{"id":2111,"date":"2013-01-25T11:01:00","date_gmt":"2013-01-25T11:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/?p=2111"},"modified":"2015-01-08T17:34:44","modified_gmt":"2015-01-08T22:34:44","slug":"former-pittsburgh-mayor-tom-murphy-and-his-accomplishments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2013\/01\/25\/former-pittsburgh-mayor-tom-murphy-and-his-accomplishments\/","title":{"rendered":"Former Pittsburgh Mayor Tom Murphy and his accomplishments"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Dec. <\/a>
Dec. 30, 1993: On her last day in office, Mayor Sophie Masloff confers with Mayor-elect Tom Murphy. (Photo by John Beale, Post-Gazette) <\/div> <\/div>
\"Murphy <\/a>
Murphy served in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from 1979-93. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"The <\/a>
The Post-Gazette announced Murphy’s election to mayor. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"In <\/a>
In 1998, Murphy and Bob Cranmer, then county commissioner, discuss legislation to fund stadium construction. (Photo by Steve Mellon) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"At <\/a>
At a rally in 1999, Murphy spoke with Dr. Cyril Wecht, then a candidate for county executive. At left is AFL-CIO President John Sweeney; at right, former U.S. Rep. Ron Klink. (Photo by Bob Donaldson) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

Tom Murphy\u2019s activism on Pittsburgh\u2019s historic North Side propelled him to serve in the state Legislature from 1979 through 1993. On Dec. 30, 1993, he conferred with Mayor Sophie Masloff in City Hall and power transferred quietly.<\/p>\n

A month earlier, the 49-year-old legislator had hoisted his 2-year-old son, T.J., into the air after learning he had won election to the mayor\u2019s office, a post he held for three consecutive four-year terms. \u00a0A picture of that scene appeared on the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette\u2019s front page on Nov. 3, 1993. The victory was especially sweet because an earlier campaign in 1989 ended in failure.<\/p>\n

As mayor from January 1994 until January 2006, Mr. Murphy was highly visible and hard working. He was often seen running on riverfront trails or in Point State Park. As the city\u2019s 56th mayor, he was passionate about improving neighborhoods and making Downtown more vibrant even if, at times, he could be a bit prickly.<\/p>\n

To a large degree, he succeeded in transforming Pittsburgh. Mr. Murphy\u2019s zeal for improving the city\u2019s rivers led to the creation of more than 25 miles of riverfront trails. Public-private partnerships transformed blighted industrial land into residential or retail spaces. One example is Nine Mile Run, a former slag heap that became Summerset at Frick Park, a residential community.<\/p>\n

Other major achievements during Mr. Murphy\u2019s administration include construction of PNC Park, Heinz Field and the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, which was the largest certified green building in the nation when it opened in September 2003.<\/p>\n

Mayor Murphy\u2019s plan to raze Downtown buildings on Forbes and Fifth avenues to attract a Nordstrom department store and Planet Hollywood ran smack into ardent opposition from preservationists. The department store chain, Lazarus, came and went from a Downtown building that is now condominiums. To the horror of preservationists, the Mellon Bank Building became a home for Lord & Taylor. The department store chain had a brief run before leaving town.<\/p>\n

As 2012 drew to a close, the former mayor made a rare appearance in City Council chambers. He told civic leaders that a Strip District project proposed by the Buncher Co. falls well short of Pittsburgh\u2019s world-class standards for riverfront development. Buncher has backed away from seeking tax increment financing from the city.<\/p>\n

Since 2006, Mr. Murphy has been a senior fellow with the Urban Land Institute in Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n

Nathan R. Shrader: <\/strong>“A terrific mayor who refused to wave the white flag of surrender. The efforts he made to revitalize and renew Pittsburgh\u2019s economy for the future have helped make Pittsburgh the livable, increasingly vibrant place that it is today.”<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On Dec. 30, 1993, he conferred with Mayor Sophie Masloff in City Hall and power transferred quietly.<\/p>\n

Look at the picturesFormer Pittsburgh Mayor Tom Murphy and his accomplishments<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2112,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[1066],"tags":[965,1018,1037,1051],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/tumblr_mh53tmnlvd1rr5swxo1_1280.jpg?fit=1280%2C807&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1040,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2014\/01\/22\/pittsburghs-trash-history\/","url_meta":{"origin":2111,"position":0},"title":"Pittsburgh\u2019s trash history","date":"January 22, 2014","format":"gallery","excerpt":"Pittsburgh\u2019s relationship with garbage has been complicated and colorful as far as slogans go.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Screen-Shot-2014-12-17-at-12.12.44-AM.png?fit=1200%2C597&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":6365,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2016\/01\/20\/pittsburgh-flood-jan-20-20-years-ago\/","url_meta":{"origin":2111,"position":1},"title":"Floods sweep Pittsburgh region, Jan. 20, 20 years ago","date":"January 20, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"That's when Pittsburgh saw four seasons of weather pushed together in a two-week period of time in the middle of January.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/flood008-2.jpg?fit=1200%2C774&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":340,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2014\/08\/20\/clemente-field-and-mayor-sophie-masloffs-brutal-month\/","url_meta":{"origin":2111,"position":2},"title":"Clemente Field and Mayor Sophie Masloff\u2019s brutal month","date":"August 20, 2014","format":"gallery","excerpt":"Mayor Sophie Masloff once offered Pittsburgh a grand idea. 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