Commemorative

Object number2008.154.1

Manufacturer A.W. Cadman Manufacturing Company

Date1936

Mediumbrass

Credit LineIn memory of Raymond Panasko

DescriptionBrass rectangular flood marker.Dimensions11.5 x 6 x 0.25 in. (29.2 x 15.2 x 0.6 cm)
InscriptionsEmbossed on front: "ALL TIME HIGH / FLOOD STAGE / 46.0 FEET / MARCH 18 1936 / PITTSBURGH / PENNSYLVANIA"
MarksMaker's engraved mark on lower right edge "A.W. CADMAN MFG. CO."
Historical NotesFlood marker distinguishing the flood stage of 46 feet during the Pittsburgh St. Patrick's Day flood in 1936. This plaque was on the Jenkins Arcade building. When the building came down, pieces were stored in the terminal building. The donor's grandfather, Raymond Panasko, found the plaque attached to a piece of stone from the building. Supervisor told him to take it. So took off the plaque off of the stone and took it home. The Great St. Patrick's Day Flood of 1936 -- considered by meteorologists to be the worst natural disaster in Western Pennsylvania history -- flooded Downtown Pittsburgh. Following a winter that dumped more than 63 inches of snow on Pittsburgh, several inches of rain poured onto the region in mid-March, including 1.75 inches on St. Patrick's Day. The water rose to 21 feet above flood stage at the Point, which has never been duplicated by any storm; within two days it had risen to 46 feet. The flood killed more than 60 people and injured 500. [edited from article by Daveen Rae Kurutz Tribune-Review website]

Previous owner Raymond Panasko

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