Pittsburgh Become a Travel Agent Near Me

Overview

Introduction

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, retains its Steel City reputation, so some visitors expect a city with grime-covered buildings and a smoky atmosphere. But the steel mills are long gone, and Pittsburgh is rapidly becoming known for its three major industries: health care, education and technology. Finance and tourism also play important economic roles.

These days, Pittsburgh is a very pleasant place to visit, with striking downtown architecture (the soot was scrubbed off decades ago) and tightly knit ethnic neighborhoods that are characterized by friendliness and charm. Pittsburgh is consistently ranked among the most livable cities in the U.S., perhaps because it possesses the heart and soul of a small town. Yet it is abundantly rich in cultural attractions and recreational activities.

Must See or Do

Sights—A visit to Point State Park to watch the barges and boats at the confluence of the three rivers; a ride on the Duquesne or Monongahela Inclines for a view of the Golden Triangle from a Mount Washington overlook; a close-up look at the shimmering Pittsburgh Plate Glass (PPG) Building; a self-guided tour of the University of Pittsburgh's spectacular Cathedral of Learning and its many Nationality Rooms; a day trip to Frank Lloyd Wright's awe-inspiring Fallingwater; a Pittsburgh Pirates game at PNC Park.

Museums—The Carnegie museums in Oakland, including the famous dinosaurs at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History; the Carnegie Science Center and the Andy Warhol Museum on the North Side; the Senator John Heinz History Center in the Strip District; the Frick Art and Historical Center in Point Breeze.

Memorable Meals—Sunday brunch at the Grand Concourse at Station Square; a late-night sandwich at one of the many Primanti Brothers Restaurants; elegant dining on Grandview Avenue atop Mount Washington; craft beers and wood-fired pizza inside a converted cathedral at Church Brew Works; German cuisine and music at the Penn Brewery.

Late Night—A show at the Benedum Center for the Performing Arts or Heinz Hall for the Performing Arts; dancing and cocktails at one of Station Square's many nightclubs; live music at Club Cafe; an evening cruise on a riverboat from the Gateway Clipper Fleet.

Walks—A hike through Frick Park or Schenley Park; a stroll through the botanical gardens at Phipps Conservatory; a walk or jog along the Monongahela River on the South Side Riverfront Park Trail; bicycling or in-line skating along the Eliza Furnace Trail.

Especially for Kids—Pittsburgh Children's Museum; Kids Kingdom at the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium; hands-on exhibits in the Discovery Room of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History; fun and science at the Carnegie Science Center and its Highmark SportsWorks; water rides at Sandcastle; a day at Kennywood Park.

Geography

As you enter the city via the Fort Pitt Bridge, Pittsburgh greets you with a sparkling skyline, rows of bridges, a grand fountain and three rivers. Pittsburgh's downtown, known locally as the Golden Triangle, stands at the convergence of these waterways. There lies the city's scenic center, as well as the headquarters of several Fortune 500 businesses.

The Strip District, which runs along Penn Avenue downtown, was once run-down, but today it's a thriving commercial market with funky shops and fashionable restaurants. At night, it transforms into a clubgoer's paradise.

In conversation, residents frequently allude to the name of a Pittsburgh township or neighborhood. Oakland, Shadyside and Squirrel Hill, for example, are a few miles/kilometers east of downtown and together constitute the East End. The area is a short ride by taxi or bus from downtown. Across the Monongahela to the south are the neighborhoods of the South Side and Mount Washington, which sits atop a mountain of the same name. Across the Allegheny River lies the North Side, which is home to PNC Park (Pirates baseball field) and Acrisure Stadium (formerly Heinz Field, the Steelers football stadium). The Pittsburgh International Airport is about 20 mi/32 km to the west. These locations are all in the metropolitan area.

History

The site of today's Pittsburgh—the point where the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers meet to form the Ohio River—was once a Native American village. It developed into a fur-trading post in the 1600s, and in the mid-1700s, as the British and French squared off in the French and Indian War, the area became a battleground. The French built Fort Duquesne at the confluence of the rivers. When the English captured it in 1758, they renamed it Fort Pitt: the basis for the later name of Pittsburgh.

Incorporated in 1816, Pittsburgh thrived throughout the 1800s, especially after the Pennsylvania Railroad was completed. Immigrants flocked to the city. By 1870, it was the nation's leading producer of iron and steel, and industrialists such as Andrew Carnegie, George Westinghouse, Andrew Mellon and Henry Clay Frick made their fortunes there. But all this heavy industry laid a blanket of black soot over the city. Not until a strong push for urban redevelopment surfaced in the mid-1940s did Pittsburgh confront its air-pollution problem.

The decline of steel manufacturing in the 1960s increased the city's environmental awareness. Since then, skyscrapers have taken the place of blast furnaces, and Pittsburgh has become one of the nation's leaders in turning brownfields (former industrial sites) into centers for high-tech research and commerce.

Potpourri

WQED TV 13 in Pittsburgh was the first public-television station in the country. It is also home to the original series Mister Rogers' Neighborhood.

University of Pittsburgh researcher Dr. Jonas Salk developed the polio vaccine in 1953.

Pittsburgh is often referred to as "The City of Bridges." It claims more than 720—more than any other city in the U.S., and second in the world only to Venice, Italy.

Since the Heinz company originated in Pittsburgh, company founders worked the keystone into the logo of their ketchup bottles (Pennsylvania's nickname is the Keystone State).

The first nickelodeon, a theater just for showing motion pictures, was built in Pittsburgh in 1905.

In the early 1920s, Hugh J. Ward created a new game in Pittsburgh, which he called Bingo.

The very first emoticon—the smiley face—was created in 1982 by a Carnegie Mellon University computer scientist.

A Latrobe-area pharmacist is credited for having built the first banana split in 1904, while in 1967 the owner of a Uniontown McDonald's franchise invented the Big Mac.