PHOTO BY ED MASSERY

If Pittsburgh had a Walk of Fame, who would be on it?

Fred Rogers? Nellie Bly? Jonas Salk? August Wilson? Martha Graham?

For the first time, a Pittsburgh Walk of Fame will be established along the five blocks of The Terminal building in the Strip District to honor people with ties to southwestern Pennsylvania who have made an impact on American culture.

The public will be able to nominate candidates in January for the first 10-member class, which is scheduled to be inducted in fall 2025. Each name will be honored with a bronze star and plaque explaining their achievements.

Related: Who Should Be on Pittsburgh’s Walk of Fame? Take Our Survey!

This is the brainchild of Nancy Polinsky Johnson, the former owner and publisher of Shady Ave magazine, who has been trying to get this established for 12 years. After visiting the St. Louis Walk of Fame, which honors more than 170 notable people from that Missouri city, she thought Pittsburgh should have a similar way of honoring its notable citizens.

After selling Shady Ave magazine to the Trib Total Media in 2022, she got to work, obtaining nonprofit status and assembling a 10-member board. The Terminal, which includes more than two dozen shops and restaurants along five blocks, was one of 35 locations scouted for the honorary walk. The central location of this historical landmark was a good fit, she said.

Dan McCaffery, CEO of the Terminal developer, McCaffery, agreed. “We are honored to serve as a backdrop for this tribute to Pittsburgh’s many remarkable individuals,” he said in a statement. “The Terminal has — and continues to be — a place of connection and celebration, and we are excited to again create a space where the city’s past and future can shine together.”

The Walk of Fame also could become a tourist destination and will be a source of pride for Pittsburgh, said Johnson, who is serving as the organization’s executive director.

There are strict criteria in the selections, she emphasized.

The person must have either been born in the 10 counties of southwestern Pennsylvania, spent their formative years here or done their creative work here.

The work also must have had an impact on American culture.

That region includes Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Greene, Indiana, Lawrence, Washington and Westmoreland counties.

Diversity also will be important — with gender, race, geographic area, profession, contribution and whether the person is living or deceased.

“If all 10 are deceased white men, that’s not a reflection of this area,” Johnson said about the first class. “We’re going to make sure each year we select a diverse group of people.”

The public in January will be asked to submit nomination forms through the website or they can even mail them in. These names will go to a 200-member committee selected from business, civic and educational leaders representing the 10 counties. “These are the people who have their fingers on the pulse of the region,” she said.

Once that list is narrowed, it will go to the Walk of Fame board of directors to make sure each class is diverse.

“I know we’re going to get questions and criticisms,” on the selections, she said. “The first 10 people are not going to be the 10 best people and not the 10 most deserving people, but then there will be 10 more people selected the next year and the next year…

“Ultimately, every deserving person will over time find their way onto the Walk of Fame.”

She estimates the sidewalk along The Terminal could probably accommodate 250 or more names.

The board will begin raising funds among foundations, corporations and individuals to support the bronze stars and explanatory plaques that will accompany the names. “It will be a learning experience to walk along the Walk of Fame,” she said.

People may not know who George Ferris is, she said for example, but then they’ll learn he invented the Ferris wheel while living in Pittsburgh.