The great blizzard began on November 25, 1950 and dumped a record 30.5 inches of snow in Brookline. The downfall was so severe that the city of Pittsburgh was not open to traffic until December 1. Here in Brookline, neighbors came together and helped each other remove snow and do their best to survive the temporary paralysis that beset the area.

This picture shows the Boulevard Theatre, Brookline's neighborhood cinema. The theatre operated into the 1960s before closing. It is now the Cedars of Lebanon Hall. Small neighborhood theatres were once scattered about most communities. Those close to here were the Hollywood Theatre (closed in the 1970s) and the South Hills Theatre (closed in the 1990s), both located in Dormont, and the Denis Theatre, located in Mount Lebanon. The Denis closed in 2004.