This morning, thousands of revelers — including descendants of the city’s mayors — streamed into Downtown for the beginning of a daylong celebration of Pittsburgh’s bicentennial.
The festivities kicked off with a parade at 11 a.m. on Liberty Avenue at 11th Street.
About an hour into the parade, the crowds along Liberty swelled as the mayoral descendants — dating all the way back to Ebenezer Denny, Pittsburgh’s first mayor — marched along. The groups carried signs with their ancestors' names, wore matching T-shirts and some carried signs stating where they lived currently: San Francisco, Seattle, Cincinnati, Wilton, Conn.
Following the mayors’ families were groups representing the various nationality rooms at the University of Pittsburgh's Cathedral of Learning, including Irish, Lithuanian, Japanese and Scottish.
Puppets of Pittsburgh luminaries ambled by, portraying lanky likenesses of Andy Warhol, Henry Clay Frick and even Mayor Bill Peduto.
It was all a fantastic introduction to the city for Gigi Speese of Dillsburg, York County, a self-described history buff visiting for the weekend. While her daughter attended a meeting at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, she stood near the finish line, watching the mayors’ descendants wave to the crowd.
"I'm a big fan of Pennsylvania history, and I was headed down to Point State Park anyway," Ms. Speese said. "So I'm really excited to be here."
Daniel Moore: dmoore@post-gazette.com, 412-263-2743 and Twitter @PGdanielmoore.
First Published: July 9, 2016, 3:00 p.m.
Updated: July 9, 2016, 10:17 p.m.
