In the early 19th century, the Strip District was home to many mills and factories as its location along the
Allegheny River made for easy transportation of goods and shipping of raw materials. It was the home of the
Fort Pitt Foundry, source of large cannons before and during the
American Civil War, including a bore
Rodman Gun. Early industrial tenants of the Strip District included
U.S. Steel,
Westinghouse,
The Pittsburgh Reduction Company (ALCOA), and later
The H.J. Heinz Company, famous
ketchup and condiment manufacturer. The shipping infrastructure built around the manufacturing companies attracted other types of merchants to set up shop in the Strip. By the early 20th century, the Strip District became a vibrant network of wholesalers—mostly fresh produce, meat, and poultry dealers. Soon, auction houses rose around the wholesale warehouses. Many
restaurants and
grocery stores opened to feed hungry shift workers at any hour of the day. By the 1920s, the Strip District was the economic center of Pittsburgh. During the Great Depression,
Old St. Patrick's became a center of social justice activity under the tenure of "labor priest"
James Renshaw Cox. By the mid-to-late 20th century, fewer of the Strip's products were being shipped by rail and boat, causing many produce sellers and wholesalers to leave the area for other space with easier access to highways, or where there was more land available for expansion. In the early 21st century, there are still several wholesalers and produce dealers in the Strip District, but some estimates say more than 80% of the produce industry left the area, preceded by the manufacturing plants and mills in the mid to late 20th century restructuring of industry. Today, many of the abandoned warehouses have been renovated as small specialty shops, restaurants,
nightclubs, and
bars. The historic
St. Stanislaus Kostka Church, an 1891 landmark built in the ornate
Polish Cathedral style, lies in the heart of the Strip District and served early generations of Polish immigrants. ==Today==