Forty years ago today, "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" premiered on PBS. It would become the longest-running show on the public television network.

Although the national network debut of the groundbreaking children's show is 40 years old, the "Neighborhood" goes back much further.

After graduating from college, Latrobe native Fred Rogers went to work in a series of TV shows. In 1954, a brand-new public TV station -- WQED -- was launching in Pittsburgh, and Rogers returned to the area to work on "The Children's Corner," with host Josie Carey.

He then moved to Canada to create "Misterogers," the prototype of what would become "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood." He returned to Pittsburgh to expand the 15-minute show into the half-hour "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood."

In its four decades on the air, the show has taught and inspired generations of children, and the legacy of its host lives on through the show and the values it teaches.

This is a milestone year for that legacy: In addition to the show's anniversary, it also would have been the 80th birthday for Rogers, who died in 2003.

WQED-TV will hold a joint news conference today with the show's production company, Family Communications Inc., to announce details on a series of events and activities in the coming months to celebrate the show's anniversary, Rogers' birthday and his values of being a good neighbor.

Groundbreaking for the "Tribute to Children" statue of Rogers on the North Shore is scheduled for on or near March 20, which would have been his 80th birthday. The riverside statue will be located close to Heinz Field and facing the Point.

In the meantime, Family Communications will launch "Won't You Be My Neighbor?" Days in mid-March, a series of events involving the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh, the National Aviary, the Carnegie Science Center, the Senator John Heinz History Museum, The Andy Warhol Museum, the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium, the Pittsburgh Symphony, Carnegie and regional libraries and other organizations in the region.

Plans include free and reduced admissions at regional cultural institutions. Beginning With Books and Reading Is Fundamental also will donate books to children in the region, and there are plans for a Mister Rogers sweater drive.