Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania was a settlement at the triangular point of land where the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers merge to form the Ohio River. The terrain is basically a flat triangle confined by the river banks commonly referred to as the “Golden Triangle”, where the downtown is located and hemmed in for the most part by steep hills on the opposite banks of the rivers.
Once owned by the French at Fort Duquesne, it was later captured by a British force commanded by General John Forbes who, in a letter of correspondence, renamed the settlement “Pittsbourgh” but later spelled Pittsburgh in the Scottish manner. Pittsburgh became known as the “Gateway to the West” where travelers converged after difficult trips over the Allegheny Mountains, and could obtain their supplies and boats for their continued journeys westward down the Ohio River. Pittsburgh developed a huge agricultural, whiskey and glass making industry to provide containers for westward travelers’ provisions. My brother was the long time plant manager for the now defunct Glenshaw Glass Plant in the area.
During the early 1800’s, Pittsburgh’s population increased exponentially due to the large deposits of coal, gas and oil. It became known first as “Iron City” and then “Steel City.” When I was growing up in the city, almost everyone drank “Iron City” beer and worked in the coal mines or steel industries. Because of the terrain, moving people, natural resources and other freight around the area became a tall order for engineers.
With the iron and steel industries centered in Pittsburgh, the bridge construction industry was so high powered, that the city also became know as the “City of Bridges” and today boast 446 bridges in the city, fourth most for any city on the planet. Once across the rivers, tunnels were burrowed through the steep hills to get to the outer reaches of the city. But, many residents lived on the steep hills surrounding the city. To get people, wagons, vehicles and cargo up and down these steep slopes, over 15 inclines railways (funiculars) were built, but only two remain in operation today.
My daughter and I returned to the city and took a ride on the Duquesne Incline that scales Mount Washington where most of Pittsburgh’s famous city and Heinz Field (Pittsburgh Steelers Football Team) photographs are taken. It was a bit cloudy the day of our ride, but we still got some good photos. Notice the coal river barges in one of the photos. The historical marker about the glass works was at the bottom of the incline rail track. The vintage black and white incline photo is courtesy of brooklineconnection.com. The incline was completed in 1877, was originally steam powered and is 800 feet (244 m) long, 400 feet (122 m) in height, and is inclined at a 30-degree angle.
The Duquesne Incline is Open 365 Days a Year, Hours: Monday through Saturday: 5:30 a.m. to 12:30 a.m, Sundays and Holidays: 7:00 a.m. to 12:30 a.m. I would advise using a GPS to get to the parking area since it was difficult to navigate the turns through the city bridges and streets. The parking lot was almost empty on our July arrival date and shortly after we embarked, the incline car pulled us up Mount Washington for some great photos, a walk through the small museum and discussions with the incline operator.
There are a few good restaurants that overlook the city on Mount Washington, but we opted for the famous Primanti Brothers restaurant in the Strip District which has been featured on many TV programs. Primanti’s is known for piling on meat, potato fries, cole slaw and other ingredients into one sandwich because factory workers had little time to eat their food. The city was also once knows as the “Smokey City” and “Hell with the Lid Off” which seemed apropos when I was a youngster viewing the nightly fiery flashes out my bedroom window.
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