A National Historic Landmark
One of the most frequently asked questions is how to pronounce the name of the building – it is Bost (bō-st), sounds like ghost. Over the years, this storied building has served many functions. It was a hotel, bar, gambling hall, brothel, and even a sandwich shop.
Built in 1892 as a hotel for the rapidly growing worker’s ward of Homestead, the Bost Building was at the center of American labor history’s most dramatic episodes – the Homestead Lockout and Strike.
During the summer of 1892, the Bost Building served as headquarters for the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers. Using the third floor of the building as a watchtower, steel union officials monitored activities in the mill site and along the Monongahela River.
The Bost Building also served as the base for American and British newspaper correspondents who filed their stories daily for a world that was hungrily following the events of the labor strike that pitted the Carnegie Steel Company against the strongest labor union at the time.
The building received a National Historic Landmark designation in 1999 and then underwent a $4 million renovation. It opened in 2002 as the Visitors’ Center for the Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area.
