Introduction
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania city at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela to the Ohio, with 370,000 inhabitants. (agglom.: approx. 2.2 million inhabitants)
Functions
Pittsburgh, the second largest city in Pennsylvania after Philadelphia, has historically been an important industrial city (petroleum industry since 1859; steel industry since 1875). In addition, glass, aluminum, foodstuffs and electronic items are produced and there are large petroleum refineries. The port is the busiest inland river port in the United States.
Also important are the services and, in particular, the research and testing laboratories in the medical and technological field. Pittsburgh is also a major rail hub. There are a number of large universities, including the University of Pittsburgh (1787), Duquesne University (1878) and Carnegie-Mellon University (1900).
The city has a zoo, its own orchestra (Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra), a number of theaters and several museums, including the Andy Warhol Museum (1994), the Museum of Art (mainly impressionists, post-impressionism, 19th-century American painting), the Carnegie Science Center (1939; aerospace, earth science, physics; planetarium, astronomical observatory) and libraries (Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, 1895; University of Pittsburgh libraries, 1873).
Cityscape
Pittsburgh, badly damaged by fire in 1845 and badly damaged by a tidal wave in 1936, has a very modern appearance. Particularly after 1947, slums were demolished on a large scale, large office and hotel complexes (in the Golden Triangle, formed by the source rivers of the Ohio) were built and parks were created (including Point State Park, 1960).
History
The city originated from a fortress built in 1753 by George Washington, which was captured by the French before its completion, who renamed Fort Duquesne. After the strategically important site fell back into the hands of the English in 1758, a settlement soon arose, named after William Pitt (the Elder). After the Indian War (1763) the settlement grew into a flourishing place.
With the strong development of industry in the second half of the 19th century, labor unrest also increased; strikes took place many times, sometimes accompanied by bloody disturbances.
