University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown

Did You Know?

Some little-known facts about the Pitt-Johnstown campus:

  • The Wilmore Coal and Real Estate Companies, as part of the Berwind Corporation, gave the University of Pittsburgh a land tract of 136 acres, on which the current campus was built.
  • The original campus was constructed between 1963 and 1967.
  • When buildings were being constructed, then-President Dr. Theodore W. Biddle insisted that the utility companies lay their lines around many of the large trees.
  • The stone used on the buildings is a quartzite, originally deposited about 600 million years ago. The stone weighs about 180 pounds per cubic foot and will withstand pressure of 280,000 pounds per square inch.
  • The campus’ heating system was featured in Look magazine in 1968 as a state-of-the-art system, theoretically recycling body heat.
  • The campus contains one of the largest private cemeteries in Richland Township.
  • The General State Authority allocated $2,375,000 for construction of the Owen Library.
  • In 1973, Pitt-Johnstown constructed four townhouse apartment buildings, increasing the number of beds to 784.
  • On the first day of school in 1967, neither Schoolhouse Road nor Theatre Drive had been paved.
  • Dwight D. Eisenhower delivered one of his last major addresses at the dedication of the campus on September 27, 1967.
  • In the aftermath of the Johnstown Flood of 1977, the campus became a refuge for flood victims.
  • Krebs Hall used to house a snack shop called “The Pitt” in its basement.
  • The first gymnasium was in the Student Union (where the Cambria Room is currently located), with a seating capacity of 600.
  • Pitt-Johnstown maintains more than one-million square feet of facility space.
  • The Pitt-Johnstown Log Cabin, which opened in 1972, was constructed entirely by students and employees, is built from utility poles.