• Area Firsts
• Cambria County Entertainers
• Johnstown in the Movies
• Johnstown Natives

• Community Profile
• Did You Know
• Clip Book
• Fast Facts

416 Main Street, Suite 100
Johnstown, PA, 15901
Phone: (814) 536-7993 / (800) 237-8590
Fax: (814) 539-3370
E-mail: jstcvb(at)visitjohnstownpa.com

Contact: Lisa M. Rager, Executive Director
(814) 536-7993, extension 23
Updated: August 2008

• The Milken Institute, an independent economic think tank, ranks Johnstown as 45th in the nation for technology growth and 8th in aircraft parts production.

• Johnstown has been described as “the most affordable city in the nation” by Forbes Magazine.

• Johnstown has been designated the best small metropolitan area to live in Pennsylvania and the fourth best in the East. —Source, “Best Places to Live” edition, Money Magazine, 1998.

• Employment in the Johnstown Metropolitan Statistical Area is approximately 64,000 jobs. In terms of recipients, manufacturing is the largest sector of the local economy, followed by retail trade, representing 30% and 28% of the total, respectively. Significant contributions to the defense and technology industries are being made in the Johnstown area. Northrop Grumman, Lockheed-Martin, DRS Laurel Technologies, Kuchera Industries, and Concurrent Technologies Corporation have provided quality products and services from operations in the Johnstown area. — Source, Greater Johnstown/Cambria County Chamber of Commerce Membership Directory & Community Profile 2007-2008, p. 37-45, 56.

• The University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown has been rated the 3rd best college in the Public Comprehensive Colleges and Universities in the North 2005 as rated by U.S. News & World Report magazine. The university enrolls approximately 3,200 students and offers more than 40 majors.

• Cambria County is also home to St. Francis University, Mount Aloysius College, Penn Highlands Community College, and Cambria-Rowe Business College, giving area college-bound students excellent options close to home.

• Johnstown's Hiram G. Andrews Center is Pennsylvania's largest comprehensive rehabilitation facility for physically-challenged individuals.

• The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) operates a cancer center inside the city. UPMC has been listed for the fifth year in a row on the U.S. News & World Report Honor Roll of “America’s Best Hospitals”—a distinction awarded to 19 hospitals in the nation but to only one in western Pennsylvania.

• The Conemaugh Health System is the largest health care provider in west central Pennsylvania. The group has been recognized nationally for its heart, orthopedics and home health programs. Recently, Memorial Medical Center, Conemaugh Health System’s Level 1 Regional Trauma Center received HealthGrades’ 2008 Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical ExcellenceTM, marking the hospital in the top 5% in the country. Memorial Medical Center has been designated as a UnitedHealth Premium Cardiac Specialty Center 2007-2009, a UnitedHealth Premium Total Replacement Specialty Center 2007-2009, a Highmark Blue Distinction Center for Cardiac Care 2007, and a HomeCare Elite Top 500 Hospitals 2007. Memorial Medical Center has also received a National Research Corporation Consumer Choice Award among other awards.

• Windber Medical Center, 10 miles southeast of the city, has been named one of 15 “Hospitals with a Heart” by Modern Maturity magazine, recognized by AARP as one of 15 hospitals in the nation known for excellence in patient-centered care, and has been named one of the Top Five Innovative Hospitals in America 2007 by Fierce Healthcare. Windber Medical Center is home to the Healthstyles Wellness Center, which won the National 2007 Distinguished Service Award from the Medical Fitness Association.

• The Windber Research Institute serves as the first central data warehouse for storing demographic, molecular, and clinical data about breast cancer tissue samples from infected individuals. The Institute hopes to use the information to develop a vaccine to stop the spread or reoccurrence of breast and other forms of cancer. —Source: itbusiness.ca, IT Business Canada, a leading Canadian publication for business, government and healthcare organizations.

• The Conemaugh Gap is the second deepest river gorge in the eastern United States. The Gap is created by the Conemaugh River breaking through the Laurel Hill Ridge. It extends for seven miles and is 1,700 feet deep.

• Northeast of Johnstown is the site of the Staple Bend Tunnel, the first railway tunnel in the United States. It served as a crucial link in the Pennsylvania Canal System in the 19th century, transporting goods and people across the Commonwealth.
  
• Johnstown is the site of the Johnstown Inclined Plane "the steepest vehicular inclined plane in the world," according to the Guinness Book of World Records, (grade 71%).

• In 1976, Universal Studios Hollywood, California selected Johnstown as the site for the making of a movie about hockey, entitled "Slapshot" starring Paul Newman, Strother Martin, Jennifer Warren and Michael Ontkean.

• In 1983, Johnstown was selected by 20th Century Fox as the location for the filming of "All The Right Moves," starring Tom Cruise, Lea Thompson, Craig T. Nelson and Christopher Penn.

• Johnstown natives include former Pittsburgh Steeler Jack Ham, former Denver Bronco Pete Duranko, Washington Redskin Jeff Hostetler, and Daytime Emmy award nominee actress Natalia Livingston for her role on ABC’s “General Hospital.” Individuals born in Johnstown include Mary Cover Jones, the “mother of behavior therapy”; Carroll Baker, star of “How the West Was Won”; award-winning opera soprano Donna Zopola-Connolly, and cartoonist and co-creator of Spider-Man, Steve Ditko. Other notable Johnstowners include Tim Kazurinsky, comedian and actor of television’s Saturday Night Live and the Police Academy movies, U.S. Congressman John Murtha, presidential photographer Joe O’Donnell, and Michael Strank, World War II hero and one of the six Marines pictured in the famous Iwo Jima flag raising photo.

• Prince Gallitzin was the first priest trained and ordained in America. His home and several chapels are open to the public in the town of Loretto. Prince Gallitzin State Park, named after the priest, occupies a large tract of preserved wilderness in northeastern Cambria County. The park has the 1,600 acre Glendale Lake, offering boundless opportunities for boating, fishing, and other aquatic pursuits.

• Cambria County is the second largest potato producer in the state of Pennsylvania. Potato lovers can join in the annual PotatoFest held in Ebensburg in early October.

• The “Gob” cake sandwich was patented by the Harris-Boyer Baking Company in Johnstown. Some folks know of them as “Whoppie Pies.” This chocolate dessert can be found at many church fundraisers and festivals during the summer.

• Local Tourism’s TOTAL Impact: Over $257 million per year! Local money spent per visitor: $281.00 per visit; Local Employment created by Tourism: over 6,500 jobs; Local wages created from Tourism: Over $192 million per year. Local Tax Revenue generated: Over $72 million per year.

• Johnstown is the home of the several festivals including: the annual Johnstown FolkFest, attracting over 150,000 visitors partaking in ethnic foods, quality live entertainment, and church tours; the Friendly City PolkaFest which brings nationally known bands and nearly 10,000 Polka lovers to the Friendly City PolkaFest every June, and the Log House Arts Festival, a juried arts and crafts affair that attracts thousands to Johnstown every Labor Day weekend.

• The Thunder in the Valley® motorcycle rally is one of Johnstown’s fastest growing events with more than 200,000 individuals booking hotel rooms and campsites a year in advance. Always the fourth weekend in June, the rally invites enthusiasts to participate in scenic rides, parades, live bands and entertainment, bike stunt shows, vendor displays, manufacturer exhibits and more.