Pittsburgh struggles with the Big Flood of 1907. The rivers crested at 38.7 feet.

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March 15, 1907 brought the Big Flood to the city of Pittsburgh. At the time it was refered to as the "Great Flood," but that would happen twenty-nine years later, in 1936. This flood, however, was pretty devastating in its own right. The river crested at 38.7 feet and it seemed that the entire city was flooded. On the north side the Pirate's Exposition Park was totally submerged. The city petitioned the government to take action on flood control.

The Monongahela riverfront.

Those lived to see the Great St. Patrick's Day Flood of 1936 witnessed an even more cataclysmic blow, with the water rising to forty-six feet, reaching over nineteen feet on the Boulevard of the Allies.

Liberty Avenue became a shallow river.

Flooding in Pittsburgh is a relatively seasonal occurance, but floods of this magnitude were rare. After the 1907 and 1936 floods, the government took notice and more emphasis was placed on river control. A system of locks and damns were built in an attempt to tame the waterways.

Front Street is submerged.