Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

The City of Pittsburgh is know as the "City of Bridges" with 446 bridges.  Famous for its steel history, the city was the birthplace of the Ferris Wheel designed by Pittsburgh resident and engineer, George Ferris for the 1893 World's Fair. It was over 264 feet high and was capable of carrying more than 2,000 passengers at a time. 

The first commercial radio station which began broadcasting in 1920 and the only station East of the Mississippi River with call letters beginning with the letter, K (KDKA), the first internet smiley emoticon created by Carnegie Mellon University researcher Scott Fahlman in 1982. 

Dr. Jonas E. Salk at 38 years of age developed the polio vaccine at the University of Pittsburgh on March 26, 1953.  He was a researcher and professor.

In 1962, the pull-tab was developed by Alcoa and was the first used by Iron city Brewery. The first all-aluminum faced skyscraper was the Alcoa building, a 30-story, 410 foot structure with thin stamped aluminum panels forming the exterior walls.  This building is still being used today.

The first motion picture theatre in 1905 was a "Nickelodeon" opened by Harry Davis on Smithfield Street. The first gas station in 1913 was built by Gulf Refining Company on Baum Boulevard and designed by J. H Glesey.

Public Television Station, WQED on April 1, 1954 was the first community-sponsored educational television station in America and was also the first to telecast classes to elementary schools in 1955.

In the early 1920s, Hugh J. Ward first came up with the concept of Bingo and began running the game at carnivals taking it nation-wide in 1924.  He secured a copywright on the game and wrote a book of Bingo rules in 1933.

First newspaper west of the Allleghenies (1789) The Pittsburgh Gazette and First Ice Capades (1940).

In 1967, the first Big Mac was created by Jim Delligatti at his Uniontown McDonald's.  It debuted and was test marketed in three other Pittsburgh-area McDonald's.  By 1968, it was a mainstay on McDonald's menus throughout the country and eventually, the world. 

Pittsburgh is also a major hub for robotics, healthcare and education with over 29 colleges and universities including top-tier research institutions such as Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Pittsburgh, Duquesne University and others. 

Historical Tidbits

"H" Missing:  From 1891 to 1911, the city was officially spelled "Pittsburg", before restoring the "h" to match the spelling of Pittsburgh. The Fort Pitt Blockhouse, built in 1764, is the oldest building in Western Pennsylvania.  

Geography & Culture

Three Rivers:  The city is located at the confluence of the Allegheny, Monongahela and Ohio Rivers.  The Allegheny and Monongahela rivers converge at Point State Park in downtown Pittsburgh to form the Ohio River.  The clear, gravel-bedded Allegheny joins the warmer, muddy Monongahela to create a distinct confluence line with the resulting Ohio River flowing west towards the Mississippi.  The exact, V-shaped convergence is known as the "Point" marked by a large fountain in Point State Park.  The two rivers often have a visibly different color .. one darker, one lighter .. where they meet. Historically essential for industrial shipping, the confluence remains a major waterway and iconic landmark.  

Incline Culture

The city has 700+ sets of public stairways, more than any other city in the United States.  Pittsburgh features the iconic Duquesne and Monogahela inclines which are cable cars that go up and down Mount Washington, both offering stunning city skyline views. 

The Society Preservation of the Duquesne Heights Incline 

Pittsburgh residents of Duquesne Heights formed a non-profit organization to raise funds and save the 1877 funicular incline from permanent closure in 1963.  They maintain the original wooden-paneled cars, the original hoisting machinery and the unique 5-foot gauge track. The Incline opened May 17, 1877. The track length is 800 feet with a maximum incline of 30 degrees. 

The Duquesne Incline was added to the National Register of Historic Places 

March 4, 1975.

The Duquesne Incline scales Mt. Washington near the South Side neighborhood of Pittsburgh. Together with the Monongahela Incline, it is one of two passenger inclines still in operation.  By 1977, the two inclines had become tourist attractions and together serve more than one million commuters and tourists annually.  The inclines are approximately a mile apart from each other.  

 In 1977, both inclines were designated as Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmarks by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.

The Monongahela Incline

This incline opened on May 28, 1870.  When it opened, the fare was six cents. 994 people paid for fares on the first day and 4,174 paid the fare on the second day of operation.  The operator/engineer of the incline who sat in a glass enclosure known as the 'pulpit' overlooking the incline tracks, used hand throttle levers and a foot brake to controlthe cars ascending and descending.  

The first engineer was George Naysmith with an assistant, Campbell K. Smith. The incline was immediately successful and precipitated the rapid development of Mount Washington which previously had been sparsely populated.  

The Mon (as locals refer to the incline) is the oldest continuously operating funicular* in the United States. It spans 635 feet in length, rising 369 feet at a 35-degree angle with cars traveling at 6 mph each holding 23 passengers.  It is operated by Pittsburgh Regional Transit.  It connects Grandview Avenue on Mt. Washington to West Carson Street /Station Square.  Over 1,500 commuters use the incline, daily. The Mon is distinct from the nearby Duquesne Incline which is longer and less steep.  The Mon was originally built by John and Caroine Endres. It was originally steam-powered, converted to electric in 1935.

*A funicular is a steep, cable-driven railway where two cars are connected by a cable, allowing the descending car to counterbalance and pull up the ascending car.

The Monongahla Incline was added to the National Register of Historic Places June 25,1974.