This week at Idea Foundry is also a Throwback Thursday, inspired by this photo taken in 1938 of the building which houses our offices. Of course, Idea Foundry wasn’t even a speck on the horizon back then and the building housed instead the Craig Restaurant. At the time of this photograph, Pittsburgh was already deep into its “Steel Town” period which would continue through the 1970s, with an industrial spirit that caused much growth in the city. Pittsburgh has seen its ups and downs, but it is this spirit of growth that has always pulled the city out of slumps. Pittsburgh has been characterized by the hard-working steel worker just as much as the resilience of the city itself. In recent years, Pittsburgh has continued to demonstrate this resilience, adapting to become a hub of innovation, technology, and growth. The ideas at work here today would have likely been beyond the dreams of those people eating in the Craig Restaurant in 1938, but the tenacity of the city characterized us both then and now.

It is this spirit of growth, adaptability, and perseverance that Idea Foundry wants to capture from Pittsburgh’s steel town heritage. Many steel mill and Pittsburgh-influenced pictures hang around our offices to serve as a reminder of these characteristics. Our name itself, Idea “Foundry,” calls to mind the “foundry floor” of the steel mill, the place where the magic starts. Instead of molding metal, Idea Foundry is molding ideas, sitting at the apex of innovation. Big things are happening in Pittsburgh, from tech giants setting up offices here to smaller tech innovation and development, world-class universities, research centers, medical facilities, social enterprises and non-profits...the list goes on. Pittsburgh has all the resources for innovative growth and impact generation. Like any good foundry, Idea Foundry sees it as our responsibility to combine these resources into the best product we can. What is our product? Economic development, job creation, and innovation for the region. Knowing well Pittsburgh’s rich history, we are proud to be continuing the tradition of growth and perseverance.

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