By the 1770s, Ormsby had built an estate on these lands and established a ferry for connecting his home with the community in Pittsburgh.

In 1811, Ormsby's son-in-law, Dr. Nathaniel Bedford, laid out a town on the flats, naming it Birmingham in tribute to his native city.

Birmingham quickly became a sizable industrial center because of the easy access to river and rail transport.

The region would first become a center of glass production, followed by a concentration of iron and steel manufacturing.

The firm of Jones and Laughlin Steel Company would eventually become the South Side's largest employer.

They found home throughout the Flats and Slopes of South Side and had brought much of their culture and traditions to the area.

In addition to layoffs at the J&L Plant, the Levinson Steel Company which had been located on the South Side closed in 1981.

[10] The Arcade Theater had opened in 1929 and was the first theatre outside of Downtown Pittsburgh to have sound and air-conditioning.

The Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation helped establish and partner with the South Side Local Development Company in 1982.

The plan fell through when it was determined that these structures posed a safety hazard, although the J&L sign is mothballed beneath the Panhandle Bridge for future use.

[1] The South Side Riverfront Park runs the majority of the border of the Flats to the Monongahela River.

The Flats then curve to follow a north-south direction; this segment is bordered by the Pittsburgh neighborhood of Arlington to the west and a very small section of Baldwin to the south.

The Flats run adjacent to three Pittsburgh neighborhoods across the Monongahela River and are directly linked via bridges.

[19] Kaufmanns Department Store was founded as a tailor shop on Carson St. on the South Side in 1871.