Come to the fourth meeting of the Allegheny City Book Club! Based on Pittsburgh’s North Side, we read and discuss local history and local authors with gatherings on the 2nd Thursday every other month.
For our March discussion we’ll be reading Wicked Pittsburgh by Richard Gazarik. Muckraking journalist Walter Liggett dubbed Pittsburgh the “Metropolis of Corruption” in 1930 when he reported the city had more vice per square foot than New York, Detroit, Cleveland or Boston. Decades earlier, the Magee-Flinn political machine ruled public officials, and crooked police helped racketeers protect brothels and gambling dens. Mayor (later Governor) David Lawrence was indicted several times for graft but acquitted each time. Even Pittsburgh Steelers founder Art Rooney Sr. colluded with gangsters, according to FBI reports. Join author Richard Gazarik as he reveals the wicked history of the Steel City.
We are also carrying over last meeting’s Pittsburgh Irish: Erin on the Three Rivers to get us in the mood for St. Patrick’s Day!
