WHEELING – The Ohio County Public Library’s next Lunch With Books program will examine “From the Steel City to the White City” with Zachary Brodt.

The program will take place at noon on Tuesday, April 28, at the library in downtown Wheeling.

In “From the Steel City to the White City,” Brodt explores Western Pennsylvania’s representation at Chicago’s Columbian Exposition, the first major step in demonstrating that Pittsburgh was more than simply America’s crucible — it was also a region of developing culture and innovation.

The 1893 Columbian Exposition presented a chance for the United States to prove to the world that it was an industrial giant ready to become a global superpower. At the same time, Pittsburgh, a commercial center that formerly served as a starting point for western expansion, found itself serving as a major transportation and increasingly industrial hub during this period of extensive growth.

Natural resources like petroleum and coal allowed Western Pennsylvania to become one of the largest iron- and steel-producing regions in the world.

The Chicago fairgrounds provided a lucrative opportunity for area companies not only to provide construction materials but to display the region’s many products.

While Pittsburgh’s most famous contributions to the 1893 World’s Fair — alternating current electricity and the Ferris wheel — had a lasting impact on the United States and the world, other exhibits provided a snapshot of the area’s industries, natural resources and inventions. The success of these exhibits, Brodt reveals, launched local companies into the 20th century, ensuring a steady flow of work, money and prestige.

Brodt is the university archivist and records manager for the University of Pittsburgh Library System. He was the 2016 recipient of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Archives Conference’s Arline Custer Memorial Award for best article for “Strike Out: A Pirates Pitcher at the Battle of Homestead” and is a council member of the Pennsylvania Historical Association.

He is currently completing a biography of Mary Croghan Schenley, a Pittsburgh heiress whose elopement started a transatlantic scandal and philanthropy became synonymous with the city’s Oakland neighborhood.