Pittsburgh’s Golden Triangle Sparkles

Story and Photos By Stephanie & Jeff Sylva

Pittsburgh – the old steel town with its long-gone smoke-belching mills, has a whole new look. The city has re-made itself for the 21st century. As a matter of fact, The Huffington Post called Pittsburgh “The Coolest American City You Haven’t Been To.” Gone are the mills that lined the river banks. Gone are the soot and “blue dust” that infiltrated everything in the city turning the sky dark by nine o’clock in the morning.

Oh sure, the demise of the steel industry during the 1980’s brought tough times to the city and its inhabitants. But, as we learned from the young owner of Golden Triangle Bike Rentals and Tours, a forward-thinking mayor, Tom Murphy, set the groundwork for urban revitalization, and Pittsburgh has not looked back as it continually improves – for visitors and residents alike. As mayor from 1994 to 2006, Murphy oversaw the transformation of more than 1,000 acres of blighted, industrial land into new commercial, residential, retail and public uses.

Embracing an industrial legacy
Pittsburghers may have been abandoned by the steel industry, but they hold no grudges. They embrace the legacy of steel and its related industries. Local residents we met spoke proudly of the city’s industrial history and feel that it has hardened them, making them more resilient. We were constantly impressed by Pittsburghers’ pride in their city, especially in their sports teams. The colors of black and gold were ubiquitous. We were in Pittsburgh on a game day, and there was no doubt that we were in Steelers Nation.

The history and pride of the steel industry is evident throughout the city in its public art and sculpture; but it is most evident at the Rivers of Steel Homestead Works walking tours and the National Historic Landmark Carrie Furnaces (www.riversofsteel.com). The Homestead Works was one of the world’s largest steel mills, and a number of remaining artifacts can be viewed on the various tours.

The Carrie Blast Furnace Tour highlights the drama of the iron-making process. We took a guided tour of the massive structures of the blast furnaces and were in constant awe of the immensity and sheer power of these industrial giants.

One of the country’s most beautiful views
Pittsburgh’s steel industry legacy is certainly not the city’s only point of interest. Visitors will want to experience some of the city’s culture and scenic beauty, as well as some of the energy of its thriving neighborhoods. If new to Pittsburgh, a good place to start is with a city tour, such as the one we took with Molly’s Trolleys (www.molleystrolleyspittsburgh.com). The two-hour tour travels to a number of popular city spots including Downtown, the North Shore, the Strip District, Oakland and the South Side.

The tour also includes a behind the scenes look and a ride on the historic cable railway, the Duquesne Incline. At the top of the Incline on Mt. Washington we caught an awesome view of the city, Pittsburgh’s three rivers, and the many picturesque bridges that span the rivers. The view in the evening is even more spectacular, deemed “one of the Top 10 most beautiful views in the country” by USA Weekend.

Culinary delights
Another tour that gave us a real taste of Pittsburgh was the ‘Burgh, Bits & Bites Food Tour (www.burghfoodtour.com) of the Strip District, a section bordering Downtown that is pure Pittsburgh – a bit gritty but authentic. The half-mile district is full of ethnic grocers, produce stands, sidewalk vendors, meat and fish markets – a foodie’s delight bursting with (local) flavor. Our tour guide, Jennifer, took us into a number of the shops and eateries, giving us the lowdown on all the local history and legends while supplying us with tasty samplings of the wide variety of ethnic specialties. ‘Burgh Bits & Bites has tours of a number of Pittsburgh neighborhoods, with The Strip District Tour being the most popular.

We returned to The Strip on our own to experience one of Pittsburgh’s iconic dishes – a Primanti sandwich. Created to feed hungry truck drivers while their trucks were being unloaded in the Strip District, the sandwich is an entire meal of meat, cheese, coleslaw, and French fries between two thick slices of fresh Italian bread, served unceremoniously on waxed paper – no plates to be found.

After eating our way through Pittsburgh, we decided to work off some calories by biking the city. We arranged a guided bike tour with Golden Triangle Bike Rentals and Tours (www.bikepittsburgh.com). We spent a little more than 2 hours riding the Three Rivers Heritage Trail enjoying great views of PNC Park, Heinz Field, and Point State Park with its iconic Fountain located at the confluence of the three rivers. We also biked South Side and Downtown, enjoying the history and insider tidbits of Pittsburgh as told by our guide, Ed, one of the bike shop’s Pittsburgh-proud, self-described “yinzers” (a term of Scots-Irish origin akin to Brooklyn’s “youse guys”). Don’t want a guide? – just rent a bike and take one of Golden Triangle’s self-guided maps.

Other attractions to see in Northside include the Carnegie Science Center and the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh; or for some more avant-garde art, visit the Mattress Factory (www.mattress.org), a unique contemporary museum of room-sized installation art. We also got a kick out of a couple of off-beat, rather unusual locations in Northside – Bicycle Heaven Museum & Bike Shop (www.bicycleheaven.org), which houses a mind-boggling collection of bikes and accessories, and Randyland (www.randy.land), the home of the self-proclaimed Artist/Gardener/Dreamer Randy Gilson, located in the Mexican Wars Streets district. Randy’s courtyard is a menagerie of public art, a dizzying array of bright neon colors, images, and artifacts reused in highly creative, sometimes bizarre ways.

We took a tour of PNC Park, home of the Pittsburgh Pirates, considered by many to be one of the finest ballparks in the country. Opened in 2001, the ballpark is located on the Allegheny River and offers visitors scenic vistas of the downtown skyline and riverfront. It replaced Three Rivers Stadium, which stood at the confluence of the three rivers, forming the Golden Triangle.

A college town
The Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh is home to prestigious museums like the Carnegie Museums of Art and Natural History, world-class hospitals and vibrant universities such as The University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon. Oakland is true college chic featuring myriad international cuisines in its many coffee shops, diverse eateries, and local specialty shops particularly along Craig Street.

A couple of our favorite spots in this neighborhood were the Nationality Rooms (www.nationalityrooms.pitt.edu) in U Pitt’s monumental Cathedral of Learning (long known as the “world’s tallest schoolhouse”) and the Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens (www.phipps.conservatory.org). The Nationality Rooms, which are functioning classrooms, are gifts to the University from the city’s ethnic communities. Often designed by architects from abroad, the 29 museum-quality rooms re-create the cultural periods of a specific country prior to 1787, the year the University was founded.`

The Golden Triangle
We suggest that you stay at one of the Downtown hotels, as they are very conveniently located close to the Cultural District and just a short walk to The Strip and the Northside’s sporting venues. Market Square, in the heart of Downtown, offers some great al fresco dining and a variety of free entertainment. The city’s subway is free within the “Golden Triangle” (a nickname for Downtown).

We stayed at The Westin, located adjacent to the Convention Center, and The Fairmont, located next to Market Square, and found both very convenient, upscale and comfortable - much like the vibe of the downtown area itself. In addition to their signature Heavenly Bed and Heavenly Bath, The Westin has a great fitness studio with state-of-the-art equipment, a New Balance Gear lending program, and an indoor lap pool for a great way to keep your workout routine flowing. The Westin also has a complimentary shuttle service, which we used to take us to the bike rental shop (www.starwoodhotels.com/westin).

The Fairmont is a Four Diamond property with an award-winning restaurant, Habitat, a buzzing lounge, Andys, and a first-class fitness center. Our meal at Habitat was nothing short of exceptional. And what could be more comfortable than being greeted by The Fairmont’s canine ambassador, Edie? In addition to being a luxury hotel, The Fairmont is also a bit of a museum. Many of the artifacts from the mid-1800’s recovered during the excavation of Three PNC Plaza are displayed throughout the hotel’s lobby and other public spaces.

Sophisticated, yet comfortable; hip, but friendly; and scenic beauty, too. Pittsburgh - who knew?