DARK SECRETS OF THE PRESBYTERIAN UNDERGROUND.

From an 1884 fire-insurance map of part of downtown Pittsburgh:

The long-gone First United Presbyterian Church (not First Presbyterian—that’s a different church, still going; these were the United Presbyterians) on Seventh Avenue. Note:

1. “Meat storage” in the basement of the church.

2. “Passage under gr’d” to the J. Stevenson & Co. ham house.

Fortunately, some Presbyterians repented of their evil ways and left the First United Presbyterian Ham House, as we can see by the fact that there was a church for reformed Presbyterians just behind First United Presbyterian.

Comments

  1. KevinT says:

    I would love to find out more about the Smoke Hos in the corner. Sounds intriguing and even illegal.

    • Occasional Correspondent says:

      Intriguing — if I’m reading the plot correctly, it says
      “No openings to Smoke Hos in street” (?) —
      so to get in you had to know somebody who knew somebody or know the secret knock or something.  Seems like shady dealings to me too, or maybe smoky dealings.

      • heloise says:

        Maybe it’s where they smoked their ho’s for that redolent smoky-ham fragrance that is the mark of the best ho’s.  Piped in from the two neighboring ham ho operations? but the Stevenson is marked “No openings to Smoke Hos”, so not from there, I guess.

  2. Zed says:

    I see in the corner “undertaker” but no label of what it was they undertook.  That space is also marked “666” so it was likely a beastly undertaking, and lurking just around the corner from two churches — hmmmm.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *