All About Pittsburgh | PITTSBURGH

QuickLinkz: Fast Facts | Pittsburgh World Firsts | Fun Facts | The Food Traditions

Also Known As (AKA): The 'Burgh, City of Bridges, The Steel City, Smoky City
Established: 1758

The city developed around a frontier fort used by both the British and the French in the 18th century. The British began building the fort, but before they could complete it the French captured the point and built Fort Duquesne. General John Forbes reestablished British control in 1758, renamed the site Pittsburgh, and it became the largest structure the British constructed in North America. In 1794, Pittsburgh was incorporated as a borough and in 1816 the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania granted it city status. It is named after William Pitt, prime minister of Britain in the late 18th century.

City Population (2000): 369,879
Allegheny County Population: 1,336,449
Metropolitan (2000): 2,358,695
Location: South Western Pennsylvania, Allegheny County is taken up mostly by Pittsburgh
Pennsylvania is the nation's sixth largest state. 12,406,292 (July, 2004)

Pittsburgh is within 500 miles of more than half the U.S. population, and the city is less than 90 minutes flying time from 20 states and Canada.

Average High Temperature (July): 82.5° F
Average Low Temperature (January): 20.8° F
Elevation: 1,223 Feet
Area: 55.5 Square Miles
Rank: 13th Largest City in the Nation

Pittsburgh occupies a land area of 143.7 sq km (55.5 sq mi). Over the years it has grown primarily by annexation. Between 1868 and 1900, for example, the city increased its land area nearly 16 fold to 73 sq km (28 sq mi). In 1907 it annexed the neighboring industrial city of Allegheny, increasing its land area by 21 sq km (8 sq mi) and its population by 150,000. Average elevation of the city is 226 m (743 ft). Pittsburgh has many distinct neighborhoods; 90 are officially recognized.

Port: Pittsburgh is the largest inland port in the U.S., providing access to the nation's 9,000 mile inland waterway system.

Pittsburgh sits astride the Monongahela and Allegheny rivers where they unite to form the Ohio River. Much of the city lies on hills surrounding this historic river junction, although Pittsburgh’s downtown core is clustered on a wedge of level ground framed by the rivers and dubbed the “Golden Triangle.

Pittsburgh is located at the center of a fairly expansive set of river valleys, and much of the city's residential population is situated on or near the slopes of those valleys with certain neighborhoods (particularly south of the Monongahela) nearly inaccessible by car during the winter. As a result, Pittsburgh is widely believed to be right behind San Francisco as the "steepest" city in the United States. A pair of "inclines", or trams (cable cars on inclined rails) ascend the slope of Mount Washington, assist in local public transportation; several tunnels are major access routes through the slopes. Pittsburgh has more public staircases (700) than any other city in the United States, followed by Cincinnati and San Francisco. Many of these staircases have street names and street signs, and lead to hillside neighborhoods that can be inaccessible by car, especially in the winter. Pittsburgh has been called a "poor man's San Francisco".

Bridges: Allegheny County has more than 1,700 bridges and 720 are within the Pittsburgh city limits. 15 major bridges crossing downtown Pittsburgh alone.

447 is the official number of bridges (span, piers, etc) within Pittsburgh City Limits including the Bridge of Sighs connecting the courthouse to the jail in downtown.

Traditionally considered the center of the American steel industry. No longer the dirty steel town of old, Pittsburgh is now a true renaissance city. A city of modern cathedrals and Old World, neighborly charms, filled with high-tech companies, friendly faces, fun and adventure. In recent years the city has turned to technology, especially biotechnology and robotics, leading the Wall Street Journal to dub the city "Roboburgh."

Media: Two Major Newspapers: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and Pittsburgh Tribune Review; Thirty Two Radio Stations; and Five Major Television Stations: KDKA (CBS), WPXI (NBC), WTAE (ABC), WQED (PBS), and WNPA (FOX).

Colleges and Universities: There are 29 colleges and universities in southwestern Pennsylvania including Carnegie Mellon University, University of Pittsburgh, Duquesne University, Point Park College (1960), Robert Morris University (1921), Geneva College, the women’s schools Chatham College (1869) and Carlow College (1929), and the Community College of Allegheny County (1966), with branches in the city and suburbs.

The Mellon Research Institute, at one time the largest private industrial research laboratory in the United States, is now part of Carnegie Mellon University. The Carnegie Mellon University Robotics Institute and numerous private companies have made Pittsburgh perhaps the top robotics city outside of Japan. CMU also had the first drama school in the United States, which is considered one of the best.

The University of Pittsburgh campus features the 42-story Cathedral of Learning, the tallest school building in the United States and a major medical center. It boasts a top-15 medical school (http://www.medschool.pitt.edu/) and one of the best organ transplant institutes (http://sti.upmc.com/) in the world.

Sports: Pittsburgh cheers for four major sports teams, the Penguins, Pirates, Steelers, and Riverhounds.

Pittsburgh was the sponsor of the two of greatest baseball teams in the former Negro League, the Crawfords and the Homestead Grays.

Airport: The Pittsburgh International Airport was ranked one of the top five U.S. airports by Conde Nast Traveler.

Tourism: An average of 3.9 million people visit Pittsburgh annually, making travel a $2.2 billion industry that provides more than 35,000 full-time equivalent jobs in the Pittsburgh region.

Pittsburgh ranked in the top five Most Livable Cities in the 1983, 1985 and 1989 editions of the "Places Rated Almanac."

Sales Tax: Allegheny County sales tax (which includes the city of Pittsburgh) is 7%. Clothing, groceries and specialty foods are tax-free.

The city is also one of the nation's major nonprofit centers, home to major foundations such as the Heinz Foundations and thousands of nonprofit organizations.

Pittsburgh World Firsts

Pittsburgh was the first city in the world to do a lot of neat things! Here are a few of the most well-known.

First Heart, Liver, Kidney Transplant - December 3, 1989
The first simultaneous heart, liver and kidney transplant was done at Presbyterian-University Hospital.

The First Internet Emoticon - 1980
The Smiley :-) was the first Internet emoticon, created by Carnegie Mellon University computer scientist Scott Fahlman.

First Robotics Institute - 1979
The Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University was established to conduct basic and applied research in robotics technologies relevant to industrial and societal tasks.

First Mr Yuk Sticker - 1971
Mr Yuk was created at the Poison Center at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh after research indicated that the skull and crossbones previously used to identify poisons had little meaning to children who equate the symbol with exciting things like pirates and adventure.

First Night World Series Game - 1971
Game 4 of the 1971 World Series was the first night game in World Series history, a series that Pittsburgh went on to win, 4 games to 3.

First Big Mac - 1967
Created by Jim Delligatti at his Uniontown McDonald's, the Big Mac debuted and was test marketed in three other Pittsburgh-area McDonald's restaurants in 1967. By 1968 it was a mainstay on McDonald's menus throughout the country.

First Pull-Tab on Cans - 1962
The pull-tab was developed by Alcoa and was first used by Iron City Brewery in 1962. For many years, pull-tabs were only used in this area.

First Retractable Dome - September 1961
Pittsburgh's boasts Civic Arena (Mellon Arena) the world's first auditorium with a retractable roof.

First U.S. Public Television Station - April 1, 1954
WQED, operated by the Metropolitan Pittsburgh Educational Station, was the first community-sponsored educational television station in America.

First Polio Vaccine - March 26, 1953
The polio vaccine was developed by Dr. Jonas E. Salk, a 38-year-old University of Pittsburgh researcher and professor.

First All-Aluminum Building - ALCOA - August 1953
The first aluminum-faced skyscraper was the Alcoa Building, a 30-story, 410 foot structure with thin stamped aluminum panels forming the exterior walls.

First Zippo Lighter - 1932
George G. Blaisdell invented the Zippo lighter in 1932 in Bradford, Pennsylvania. The name Zippo was chosen by Blaisdell because he liked the sound of the word "zipper" - which was patented around the same time in nearby Meadville, PA.

First Bingo Game - early 1920's
Hugh J. Ward first came up with the concept of bingo in Pittsburgh and began running the game at carnivals in the early 1920s, taking it nationwide in 1924. He secured a copyright on the game and wrote a book of Bingo rules in 1933.

First U.S. Commercial Radio Station - November 2, 1920
Dr. Frank Conrad, assistant chief engineer of Westinghouse Electric, first constructed a transmitter and installed it in a garage near his home in Wilkinsburg in 1916. The station was licensed as 8XK. At 6 p.m. on Nov. 2, 1920, 8KX became KDKA Radio and began broadcasting at 100 watts from a make-shift shack atop one of the Westinghouse manufacturing buildings in East Pittsburgh.

Daylight Savings Time - March 18, 1919
A Pittsburgh city councilman during the first World War, Robert Garland devised the nation's first daylight savings plan, instituted in 1918.

The First Gas Station - December, 1913
In 1913 the first automobile service station, built by Gulf Refining Company, opened in Pittsburgh at Baum Boulevard and St. Clair Street in East Liberty. Designed by J. H. Giesey.

The First Baseball Stadium in the U.S. - 1909
In 1909 the first baseball stadium, Forbes Field, was built in Pittsburgh, followed soon by similar stadiums in Chicago, Cleveland, Boston, and New York.

First Motion Picture Theatre - 1905
The first theater in the world devoted to the exhibition of motion pictures was the "Nickelodeon," opened by Harry Davis on Smithfield Street in Pittsburgh.

(6 November, Pittsburgh: "Nickelodeon" is the new name for the latest type of motion picture theater which John P. Harris and his brother-in-law Harry Davis have just opened at the storefront which they occupy on Smithfield Street. A variety of pictures, such as the Edison production of The Great Train Robbery, are shown each and every day for a full eight hours until midnight. This is the first purpose-built movie theater of its kind in the US, and, in order to gain admission, customers must pay an entrance fee for five cents -- or a nickel -- hence the name. Another innovation is that the screenings are accompanied by music from a pianist. It is a big success, with all 100 seats usually occupied.)

First Banana Split - 1904
Invented by Dr. David Strickler, a pharmacist, at Strickler's Drug Store in Latrobe, Pennsylvania.

The First World Series - 1903
The Boston Pilgrims defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates five games to three in baseball's first modern World Series in 1903.

First Professional Football Game - 1895
On September 3, 1895 the first professional football game was played, in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, between the Latrobe YMCA and the Jeannette Athletic Club. (Latrobe won the contest 12-0.).

First Ferris Wheel - 1892/1893
Invented by Pittsburgh native and civil engineer, George Washington Gale Ferris (1859-1896), the first Ferris Wheel was in operation at the World's Fair in Chicago. It was over 264 feet high and was capable of carrying more than 2,000 passengers at a time.

Long-Distance Electricity - 1885
Westinghouse Electric developed alternating current, allowing long-distance transmission of electricity for the first time.

First Air Brake - 1869
The first practical air brake for railroads was invented by George Westinghouse in the 1860s and patented in 1869.

Fun Facts

Pittsburgh is a neat city with a very rich past. I bet even people who have lived here all their lives won't know all of these fun facts!

Pittsburgh was named in 1758, incorporated as a borough in 1794 and chartered as a city in 1816.

Pittsburgh audiences enjoy the nation's fifth oldest opera company.

The fountain at Point State Park, right at the tip of the golden triangle (downtown Pittsburgh) is fed by a glacial formation and sprays 6,000 gallons per minute.

Pittsburgh is home to nine Fortune 500 companies.

The Cathedral of Learning (University of Pittsburgh) is the tallest monument to learning in the nation.

The Carnegie Museum of Art opened in 1895 as the world's first museum of modern art.

The Carnegie Museum of Natural History is home to "Dinosaur Hall," one of the top-three dinosaur collections in the world.

Mister Rogers' real neighborhood was Oakland, home to WQED (the first public television in the country) and the "Neighborhood of Make Believe."

Pittsburgh lost the "h" in its spelling in 1891, but after 20 years of protest, the U.S. Board on Geographic Names relented and the "h" was restored.

Pittsburgh is the only city in the country whose major sports teams (Steelers, Pirates and Penguins) all wear the same colors.

The Food Traditions

Foods which got their start in Pittsburgh, some of which are now famous throughout the world. Some Pittsburgh natives who have moved away from the 'Burgh actually pay to have these foods shipped to them!

Clark Bar
The D. L. Clark Company was born in two back rooms of a house in what is now Pittsburgh's North Side in 1886. The famous Clark candy bar is now an American tradition.

Devonshire Sandwich
This open-face chicken or turkey sandwich was invented here in Pittsburgh by Frank Blandi in 1936 at his first restaurant, the Stratford in Oakland. Blandi also started several other area restaurants, including Le Mont on Mt. Washington.

Heinz Ketchup
Heinz products are another proud Pittsburgh tradition. Heinz founder, Henry Heinz, literally sank his competition in the 1880's when he bought the products and equipment of a competing company and sank them in the Allegheny River!

Iron City Beer
Brewed fresh daily at the Pittsburgh Brewery in Lawrenceville, Pennsylvania, Iron City beer is definitely a Pittsburgh tradition. One of the first true lager beers brewed in the United States.

Isaly's Chipped Ham
By far, one of Pittsburgh's most famous foods, this thinly-sliced ham made its debut in 1933 at Isaly's, a local family chain of dairy/convenience stores. You can have it shipped to you anywhere in the country!

Klondike Bars
America's #1 selling ice cream bar got its start right here in Pittsburgh at Isaly's, the same store which brought us chipped ham. Now sold nationally by Breyers/Good Humor in eight flavors.

Primanti Brothers
A Pittsburgh institution, the "almost famous" Primanti Brother's sandwich comes with fries and slaw. What makes it special? The fries and slaw come in the sandwich, not just with it.