Reopening set at McKeesport Regional History and Heritage Center

The three-day event will offer an in-depth look at the city’s colorful past.

In the midst of a significant overhaul, the McKeesport Regional History and Heritage Center will host its grand reopening celebration Aug. 1-3, highlighting a new, expansive exhibit spotlighting the city’s history.

“What they are doing is absolutely phenomenal,” executive director Tim Kunes said of the exhibition designers.

Each of the three days of the celebration will offer something different. From 6-9 p.m. Friday, the center will host an invitation-only VIP reception. From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, there will be a public open house for visitors to check out the exhibit. A “Boom to Bust and Beyond” presentation for the public is planned from 2-4 p.m. Sunday.

Normal hours for the center are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays. It is located at 1832 Arboretum Drive.

Andi Luketic Cartwright and Ron Minnicks took the lead on putting together the new 4,000-square-foot exhibit, which features sections dedicated to McKeesport’s arts and entertainment, re- tail, mayoral history, presidential visits and more. When attendees first enter, they’ll see a timeline of the city posted on the wall.

Luketic Cartwright, a 13-year board member with the center, loves the history. She has a lot of memories and has a local reputation for running the McKeesport Memories Facebook page.

“This town had this lifespan,” she said. “Washington comes in 1753, twice, he meets Queen Alliquippa here, that’s big history stuff. At the same time, the same year or roundabouts, that’s when David McKee, the first settler, comes. That’s when it all begins.”

One section features a recreation of a 1930s McKeesport living room and kitchen. For images in this section and elsewhere in the exhibit, Luketic Cartwright utilized generative AI to assist in creating visual representations of what people would have looked like in the city’s past.

Another section features a recreation of Brick Alley, a red-light district in McKeesport.

“We picked 911, because as I was doing research on it, I realized that Franklin J. Phillips, who was our medal of honor winner, this was his house,” she said. “It was 911 Brick Alley. Now he died in 1902, (which) was well before it became the red-light district, but it’s kind of cool that it comes up again.”

This new exhibit is part of the 45th year of operation for the center, which also offers comprehensive historical documents of the city for research purposes. Luketic Cartwright noted that the new exhibit has reenergized the center’s volunteers. Kunes hopes it will continue to inspire support for the center.

“This place needs an army of volunteers,” Kunes said.