Sites Around Pittsburgh

This is Mellon Arena where the Pittsburgh Penquins play hockey. I took this picture from the parking lot of the hotel at which I stayed, Pittsburgh Marriot City Center.











This is Heinz Field, home of the Pittsburgh Steelers and the University of Pittsburgh Panthers football teams. The parking lot just to the right of the stadium is the former site of Three Rivers Stadium which was imploded in 2001.







This is the confluence of the Allegeny (branching to the left), the Monongahela (branching to the right), and the Ohio Rivers. In the background, you can see PNC Park where the Pittsburgh Pirates TRY to play baseball.













Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania skyline.











This photo was taken in the section of Pittsburgh known as Oakland and is the former site of Forbes Field, the former home of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The brick wall in the background is a remnant of the outfield wall over which Bill Mazeroski hit the "shot heard round the world". This "shot" is a very famous homerun hit in the bottom of the 9th inning of the 1960 World Series giving the Pirates the win over the New York Yankees. A group of die hard fans meet here on the anniversity of the event and listen to the radio broadcast of the monumental sports event.




This did not turn out as well as I would have liked, but I tried to show the typical housing arrangement in Pittsburgh. The neighborhood in the distant background is known as the "South Slopes" and is located on the cities south side. I was taken by how close the houses are together as well as their modesty.









These two photos show each end of the Dusquesne Incline. This was the mode of transportation for those who lived on the south slopes to and from their usual job which was on the riverfront loading coal into barges. The area was at one time a site for extensive coal mining. The tracks are about 800 feet in length. You may notice two sets of tracks. The cars are operated by cables and it is a couter balance system. As one car descends the slope, a second car ascends the slope. It is just like the system they use at Silver Dollar City to bring you out of Marvel Cave. Each car can hold 15 or 20 passengers. When in use, the fare was 5 cents. Many could not afford the fare and were forced to use a VERY LONG set of steps that are near by. I could not get a picture of the steps, but they still exist. I saw a fair sized female deer on my trip down.



Where are all the steel mills? I was very suprised to learn that they are all gone! They were located right along the river. The area has been redeveloped for retail and looks very much like Chesterfield Village in Springfield. Some of the smoke stacks have been left as a memorial. Pittsuburgh is now a very clean city, but many of the buildings are still stained with soot and rust.