George Westinghouse erected large works there which supplied equipment to the great power plants at Niagara Falls and for the elevated and rapid-transit systems of New York City.

Nearby, the George Westinghouse Bridge over Turtle Creek is a prominent fixture in the area, which is very near the borough of Braddock.

The first transmission from pioneering radio station KDKA (AM) was made from East Pittsburgh on November 2, 1920.

[citation needed] In 1928, an early demonstration of a new broadcast medium was conducted at the Westinghouse laboratories in East Pittsburgh.

East Pittsburgh's school colors were green and white, and its athletic teams were called the Shamrocks.

In the final basketball game between the two rivals, the Shamrocks defeated Turtle Creek, 65–63.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 0.4 square miles (1.0 km2), all land.