TecSol Incorporated

Pittsburgh, PA: Our Favorite City Past and Present

Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh, the second largest city in Pennsylvania, is located in the western part of the state where the Monongahela and Allegheny rivers flow together to form the Ohio River. The seat of Allegheny County, it has a population of 369,879 (1990 census). The Pittsburgh metropolitan area has a population of 2,242,798 (1990). The city covers 145 sq. km (56 sq. mi.).


Contemporary City

Pittsburgh, built over a rich bituminous coal seam, was long one of the great U.S. industrial centers, particularly identified with steel. By the end of the 1980s, however, the last of the city's steel plants had closed. The service, education, and technology sectors now fuel Pittsburgh's economic growth, although steel and coal in the region remain important to the city's economy. The city is also a transportation hub--river traffic competes with rail, highway, and air transport.

Pittsburgh's leading educational institutions are Carnegie-Mellon University, the University of Pittsburgh (1787), and Duquesne University (1878). The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, which performs in Heinz Hall, is one of the country's major orchestras. Heinz Hall and the Benedum Center (1928) are homes to the city's opera companies and ballet troupe. The Pittsburgh Public Theater presents plays. The Carnegie Institute incorporates both art and natural history museums. Other cultural institutions are the Buhl Science Center, Allegheny Observatory, Pittsburgh Zoo, and Fort Pitt Museum. The city supports professional baseball, football, and ice hockey teams.


Career Opportunities

Job growth in Pittsburgh is on a continuing upswing, and has recently outperformed major urban areas including Baltimore, Washington DC, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia. While manufacturing sectors continue to hold a significant place in the region, Pittsburgh ranks 10th in the nation for high-tech job growth and 11th in software growth. Regional growth in service sector jobs has been significant, especially in medical-related fields and software engineering. The career opportunities in Pittsburgh are predicted to only rise with its consistent perseverance in moving ahead into the future.


History

A fur-trading post was established at the site of modern Pittsburgh in the 17th century, and in 1749 the Virginia-based Ohio Company attempted to establish Fort Prince George there. The French, who built Fort Duquesne, drove out the settlers in 1754. The English captured it in 1758 and renamed it Fort Pitt in honor of the British statesman William Pitt (the Elder).

The Ohio River served as the main route to the West until 1825, and Fort Pitt (later Pittsburgh) thrived. The city of Pittsburgh was incorporated in 1816. In 1837 a canal was completed between Pittsburgh and the eastern seaboard, and in 1854 the city was connected to Philadelphia by the Pennsylvania Railroad, opening avenues for trade and shipping. Between 1763 and 1850 the city became the leading maker of American glassware. Pittsburgh's first blast furnace was opened in 1859, and within a decade the city was the iron and steel center of the nation.

Pittsburgh continued to prosper through the late 19th century, when such industrialists as Andrew Carnegie, Henry Clay Frick, Andrew W. Mellon, and George Westinghouse made their fortunes there. The area was the scene of some of the bloodiest labor wars in U.S. history, including the Homestead Strike of 1892.

Because of its concentration of heavy industry, Pittsburgh gained the reputation of being one of the dirtiest and smokiest cities in the country. In the late 1940s, however, a massive urban-redevelopment project began, which included strict air-purification standards. The heart of the city, the Golden Triangle area at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela, has been completely rebuilt, with many skyscrapers.

Bibliography: Hays, SP, ed., City at the Point (1990); Lorant, Stefan, Pittsburgh: The Story of an American City (1975; repro. 1988); Lubove, Roy, Twentieth Century Pittsburgh (1969); Vexler, Robert, Pittsburgh: A Chronological and Documentary History (1977).


Some useful links to other Pittsburgh resources:

© 1991-2001 TecSol Incorporated. All rights reserved.