A poem by Meda Logan, dating to around 1907, captures the public’s conflicted view of the heavily polluted  city. It was found on the rear of a badly damaged menu.

“Here’s to grim Pittsburgh
             the city of smoke,
Where the sky’s but a memory
            and sunshine a joke,
Where the incense of stogies
            perfumeth the air -
But in spite of her faults
    we all love to be there.”

Courtesy Private Collection.