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WHEREAS, George Westinghouse was born on October 6, 1846 near Albany, New York. Son of a machine shop owner, from his youth he demonstrated talent at both machinery and business. When the Civil War broke out, Westinghouse enlisted in the New York National Guard and was promoted to the rank of corporal. In 1864, he resigned from the Army to join the Navy, serving as an engineer on the gunboat USS Muscoota through the end of the war; and,
WHEREAS, Westinghouse was just 19 years old when he received his first patent, for a rotary steam engine. At 21, Westinghouse invented two devices to help move railroad cars, and by 1869, he devised an invention that would revolutionize the railroad industry, the air brake, which gave engineers a fast, reliable to stop their trains. Westinghouse followed that breakthrough with his automatic signaling systems that vastly improved railroad safety and efficiency; and,
WHEREAS, Over the next four decades, Westinghouse and his wife Marguerite expanded the house and its grounds into a 10-acre estate they called Solitude. Numerous notable politicians, industrialists, and scientists were regular visitors to Solitude, including President William McKinley, Lord Kelvin and Nicola Tesla; and,
WHEREAS, On November 30, 1918, four years after both George and Marguerite had died, ownership of the entire 10-acre Solitude estate was transferred to the City of Pittsburgh. The community preserved his name to posterity by a suitable memorial which would, at the same time, be a lasting benefit to the public, of which he was proud to be the servant; and,
WHEREAS, The Engineers Society of Western Pennsylvania has acquired the property in the City of Pittsburgh formerly occupied by Mr. Westinghouse as a residence and proposes to convey to the city of Pittsburgh as a public park, to be known as “Westinghouse Park” and to erect thereupon a suitable memorial in memory of Mr. Westinghouse; and,
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NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh does hereby commend Westinghouse Park for 100 years honoring the legacy of George Westinghouse ; and,
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh does hereby declare Saturday, December 1, 2018, to be “Westinghouse Park Centennial Day” in the City of Pittsburgh.