawrence Convention Center opens in Downtown Pittsburgh. At the time, it’s the largest green building and the first LEED-certified convention center in the world.
2004
Jan. 18 “Pope in peace concert: Vatican invites rabbis, Muslim clerics for concert featuring Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra” Pope John Paul II is in attendance as the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra performs a 72-minute concert, featuring a Jewish conductor and Muslim singers, at the Vatican.
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July 21 “US Airways dropping 133 trips, 37 destinations from Pittsburgh” US Airways begins to transition from using Pittsburgh International Airport as a hub.
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Sept. 17 “Widespread flooding causes evacuations, blocks roads” Rains from the remnants of Hurricane Ivan cause widespread flooding and trigger evacuations, with Millvale and the Carnegie area getting hit especially hard. The storm leads to more than $260 million in damage across the state.
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How has Pittsburgh changed over the first quarter of the century?2005
March 18 ”Seventh Street span is renamed Andy Warhol Bridge to honor the native son” The Seventh Street span from Downtown to the North Shore, the second of three sister bridges, is renamed for the Pittsburgh artist.
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July 29-31 “Bassmaster Classic: Fishing contest a far cry from ‘two bubbas in a boat’” Forty-seven anglers compete for a $200,000 first prize and a $700,000 total purse in a three-day tournament, the world’s premier bass fishing competition.
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2006
Bob O’Connor becomes mayor and in July he is diagnosed with central nervous system lymphoma, a rare brain cancer. He dies Sept. 1, and Pittsburgh City Council President Luke Ravenstahl succeeds him.
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The Pittsburgh Steelers defeat the Seattle Seahawks, 21-10, to win Super Bowl XL in Detroit. Wide receiver Hines Ward is named MVP.
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April 22 “Rachel Carson Bridge dedication is today” The Ninth Street Bridge from Downtown to the North Shore is renamed for Rachel Carson, the noted environmentalist and Springdale native.
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June 8 “Parking lot to become paradise at Schenley Plaza” Schenley Plaza’s $10 million transformation from parking lot to park-like plaza in Oakland is completed, and the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy hosts a four-day party.
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June 17 “ All about furry fandom at confab: Attendees feel that the draw is misunderstood” The annual Anthropomorphic Convention, better known as Anthrocon or the Furries Convention, relocates to Pittsburgh, where it’s remained ever since.
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Sept. 8 “Party ushers out Kaufmann’s and welcomes Macy’s” Kaufmann’s department store ceases to operate its flagship Smithfield Street department store under its own name, becoming Macy’s. (see 2015)
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2007
April 10 “Demolition begins at Penguins’ arena site: Public and hockey applaud as heavy equipment rumbles in the Lower Hill District” A former residence hall for working women begins to be knocked down, making way for the Penguins’ new arena in the Lower Hill District.
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Nov. 6 “Ravenstahl cruises to 2 more years as Pittsburgh mayor Acting Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl wins a special election to fill out the term of office of the late Mayor Bob O’Connor.
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2008
Jan. 1 “Penguin fans revel in outdoor triumph” The Pittsburgh Penguins win the first NHL Winter Classic with a 2-1 victory over the Buffalo Sabres in Orchard Park, N.Y.
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Oct. 4 “Pittsburgh Episcopal Diocese votes to secede” The Episcopal diocese of Pittsburgh votes to secede from the Episcopal Church and realign with the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone, based in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
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Oct. 4 “Pittsburgh celebrates 250 with festivities at the Point” Pittsburgh marks its founding on Nov. 25, 1758, with a concert and fireworks at the Point as a start to a year of commemorations.
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Oct. 24 “Deal a relief to customers but brings new questions” Pittsburgh’s PNC Financial Services plans to acquire National City Corp. by the end of the year, following the rumors of problems at the Cleveland bank, stock price fluctuations and speculation about a possible sale.
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2009
Feb. 1 “They’re the Lords of the Rings” The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Arizona Cardinals, 27-23, in a dramatic Super Bowl XLIII, with Santonio Holmes making a late touchdown catch in the corner of the end zone to seal it. He’s named MVP.
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Three Pittsburgh police officers are shot and killed while answering a domestic disturbance call in Stanton Heights. Richard Poplawski is later found guilty and in 2011 sentenced to death. He remains on death row.
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June 11 “Iron City soon will be brewed in Latrobe” Pittsburgh Brewing Co. announces it will make its last batch in Lawrenceville on June 22 before moving to Westmoreland County.
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June 12 “Penguins win third Stanley Cup” The Penguins win the third Stanley Cup title in franchise history, holding off the Detroit Red Wings, 2-1, in Game 7 at Detroit’s Joe Louis Arena. Evgeni Malkin wins the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP.
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Aug. 4 “Four dead in fitness center shooting: Among the dead, gunman had a note in gym bag” Three women are killed and nine others are wounded when a Scott man began shooting at an aerobics class at LA Fitness in Collier. The shooter, 48-year-old George Sodini, turns the gun on himself.
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Aug. 9 “It’s official — Pittsburgh casino open for business” Hundreds of people swarmed into Rivers Casino on the North Shore at noon, marking the beginning of the slots-gambling era in the city of Pittsburgh.
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Leaders of 19 nations and the European Union descend upon Pittsburgh for the G-20 Summit to discuss the world’s economy.
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Sept. 25 “Local leaders spread Pittsburgh story during G-20” Hundreds of members of the international media arrive in Pittsburgh at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center to tell the story of why Pittsburgh was chosen to be the site of the G-20 summit.
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2010
Jan. 22 “CAPA student claims city police beat him: Senior faces assault charges in incident” Jordan Miles, a Homewood teenager and Pittsburgh CAPA honors student, claims he was beaten by three Pittsburgh officers on Jan. 11. The officers claim that Miles was acting suspiciously. Charges against the officers are dismissed, and the city settles with Mr. Miles in 2016.
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Western Pennsylvania endures Snowmageddon, with about 2 feet of snow falling here and across the mid-Atlantic in what was the fourth-largest snowfall in the Pittsburgh region’s history.
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Feb. 25 “Snow: We’ve broken the record” February 2010 becomes the snowiest month ever recorded in the Pittsburgh region after the National Weather Service took a reading of .3 inches at its site in Moon. That pushed the month’s total to 40.3 inches, surpassing the January 1978 record of 40.2 inches.
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Nov. 2 “Corbett, Toomey win state; GOP captures U.S. House” In a gubernatorial election featuring two Western Pennsylvanians, Republican Tom Corbett defeats Democrat Dan Onorato, and former Rep. Pat Toomey won a Senate seat.
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2011
Aug. 19 “3 killed in East End as storm floods streets” A mother and her two daughters are trapped in their van and drown when up to 10 feet of water covers Washington Boulevard in Highland Park. An elderly woman also dies when she is swept away into a storm drain. A year later, the city adds three gates that can close the road before flooding overtakes vehicles.
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2012
March 8 “Two dead, seven injured in Western Psych shooting” John Shick, carrying two semiautomatic 9-millimeter handguns, walks into the lobby of Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic in Oakland and opens fire, shooting six people and killing one before police arrive and kill him.
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March 26 “North Shore Connector gets show on the road’” The North Shore Connector, a light rail line connecting Downtown Pittsburgh with the North Side, begins operation. With free service between Downtown and the North Shore, the real test of its service was the Monday, March 26, commute.
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Leon Ford, 19, is shot by police during a traffic stop in Highland Park and is paralyzed.
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Dec. 14 “New Highmark Stadium welcomes ice skaters” A temporary ice rink at Highmark Stadium opens to the public, featuring youth and adult hockey in addition to public skating.
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2013
At the request of Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, Police Chief Nate Harper resigns after 36 years with the department. Harper pleads guilty to conspiracy and failure to file tax returns in October.
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March 1 “Pittsburgh mayoral field wide open as others ponder joining Lamb and Peduto in race” Mayor Luke Ravenstahl withdraws from the upcoming election for mayor, marking an extraordinary day in Pittsburgh politics as candidates and potential candidates were sorting through new scenarios of a mayor’s race that suddenly lost its favorite — an incumbent in a city where no incumbent had lost in modern political memory.
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April 30 “H.J. Heinz Co. shareholders approve $28 billion deal with Berkshire Hathaway, 3G Capital” Investors vote to approve the sale of the H.J. Heinz Co. — a 144-year-old Pittsburgh institution that started in Sharpsburg and spread across the globe — to 3G Capital and Berkshire Hathaway. Berkshire Hathaway and 3G Capital plan to take Heinz private when the sale is complete.
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May 21 “Peduto wins Democratic nod for Pittsburgh mayoral race” Pittsburgh City Councilman Bill Peduto defeats Jack Wagner, the former state auditor general, in the Democratic primary for Pittsburgh mayor. He goes on to win the general election in November.
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June 15 “The Great Allegheny Passage in the making” The trail from Pittsburgh to Cumberland, Md. — connecting to the C&O Canal Towpath to Washington, D.C. — officially opens.
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The world’s largest rubber ducky is harbored at the Point through mid-October and viewed by an estimated 1 million visitors.
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2014
April 9 “22 injured in knife attack at Franklin Regional High School” Twenty-one students and a security guard are injured when a Franklin Regional High School student goes on a stabbing and slashing spree. He later pleads guilty to 43 criminal charges and in 2018 is sentenced to 23½ to 60 years in prison.
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Nov. 4 “Tom Wolf elected Pennsylvania governor in landslide” Incumbent Gov. Tom Corbett, a Shaler resident, loses to York County businessman and former state revenue secretary Tom Wolf in the race for Pennsylvania governor. Mr. Wolf goes on to serve two terms.
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What will Pittsburgh look like in 2050? Entertainment, remote work, tech could steer future2015
July 13 “Pittsburghers to say goodbye to Macy’s Downtown” The iconic Downtown Pittsburgh flagship department store that was Kaufmann’s until 2006 announces that it’s closing.
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2016
March 8 “Five killed in mass shooting in Wilkinsburg; gunman at large” A backyard cookout becomes a crime scene when five members of a Wilkinsburg family — one of them eight months pregnant — are shot and killed. A sixth victim, a neighbor, dies from his injuries in 2020.
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The Penguins make franchise history with their victory over the San Jose Sharks. Sidney Crosby wins the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP.
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July 9 “Pittsburgh marks 200 years with parade and protest” As parades and protests through Downtown streets marked Pittsburgh’s 200th birthday party, the city celebrated two centuries of achievements while at the same time it confronted painful realities of policing and gun violence happening in cities across America.
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Sept. 2 “Liberty Bridge closed indefinitely because of fire-damaged structural beam” The Liberty Bridge shuts down after a tarp catches fire, spreading flames and heat to a structural beam, and risking total collapse. The bridge is closed for more than three weeks.
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2017
May 16 “Peduto wins second term to lead city” Mayor Bill Peduto easily defeats two primary election rivals and coasts to re-election in November.
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June 11 “Penguins repeat, win fifth Stanley Cup” In Game 6 in Nashville, the Penguins defeat the Predators, 2-0, to win back-to-back Stanley Cup titles and the fifth in franchise history. Sidney Crosby is named playoff MVP for the second straight year.
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2018
April 7 “Sudden collapse of Route 30 prompts evacuations, closes highway for ‘months’” Route 30 in East Pittsburgh suddenly buckles and collapses more than 30 feet down a steel hillside above Electric Avenue. The highway is closed until late June.
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Unarmed Black teenager Antwon Rose II is shot in the back and killed by an East Pittsburgh police officer, igniting widespread protests and racial tension in the region.
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Aug. 5 “We came close to having a tragedy’: Freight cars derail above Station Square T stop” No one is injured when seven intermodal rail cars carrying double-stacked shipping containers along the Norfolk Southern Railway main line went off the tracks and tumbled down the hillside near Station Square, with some cargo containers dangling just above the road used by Port Authority’s light-rail and bus lines.
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Aug. 14 “AG Shapiro outlines grand jury findings in report on sexual abuse in Pa. dioceses” Priests from the Pittsburgh and Greensburg dioceses are among those named in an 884-page state grand jury report, presented by Attorney General Josh Shapiro, investigating child sex abuse by Roman Catholic clergy.
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A gunman opens fire in the Tree of Life synagogue building in Squirrel Hill while three congregations hold Shabbat services, killing 11 worshippers and injuring several others in the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S. history. The gunman, Robert Bowers, is shot by police but survives and later faces the death penalty on federal hate crime charges.
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2019
June 24 “‘The deal is done’: UPMC, Highmark reach 10-year pact” UPMC and Highmark reach an agreement that gives many Highmark insurance members in-network access to UPMC doctors for the next 10 years. The agreement, announced by Attorney General Josh Shapiro, comes just six days before thousands of Highmark members in Pittsburgh and Erie would’ve lost access to UPMC doctors.
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A Port Authority bus falls into a sinkhole on Tenth Street near Penn Avenue in Downtown Pittsburgh — and goes viral.
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2020
As it did all over the world, the COVID-19 pandemic changes the lives of Pittsburghers.
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Pittsburgh leaders enact a curfew after days of violent protests around the city — and country — following the death of George Floyd while he was in police custody in Minneapolis.
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2021
May 18 “‘A city is changed with all of us,’ Ed Gainey says after historic win” State Rep. Ed Gainey defeats incumbent Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto to win the Democratic nomination for mayor.
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Nov. 2 “It’s history: Gainey defeats Moreno in mayor’s race” Mr. Gainey’s year of history continues as he defeats Republican Tony Moreno in the race for mayor, becoming the first Black mayor in the city’s history and Pittsburgh’s 61st mayor overall.”
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2022
The Fern Hollow Bridge in Pittsburgh’s Frick Park collapses on an icy, frigid morning, with seven vehicles, including a city bus, stranded in the ravine below. The failure comes on the same day President Joe Biden comes to the city to tout his administration’s plans for infrastructure.
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June 24 “Pennsylvania Turnpike finishes Southern Beltway, ready to begin Mon-Fayette Expressway” Crews complete construction of the final segment, a complicated interchange with Interstate 79, and officials turn their focus to beginning construction on the long-awaited Mon-Fayette Expressway.
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Nov. 8 “John Fetterman defeats Mehmet Oz to seize Pennsylvania’s key U.S. Senate seat” John Fetterman, the lieutenant governor and former Braddock mayor, defeats Mehmet Oz to seize control of an open U.S. Senate seat after Sen. Pat Toomey decided not to run for re-election.
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2023
Feb. 4 “Train derailment causes massive fire, evacuations in East Palestine, Ohio” A Norfolk Southern train derails in East Palestine, Ohio, triggering a massive fire and forcing thousands to evacuate the area. A state of emergency is declared because of the hazardous materials — including vinyl chloride — in some of the train’s tank cars.
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July 13 “‘The defendant deserves to answer for his crime’: Jury finds Pittsburgh Synagogue gunman eligible for the death penalty” A jury finds the gunman who killed 11 worshippers at a Squirrel Hill synagogue in 2018 eligible for the death penalty just over a month after they convicted him on all 63 federal charges he faced.
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Aug. 2 “Pittsburgh synagogue shooter gets death penalty, more than 4½ years after killing 11 in Squirrel Hill” A federal jury returns a death sentence for Robert Bowers for the mass murder in October 2018. He remains on death row.
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Dec. 18 “U.S. Steel to be acquired by Japan’s Nippon Steel in a deal valued at nearly $15 billion” Downtown-based U.S. Steel agrees to be acquired by Japanese steelmaker Nippon Steel Corp. The transaction is unanimously approved by the boards at NSC and U.S. Steel. The United Steelworkers union says it was left in the dark on negotiations.
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2024
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is shot in the ear during a campaign rally at the Butler Farm Show grounds. Corey Comperatore, a Butler County fire chief, is killed, and two others are also shot and wounded. The FBI identifies 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, who was killed by Secret Service, as the gunman.
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2025
May 20: “Corey O’Connor wins Pittsburgh’s Democrat mayoral primary, unseating incumbent Ed Gainey” Corey O’Connor, son of former Pittsburgh Mayor Bob O’Connor, wins the Democratic mayoral primary, unseating incumbent Ed Gainey. It marks the second straight primary in which the city went against the incumbent after Mr. Gainey defeated Bill Peduto in 2021.
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June 18 “Done deal: The sale of U.S. Steel to Nippon Steel is complete” The sale of U.S. Steel to Nippon Steel is complete as the Japanese steelmaker takes over the 125-year-old Pittsburgh institution in a $14.9 billion sale after a year and a half of political wrangling between government officials, organized labor and other major players.
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Nov. 4 “O’Connor elected the 62nd mayor of Pittsburgh” Mr. O’Connor later defeats Republican Tony Moreno in the general election and will become the 62nd mayor of Pittsburgh.
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Nov. 18 “Smooth landing: Pittsburgh International Airport opens its new $1.7 billion terminal without a hitch” Pittsburgh International Airport opens its new $1.7 billion terminal, ending three decades of the airside/landside layout connected by a train. The opening marks the end of years of planning and preparations that began in 2017 when the project was first announced and comes four years after construction began.
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