It also had over double the population back then, I hope the city starts adding residents soon because there’s some real potential.
It’s been stabilizing, and downtown now has a few thousand residents
Hell yeah
Sort of. Pittsburgh proper has half the population, but pittsburgh has really weird, nonsensical city limits anyways. The unofficial city hasn't declined nearly that much.
Had no idea it got that bad, cool info nugget!
My father would tell me about how they had the street lamps on during the daytime because of the smog and soot.
My father grew up in a nearby steel producing city, and he would often recall his childhood memories to me of when he visited PGH with his parents to go to Penguins games, go to the zoo, Kennywood…His first time back in PGH in over two decades was when he and my mother helped us move into our home here. He kept saying how much cleaner the city and air is, and how nice downtown is (especially compared to where they live, where downtown is practically a ghost town despite living in a city with a greater metro population than PGH).
The last time I was back home in Pittsburgh I took my mother downtown just to walk around have have some breakfast. She loved it. She hasn’t been into the city in many years.
She looked around and just said “Wow, these buildings are beautiful! I always forget that Pittsburgh is a real city.” She doesn’t live far out, but if you’re from the area you understand how quickly you end up in rural areas that avoid the city at all costs.
She asked me why I wanted to spend my morning that way and I told her that’s that is how I like to spend my mornings (in LA now) and figured she might like it as well. She really enjoyed it and let me know that it made her happy that that’s how I like to spend my mornings.
It’s a beautiful city and that was a memorable day.
In a Pittsburgh transplant. My parents live in a similar-sized Midwestern city. When my parents helped us move into our home here in PGH, we took them downtown. Both of my parents, but especially my mother (who is a suburbanite through-and-through) was very impressed with Downtown Pittsburgh, and the city in general.
I moved into the City as soon as I reasonably could and hopped around a few other nearby cities for a handful of years before finding myself on the west coast. I miss the east coast urban fabric.
My sister recently moved back to Pittsburgh so I took the opportunity to go visit and took her on a walk around the strip district with some lunch at DiAnoia’s (do yourself a favor and have lunch here sometime) and I feel like I had her questioning her choice to buy a house as far out as she did by the end of the day.
That’s a large reason why we moved to Pittsburgh—we wanted to be able to live in a city, rather than live an hour away. Now, we live 15 min from Downtown, can walk to a grocery store, a few different cafes and restaurants, but we can still feed the deer in our backyard, and we live in a gorgeous 100+ year old house. Could have never afforded this if we lived on the coasts.
I've always wanted to visit Pittsburgh but haven't yet done so. Seems like a really cool place!
It's an underrated city and fun college town. If you like Pittsburgh sports, there are hella fans everywhere. Surprisingly liveable (it does come with weather extremes some months of the year)
It’s a really underrated city; the neighborhoods are vibrant and full of character, the scenery is great, the museums are phenomenal…
Sounds wonderful. I'll def keep it on my list
Any advice on a particular area to stay in while visiting?
Lawrenceville, East Liberty, Shadyside based on your vibe (former resident)
I stayed in East Liberty during my first visit and loved it. There’s plenty of restaurants and nightlife without it feeling like a bar crawl, close to Oakland, Squirrel Hill, and Downtown, so it’s decently centrally-located.
The Strip District is really cool, and there’s tons of restaurants and bars there, so the nightlife great, but it’s a bit more rowdy.
Thanks for the feedback! It seems like the picture perfect city so hopefully i will get to enjoy it someday
Hopefully! There’s also so many great restaurants here that don’t break the bank. We were surprised about that when first visited, then again, we were living in a HCOL area at that time.
Makes sense
Where are you from? I ask because i feel like that impacts our views on other locations
So many Pterodactyls...
Rawr!
Always nice to see Buffalo statler hotel's twin, the Omni William Penn Hotel
It’s such an elegant building
Easily the best city in PA. (Sorry Philly you’re cool too)
Definitely agree! Pittsburgh has more charm in my opinion.
Love the building on the left. I think I was in the lobby of it last year. I don't get to downtown very often.
It’s a really pretty building. It makes me think of something I’d see in NYC along Park Ave.
412 proud!!
I’ve not had a single regret moving here! It’s such a wonderful city 🖤💛
Big baseball fan, really hoping to make it to Pittsburgh next summer to see PNC Park. Also plan on checking out the rest of the city too
🖤💛
Great place to watch a game, even when the Bucs are terrible
Hey The Westin! I stayed in one of those windows! Gorgeous historic hotel with awesome bars & restaurants, but coulda used a pool
Pittsburgh has one of America's most underrated skylines.
Absolutely! It has enough tall buildings to make it cool without feeling cluttered, and many of the high-rises and smaller skyscrapers are beautiful early 20th century buildings.
I may not like the Steelers, but I absolutely love Pittsburgh. I love their skyscrapers, and their streets are pretty wide. The three rivers meeting is one of the best things about the city, too.
Downtown Pittsburgh has a really good array of architectural styles, from neo-gothic, art-deco, and modernist. For being a medium-sized city, it has a lot to offer.
The rivers and steep hills on all sides of downtown make for a very dramatic setting. It’s wonderful!
❤️❤️❤️❤️ I love this city!!
Same! It’s such a great city
I really loved Pittsburgh the 3 times I've been. The architecture is bananas!
The architecture and geography here is unbeatable, perhaps only by NYC and Chicago (in terms of architecture). Now I live here and I’m always grateful for living here every time I drive through downtown.
It's also such a green looking place. The hills (mountains to my east coaster experience haha) make all the trees really stand out
It’s really nice having nature so easily available
I remember talking to a few Steelers fans visiting San Francisco for a game and they seem like solid folks. Gave me a good impression of how it might be out there since they seemed so laid back for such a storied franchise.
Yinzers are definitely a humble, welcoming bunch
My wife and I spent our wedding night in the William Penn. They upgraded us to a big, gorgeous suite, but were so tired we were asleep by about 8:30 and may as well have stayed in a Comfort Inn :)
Great picture!
Thank you!
That building is beautiful. Always loved seeing it from afar at PNC park
Downtown Pittsburgh has so many beautiful buildings, and the buildings around this plaza are particularly stunning.
Truly!! There are certainly some things I miss about the city. Frick park being one of the main ones. I went to Allderdice & that’s even a super cool building. Also that old pnc bank in Squirrel Hill. I had some shitty times of my life in Pittsburgh, but it has a very unique charm
I’m a somewhat recent transplant to the Burgh, and I’ve loved it so far. With its the charm, walkability of most neighborhoods, lush scenery, temperate climate, and affordability, it’s been such a wonderful relief moving here.
That center building is gorgeous; what is it?
That’s the Union Trust Building. The neo-gothic roof is stunning.
I really loved visiting Pittsburg but I was shocked how dead it was after 6pm. It’s like the city emptied, like a buffalo or Detroit. Except I understand why those two cities are empty but not Pittsburg, it was so nice! Why is the downtown so full of parking lots and no people?
The city grew so much due to the steel mills. After they closed in the ‘70s and ‘80s, much of the city went the way of Detroit. Downtown Pittsburgh is revitalizing quickly, and now there’s a few thousand residents living there, and Penn and Liberty Avenues have a lot of restaurants, as does the adjacent Strip District.
Could be a shot from the movie "I am legend"
Never thought of that! 😎
This is a beautiful shot!
Thank you! I love that I managed to get the flock of birds
Yea that really adds an extra oomph to the picture. You’re very talented!
Thank you 😊
Ah Pittsburgh, the Fresno of California
Lol
The Fresno of Pennsylvania?
I think Fresno is the Fresno of California.
that's what you think, ponyboi
To appreciate this picture, imagine what the city looked like 100 years ago. Coal-fired steel plants pouring out smoke, raw sewage dumped in the rivers, etc. Arguably the most polluted city in the US. In the 1940's the smoke was so bad that it was dark all day, and streetlights stayed on. People even took pride in the smoke as it was a sign of progress and industry. However, by the 1950's they decided to clean the city up--not because of health or environment, they just wanted a nicer looking city. (There may be a lesson there about public policy.) The clean air today is an example of how much can be done to improve the environment when people want to make a difference.