Public Notices (week of May 8 — May 15)

The Public Notices cartoon for last week.

The newest installment is a fishing expedition in the issue of City Paper on racks today. To see all the Public Notices geographically, check out the map.

Public Notices (week of May 1 — May 8)

The Public Notices cartoon for last week.

The newest installment is an urban idyll from Greenfield in the issue of City Paper on racks today. To see all the Public Notices geographically, check out the map.

Public Notices (week of April 24 — May 1)

The Public Notices cartoon for last week.

The newest installment is a clash of cultures Downtown in the issue of City Paper on racks today. To see all the Public Notices geographically, check out the map.

UPDATE (May 13, 2013): I added one after the jump.

714 Fifth (1861-1937): J. & J. B. Milholland Co.

The J & J.B. Milholland Co. lot as seen in a 1900 map from the G. M. Hopkins Co.

The businessmen who once operated along Fifth Avenue were primarily merchants and primarily Jewish, but not entirely either, as the J. & J. B. Milholland Co. proves. James and John B. Milholland were born in old Allegheny in 1836 and 1834, respectively. Their father was a prominent building contractor, and both brothers trained as machinists. After working separately for some years, they teamed up around 1861 to found an engine-building outfit called J. & J. B. Milholland Co. at 714 Fifth Avenue, which was at the Downtown end of Fifth Avenue, practically at the corner of Boyd and Diamond.

Public Notices (week of April 17 – April 24)

The Public Notices cartoon for last week.

The newest installment is an athletic feat from the South Side Slopes in the issue of City Paper on racks today. To see all the Public Notices geographically, check out the map.

1400 Fifth (1892-1915): Herman Obernauer & Co.

from The Jewish Criterion, 1936

Before Prohibition, the liquor trade was a popular occupation among German Jewish immigrants in Pittsburgh. The president and first vice president of the national Wholesale Liquor Dealers’ Association were both members of Rodef Shalom Congregation, and several early families of the synagogue had ties to the trade, according to research from Rodef Shalom archivist Martha Berg. Herman Obernauer was also a member of Rodef Shalom. Born in the Kingdom of Württemberg, in southern Germany, in January 1856, Obernauer spent his late teens and early twenties traveling throughout Europe as a salesman. He came to the U.S. in 1880 and settled in Pittsburgh, where he worked as a bookkeeper before opening a wholesale liquor operation on Fifth Avenue.

Public Notices (week of April 10 – April 17)

The Public Notices cartoon for last week.

The newest installment is a tranquil moment from East Liberty in the issue of City Paper on racks today. To see all the Public Notices geographically, check out the map.