| Page Views: 1,460 Last Visit to Pittsburgh: May, 2008 | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania by starship - last update: Jul 22, 2008 |
"Iron City" ~ "Steel City" | The Golden Triangle as seen from Grandview Avenue |
On the Friday of Memorial Day weekend we packed our car with luggage, food and our daughter and started our 7-hour drive to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The first hours of the drive provided some terrific scenery, especially along the rocky and fast-flowing Susquehanna River and the steel-blue mountains were beautiful in this particular part of the state. The the last few hours of the drive seemed endless, broken only by two stops on the Pennsylvania Turnpike and a traffic jam at one point! We arrived in Pittsburgh after dark at our "designated" hotel, the Marriott Residence Inn, and we were happy when we found it exceedingly comfortable and so we anticipated a good night's sleep. |
| Pittsburgh Welcomes the Volleyball Championships |
|  | Volleyball Introduced Us to Pittsburgh The reason for the trip was that our daughter's volleyball team was participating in the 3-day East Coast Volleyball Championships being held at the Lawrence Convention Center in downtown Pittsburgh.
The city of Pittsburgh hosted at least 400 girls' volleyball teams over the Memorial Day weekend and did a good job of accommodating the thousands who descended on the city for the "Beast of the East" competitions. Signs welcomed the teams, and the Lawrence Convention Center and the city of Pittsburgh combined to provide printed information about the city; offered special, on-site food venues; vendors offered shopping for souvenirs from the tournament; and an 'Asics' store was set up to sell volleyball gear and clothing. In addition, several restaurants and businesses offered special discounts to volleyball team members, coaches, and families with the special East Coast Volleyball hotel key cards.
Although volleyball was our main focus, our team's schedule allowed for a good amount of free time for sightseeing and exploring the sights that Pittsburgh had to offer and we made good use of our time to see as much as possible: the Duquesne Incline; Station Square; and a few sights around downtown; and we couldn't passup a sample of that Pittsburgh city classic -- Iron City beer! We had hoped to make a side trip to Frank Lloyd Wright's "Fallingwater" but in the end, we did not have the time.
The weekend was a good introduction to Pittsburgh. I was sad at first that the championships wouldn't be held at Penn State in 2008. I didn't think that Pittsburgh could compete with the great time we had last year at Penn State University in State College, PA, but I was wrong; we did indeed enjoy Pittsburgh! Being an old city with an important history, there is much more to see and do.
The East Coast Volleyball Championships are again scheduled for Pittsburgh in 2009! |
| | A Brief History of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh has a favorable geographic position with the Ohio River branching off into the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers which border what is now known as "The Golden Triangle" area of Pittsburgh. Native Americans inhabited the area thousands of years ago. Some tribes were displaced by arriving Europeans in the 1600's who brought disease and depleted the supply of game in the area. However, other tribes such as the Shawnee, Seneca, Susquehannock, and the Lenni Lenape took their place.
The advantageous position of the land was not lost on the French or British. Both groups built forts here, but it was the British who prevailed in 1758 and the village growing around Fort Pitt was named "Pittsborough" in honor of William Pitt, the British Prime Minister of the time. Ultimately, of course, it was the Americans who prevailed! George Washington "slept here" during negotiations with the Seneca Chief, Guyasuta, for land and trade agreements.
Pittsburgh became an early powerhouse of commerce with boat building, glass works, foundries, forges, textile mills, rolling mills and machine shops. In the late 1800's Pittsburgh was the world's largest glass manufacturing city in the world. The War of 1812 required iron and many of the vast businesses in Pittsburgh were born as a direct result. In addition, the Pittsburgh area was blessed with abundant natural resources including huges deposits of oil, coal, limestone, sand, clay and natural gas which supplied the growing businesses. Pittsburgh was already incorporated as a city by 1816.
Pittsburgh was known in the 1800's as the "Smokey City" because of the burning of coal in the manufacturing processes. All this production necessitated a means of transportation for the goods which of course was no problem considering the many rivers. However, Pittsburgh also became known as "The Gateway to the West" when the Pennsylvania Railroad arrived in 1852 and allowed even greater possibilities for the transportation of the fruits of the city's labors.
While Pittsburgh enjoyed tremendous growth and a burgeoning steel industry in the late 1800's through the early 1970's, by the early 1980's , the American steel industry foundered mightily under the weight of cheap imports and Pittsburgh suffered, losing tens of thousands of jobs. Unemployment rates soared. Although the city is now enjoying a renewed growth as a center for health care and technology, evidence of years of a declining and poor city population were evident to me during our 3-day stay. Lack of money has left some old neighborhoods looking like they probably did years and years ago, and some in exceptionally shabby condition. It made me sad. Portions of the city retain their original identity and charm and are still known by their old neighborhood" monikers, many of which were associated with the ethnic group of the original population living there: Italian, Polish, etc.
My wish is that soaring prices for oil (2008) will make shipping steel from overseas so cost prohibative that it will be less expensive to once again manufacture steel in the United States. I hope that the once great American steel industry will come roaring back to life in Pittsburgh again!!! U.S. Steel forever! |
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| Pros: | "A variety of things to do & see!" | | Cons: | "Some parts are a little shabby around the edges." | | In A Nutshell: | "A very enjoyable visit!" |
starship's Pittsburgh Travel Tips
 Comments for starship about Pittsburgh | | | | |
HORSCHECK Wed Oct 28, 2009 18:57 UTC
Sylvia, lovely page with brilliant photos of Pittsburgh. Especially the Monongahela Incline Funicular looks interesting to me. :-) | icunme Mon Sep 7, 2009 21:22 UTC
I just love this city - I was raised here - left at 16 yrs old - just spent alot of time w/highschool best friend there and can't wait to go back. Thanks for taking me back w/you. Ciao, Carol <(•¿•)> | csordila Sun May 3, 2009 21:39 UTC
The Monongahela Incline is the most interesting for me, but the Buda-Castle-funicular on your home page postcard was opened 2 month earlier, on March 2, 1870. | margaretvn Sun May 3, 2009 10:02 UTC
what a great page, so much info and lovely photos. We are off to Belgium next weekend for a meeting - postcard will follow!! hugs margaret |
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