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About Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, the nation's largest inland port, is a city of pleasant surprises. Mostly hidden by the hills that surround it, the city bursts upon visitors who arrive through tunnels, across bridges or along scenic hillside roadways. Famous for its Three Rivers--the Allegheny and the Monongahela meet at the Point to form the Ohio--Pittsburgh is a blend of modern and historic architecture. Renaissance is the word, and Pittsburgh's spectacular rebirth is apparent not only in new buildings, parks and transportation systems, but in philosophy as well. Believing renaissance to be a continuous process that answers to changing times and needs, Pittsburgh refuses to box itself in with an ironclad definition of goals. It continues to unfold itself: A friendly giant whose educational, cultural and recreational aspects are as important as its commercial and industrial facets.
Pittsburgh's history dates from the 18th-century dispute between the French and English over claims to the Ohio Valley. When the Canadian French established an outpost on the Allegheny River, the English quickly realized their need for a fort to defend their position in the West. Young George Washington, then a major in the Colonial army, selected the area now known as the Golden Triangle--the junction of the Monongahela, Allegheny and Ohio rivers. In 1758 Pittsborough was named in honor of the British statesman William Pitt.
After the Revolution, the city's position on the three rivers enhanced its commercial value, and Pittsborough--by then called Pittsburgh--grew rapidly. Coal was dug from the hills, the first glassworks was opened, and Anschulz's blast furnace, built in 1792, became the precursor of the iron and steel industry. Before the 19th century Pittsburgh had a post office, a network of roads and the Pittsburgh Gazette, the first newspaper published west of the Allegheny Mountains.
During the 19th century Pittsburgh plunged headlong into the American industrial age; its iron and steel plants soon won it the nickname Iron City. This industry and others continued to expand after the Civil War and throughout the early decades of the 20th century. Billows of smoke issuing from a multitude of industrial stacks earned Pittsburgh the nickname Smoky City. Following World War II, awareness of the problems found outlet in concerted, constructive action and regulation. Step by step, a lucrative but grimy past became prologue to a versatile, healthy present.
Pittsburgh's terrain is a picturesque mix of plateaus and hillsides, narrow valleys, and rivers spanned by many bridges. Its urban geography is equally arresting: No fewer than 90 neighborhoods are recognized by the city's Planning Department. These areas were established as immigrants arrived to work in the factories or to open businesses. And although most of the groups have long since scattered, the comfortable feeling of neighborhood has remained a dominant trait.
In Oakland, just east of downtown, are many of the city's universities, medical centers and cultural amenities. The University of Pittsburgh's towering Cathedral of Learning anchors a sprawling 132-acre urban campus, which includes the UPMC medical center. Nearby Carnegie Mellon University is one of the nation's leading schools for science, engineering and technology.
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