Founded on December 5, 1874 the chamber received its charter on July 8, 1876 due to the state's passage of a new constitution during 1874-75.
March 14, 1906 offices moved to the Keenan Building at Liberty Avenue and Seventh Street.
On July 8, 1916 construction started on the Chamber of Commerce Building and opened May 1, 1917 with a membership of 3,000.
[5] During the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, the chamber was led by Barbara McNees, who was appointed as the executive director in 1996 and continued in that capacity until her retirement on August 15, 2013.
[6] In 2000, the chamber partnered with the Allegheny Conference, the Pennsylvania Economy League of Greater Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh Regional Alliance, a partnership that was extended in 2003 with a joint venture that merged memberships and leadership of all four organizations.