Editing McKeesport, Pennsylvania (section)

===20th century===
[[File:National Tube Works Company, McKeesport, 1888.jpg|thumb|Bird's-eye view of the National Tube Works in 1888]]
McKeesport rose to national importance during the 1900s as a center for manufacturing steel.  In 1899, the National Tube Works Company was consolidated with twenty other pipemaking firms in the northeastern United States to form the National Tube Company.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Warren |first1=Kenneth |title=Big steel : the first century of the United States Steel Corporation, 1901–2001 |date=2001 |location=Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |isbn=978-0-8229-4160-6 |page=12}}</ref> In 1901, the National Tube Company and nine other major American steel companies merged to form [[U.S. Steel]].<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1901/03/10/archives/the-merger-of-iron-and-steel-interests.html "The Merger of Iron and Steel Interests"], by James C. Bayles, ''New York Times'', March 10, 1901.</ref>
The city's population continued to grow steadily, reaching a peak of 55,355 in 1940. The subsequent decline since then is attributable to the general economic malaise that descended upon the region when the steelmaking industry moved elsewhere.{{Citation needed|date=March 2025}}

On [[1944 Appalachians tornado outbreak|June 23, 1944]], an [[Fujita scale|F4]] tornado struck the southern part of McKeesport, killing 17 people. Many multiple-story residences collapsed. In all, 88 homes in the city were destroyed, 306 were damaged, and 400 other buildings were damaged or destroyed.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Grazulis |first1=Thomas P. |title=Significant tornadoes, 1680–1991: A Chronology and Analysis of Events |date=1993 |publisher=Environmental Films |location=St. Johnsbury, Vermont |isbn=1-879362-03-1 |page=915}}</ref>

Thirteen years before both faced off in some of the most memorable televised Presidential debates, future presidents (and contemporary [[U.S. House of Representatives|U.S. Representatives]]) [[Richard M. Nixon]] and [[John F. Kennedy]] met in McKeesport for their first of five debates on April 22, 1947, to debate labor issues related to the Taft-Hartley Act.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.post-gazette.com/local/east/2011/11/27/The-Next-Page-The-Nixon-Kennedy-debate-in-McKeesport-1947/stories/201111270212|title=The Next Page: The Nixon-Kennedy debate ... In McKeesport, 1947}}</ref>

On May 21, 1976, downtown McKeesport experienced the largest fire in the city's history, referred to as the "Famous Fire", due to the fire beginning in the "Famous Department Store" on Market and Fifth Streets. The fire destroyed seven downtown structures, heavily damaged more than 12 others, and started fires in at least 10 homes due to hot embers blowing more than a half mile due to heavy gusting winds. Around 1,000 firefighters from more than 40 neighboring fire companies responded to [[Mutual aid (emergency services)|assist]], and a contingent of the [[Pennsylvania Army National Guard]] were deployed. The McKeesport Daily News reported the next day that "only shells and piles of rubble" remained "where city landmarks once stood."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.post-gazette.com/local/south/2016/05/16/McKeesport-s-Famous-fire-remembered/stories/201605160010|title=Forty years later, McKeesport's 'famous' fire remembered|website=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|language=en|access-date=2019-06-05}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.tubecityonline.com/history/1976fire.html|title=Local History @ tubecityonline.com|website=www.tubecityonline.com|access-date=2020-03-11}}</ref>

National Tube closed in 1987, along with other U.S. Steel plants in the Mon Valley. The city, with the help of regional development agencies, has conducted efforts to revitalize the former mill sites.<ref>{{Citation
| title = McKeesport on the move| newspaper = Post-Gazette| location = Pittsburgh, PA| date   = September 27, 1984| url    = https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Wa9RAAAAIBAJ&dq=regional-industrial-development&pg=4146%2C6143615}}</ref><ref>{{Citation| title =Brownfield sites get $8M for redevelopment| newspaper =Business Times| location =Pittsburgh, PA| date =October 13, 2005| url =http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/stories/2005/10/10/daily25.html?jst=b_ln_hl| url-status =live| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20131111022536/http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/stories/2005/10/10/daily25.html?jst=b_ln_hl| archive-date =November 11, 2013| df =mdy-all}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cjr.org/special_report/year-of-fear-mckeesport-pennsylvania.php/|title=Year of Fear, Chapter Three: Red Streets v. Blue Streets in McKeesport|website=Columbia Journalism Review|language=en|access-date=2020-04-02}}</ref>