Pittsburgh

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Pittsburgh
Nickname : City of Bridges, Steel City, City of Champions, The 'Burgh, Iron City, Steel Town, The College City, Roboburgh
Downtown Pittsburgh from Mount Washington
Downtown Pittsburgh from Mount Washington
Seal of Pittsburgh
seal 		Flag of Pittsburgh
flag
Location in Allegheny County
Location in Allegheny County
Basic data
Foundation : November 25, 1758
State : United States
State : Pennsylvania
County : Allegheny County
Coordinates : 40 ° 26 ′  N , 79 ° 59 ′  W Coordinates: 40 ° 26 ′  N , 79 ° 59 ′  W
Time zone : Eastern ( UTC − 5 / −4 )
Inhabitants :
-  Metropolitan Area :		 303,625 (as of 2016)
2,342,299 (as of 2016)
Population density : 2,117.3 inhabitants per km 2
Area : 151.1 km 2  (approx. 58 mi 2 ) of
which 143.4 km 2  (approx. 55 mi 2 ) is land
Height : 295 m
Postcodes : 15106, 15120-15121, 15203-15208, 15210-15222, 15224, 15226-15227, 15230, 15232-15234, 15237, 15289
Area code : +1 412, 724, 878
FIPS : 42-61000
GNIS ID : 1214818
Website : www.pittsburghpa.gov
Mayor : Bill Peduto ( D )

Pittsburgh [ ˈpɪtsbɝɡ ] is a city in the southwest of the US state Pennsylvania . It is located in the area of ​​the Appalachian Plateau about 45 kilometers from the border with Ohio in a basin at the confluence of the Monongahela River and the Allegheny River to the Ohio River . The city is 151.1 km² and had 305,704 inhabitants in 2010, of which 64.8% white and 25.8% black. It is the largest city in the industrial region of the Appalachians and the second largest city in Pennsylvania after Philadelphia .

Pittsburgh is the seat of Allegheny County and the economic, political and cultural center of the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area , the second largest metropolitan area in Pennsylvania after Philadelphia with around 2.36 million inhabitants (2010).

The city's history began in 1758 at the time of the Seven Years War , when a British fort was built here under the name Fort Pitt , named after William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham . Due to its favorable location on the rivers and the nearby ore and coal deposits, the city grew in the 19th century to become the most important location for the US steel industry , which shaped the city well into the 20th century.

Since the steel crisis of the 1970s, Pittsburgh has gone through a sustained phase of structural change that has been marked by considerable economic difficulties. Great efforts were made to limit the negative consequences and to put the city on a new economic basis. Compared to other industrial cities in the Rust Belt, this undertaking was exceptionally successful, so that Pittsburgh in the USA is now considered a prime example of successful structural change.

In 2009 the G20 summit took place in Pittsburgh .

geography

The city is located at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers in southwest Pennsylvania, which form the Ohio River here . All three are navigable all year round thanks to weirs and locks. At the point of confluence, the underground Wisconsin Glacial Flow comes to light and feeds a fountain. Important raw materials in the region are hard coal (mostly historical) and natural gas.

climate

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Climate diagram
J F. M. A. M. J J A. S. O N D.
 
 
65
 
1
-8th
 
 
61
 
3
-7
 
 
87
 
9
-1
 
 
80
 
16
4th
 
 
91
 
21st
9
 
 
94
 
26th
14th
 
 
95
 
28
16
 
 
82
 
27
16
 
 
75
 
24
12
 
 
60
 
17th
6th
 
 
72
 
10
1
 
 
74
 
4th
-4
Temperature in ° C ,  precipitation in mm
Source: National Weather Service, US Dept of Commerce ; wetterkontor.de
Average monthly temperatures and rainfall for Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Max. Temperature ( ° C ) 0.9 2.7 9.4 15.7 21.4 26.1 28.1 27.1 23.5 16.9 10.2 3.7 O 15.5
Min. Temperature (° C) −7.5 −6.5 −1.2 3.8 9.1 13.8 16.4 15.7 11.9 5.7 1.2 −4.2 O 4.9
Precipitation ( mm ) 64.5 60.7 86.6 80.0 91.2 94.2 95.3 81.5 75.4 59.9 72.4 74.2 Σ 935.9
Hours of sunshine ( h / d ) 3.0 3.8 5.0 6.1 7.0 8.1 8.2 7.4 6.6 5.4 3.3 2.4 O 5.5
Rainy days ( d ) 10.4 9.5 11.8 10.8 10.3 9.6 8.5 7.8 7.8 7.9 10.1 11.3 Σ 115.8
Humidity ( % ) 70 67 64 60 63 66 69 71 72 68 70 72 O 67.7
T
e
m
p
e
r
a
t
u
r
0.9
−7.5
2.7
−6.5
9.4
−1.2
15.7
3.8
21.4
9.1
26.1
13.8
28.1
16.4
27.1
15.7
23.5
11.9
16.9
5.7
10.2
1.2
3.7
−4.2
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
N
i
e
d
e
r
s
c
h
l
a
g 		64.5
60.7
86.6
80.0
91.2
94.2
95.3
81.5
75.4
59.9
72.4
74.2
  Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

history

Pittsburgh 1857, Monongahela
Pittsburgh 1857, Customs House

The first European buildings were built in connection with the British and French hegemonic efforts in the middle of the 18th century during the French and Indian War ( Seven Years War ) (1756–1763). The French Fort Duquesne was built in 1754 at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers after the French drove out British soldiers there who had begun building a fortification. Due to its strategically important position, Fort Duquesne played a key role in this war and was contested several times. After the French were able to repel a first attack by British soldiers under George Washington in 1754 and a second large-scale offensive in the Battle of Monongahela in 1755 , they cleared and destroyed the fort in 1758 when a British superior force advanced. The British camp was named after the British Prime Minister at the time, William Pitt Pittsburgh, and the fort was rebuilt as Fort Pitt. During the Pontiac uprising (1763-1764) the fort successfully withstood a siege by an Indian army.

The settlement grew into a city by 1816. From the early 19th century to the First World War, the largest group of immigrants was German-speaking ; among them many emigrants from the Rhineland, from Hessen-Darmstadt and from Swabia. At that time there were up to four German-language daily newspapers in the city. In the second half of the 19th century industrialization increased and by the end of the century the city developed into the focus of steel production in the USA. US Steel was at times the largest industrial company and the largest steel producer in the world.

Pittsburgh by night

An encyclopedia entry from 1910 gives an impression of the importance of the city at the beginning of the USA's rise to become the most powerful industrial nation in the world: “ Pittsburg [ sic ], city in the United States of America, Pennsylvania, capital of County Alleghany, at the confluence of the Alleghany and Monogahela, which get the name O hio here, northwest of Washington, in a favorable trade location, a rich coal field and on the southern border of the petroleum district, 321,616 inhabitants. Post Office. Telegraph. Railway station. Petroleum refineries, over 60 iron foundries, many other great iron works, many rolling mills and large factories for nails, glass, paper, white lead, cotton spinning and weaving mills, breweries, tanneries, cannon foundries, copper rolling mills and smelters, steam engine construction workshops, in general P. is a factory town the most important of the North American United States and is called the "Birmingham of the United States". There are over 140 coal mines in operation in the vicinity. Western University of Pennsylvania (founded in 1819), theological seminary (founded in 1828). Steamboat trips on the Ohio and Mississippi. Banks, considerable trade. "

With the full formation of the Second Industrial Revolution in the period between World War I and the 1960s, the importance of the city, which was located in the oldest industrial zone in the United States, reached its peak.

The dominance of the steel industry remained until the steel crisis in the 1970s. The decades that followed were marked by economic decline. The dramatic loss of industrial jobs could only be partially absorbed by a developing service sector, and the city lost more than half of its population between 1950 (673,703) and 2010 (305,704).

Population development

year Residents¹
1950 676.806
1960 604.332
1970 520.117
1980 423,959
1990 369,879
2000 334.325
2010 305,685
2016 303.625

¹ 1950–2010: census results; 2016: US Census Bureau estimate

The following table shows the population development of the Metropolitan Statistical Area Pittsburgh according to the definition of the US Census Bureau 2015:

year Residents¹
1990 2,468,289
2000 2,431,233
2010 2,356,291
2016 2,342,299

¹ 1990–2010: census results; 2016: US Census Bureau estimate

Accordingly, the number of inhabitants is constantly falling in the metropolitan region as well.

politics

Town twinning

Pittsburgh is twinned with the following cities:

mayor

Pittsburgh has been ruled by Democratic mayors since 1934 .

City flag

The flag of Pittsburgh is modeled on the William Pitt family crest . The motto Benigno Numine means "With the blessing of God". The year 1816 stands for the year the city was founded.

Attack in the Pittsburgh Synagogue in 2018

In a massacre at the Tree of Life Synagogue on October 27, 2018, Robert Bowers shot dead 11 people and injured six, including four police officers. As far as we know, this is the most serious single act of anti-Semitic violence against Jews in the history of the United States.

Economy and Infrastructure

The metropolitan area of ​​Pittsburgh generated an economic output of 138.2 billion US dollars in 2016, making it 25th among the metropolitan areas of the USA. The unemployment rate was 3.6 percent and was thus below the national average of 3.8 percent (as of May 2018). In the city, which was once heavily influenced by heavy industry, most employees now work in the service sector.

In downtown Pittsburgh

traffic

Pittsburgh International Airport is 30 kilometers west of Pittsburgh .

Pittsburgh is a “city of bridges” - there are 446 bridges there, more than in Venice.

Two long-distance Amtrak trains serve Pittsburgh: the Pennsylvanian connects the city with New York City . The Capitol Limited stops here from Chicago or Washington, DC .

One of the oldest continuously operating trams in the United States has been operating in Pittsburgh since June 1859 . It was converted into the Pittsburgh Light Rail light rail from 1985 .

Established businesses

Due to the rich coal deposits in the region and its shipping connections, Pittsburgh was able to develop into the location of the US steel industry ("The Steel City"). The 1970s in particular were marked by the decline of this industry. Banks, biotechnology and service industries have since taken on the role of major employers. The largest Pittsburgh-based firms are Alcoa , US Steel , Highmark , PNC Financial Services , PPG Industries , The Kraft Heinz Company , Bayer Corp., FedEx Ground , Giant Eagle , Wesco International , Allegheny Technologies , American Eagle Outfitters , Wabtec, and Covestro LLC . Mylan Laboratories , Consol Energy and ANSYS are based in the Southpointe commercial complex in Canonsburg, south of Pittsburgh .

Other manufacturing companies in Pittsburgh include Lanxess , Koppers Holdings and Mine Safety Appliances .

education

View from the Cathedral of Learning to St. Paul Cathedral

Pittsburgh is home to five universities, the University of Pittsburgh ("Pitt"), Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), Duquesne University , Robert Morris University and Point Park University . Pitt and CMU are nationally and internationally known, Pitt for example for the Medical Center UPMC, the Seminar for Philosophy, and the Seminar for History and Philosophy of Science. At the Medical Center, Jonas Salk was the first to develop an effective vaccine against polio (poliomyelitis). The medical center is also very successful in organ transplantation and AIDS research. In sport, the teams of Pitt ("Pitt Panthers") in football and basketball are highlighted. The CMU is world famous for the School of Computer Science and the Software Engineering Institute (SEI), as well as for the drama school, the CMU School of Drama.

Culture and sights

Close to the city

Due to the deeply cut river valleys of the source rivers Allegheny River and Monongahela River and the Ohio, there are isolated districts on higher plateaus in Pittsburgh, similar to, for example, in Cincinnati . They were connected to the city center and the iron and steel industry below on the bank by funicular railways , which mainly served the steelworkers and coking plant workers living in these parts of the city as a short, quick way to work.

After structural changes and the construction of a tunnel through the steep bank from the south, two of them have survived - the Duquesne Incline and the Monongahela Incline near Smithfield Street Bridge , the city's oldest bridge.

As historical relics, they are now tourist attractions, especially since the upper stations offer an impressive view of the imposing city center and the river landscape.

The Senator John Heinz Regional History Center , a former ironworks converted into a museum , shows the city's production and products in historical pictures and exhibits: iron and steel goods, glassware, textiles. In addition, municipal facilities, trams and fire departments from the first quarter of the 20th century are on display. The Heinz Hall is the venue of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra .

The Carnegie Museums are the roof for four major museums: The Carnegie Museum of Natural History is known for its paleontology department with a large collection of dinosaurs . The Carnegie Museum of Art is an art museum with works by Winslow Homer , James McNeill Whistler, Camille Pissarro , American Art from 1850 until today, French Impressionists and Late Impressionists. The Carnegie Science Center did not open in its current form until 1991, but dates back to 1934, and allows visitors to experience various scientific and physiological experiences in high-tech simulators . In 1994 the Carnegie Museums opened the Andy Warhol Museum , dedicated to the life and works of Andy Warhol and the largest museum in the world for a single artist with over 4,000 works including his full video collection.

Close to the Andy Warhol Museum is the Mattress Factory , a museum for contemporary art which takes its name from the mattress factory that was previously located in this building. In addition to a temporary exhibition, works by artists such as James Turrell and William Anastasi are also permanently shown here.

The Cathedral of Learning is the main building of the University of Pittsburgh and towers over the surrounding area with 163 m. In downtown on Fourth Avenue there are many high-rise buildings that were built around 1900 and from today's perspective should be considered historical . Also on Fourth Avenue is PPG Place , which is considered the most beautiful skyscraper in the city . The entire skyline is dominated by the 256 m high US Steel Tower . The Grade I listed Frick Building is on Grant Street .

and display information about the image
Pittsburgh skyline from Mount Washington

Surroundings

Fallingwater , formerly the refuge of Pittsburgh department store owner Edgar J. Kaufmann, is in the southern outskirts of the city . In a wooded area, the multi-part structure was built in 1936 by the architect Frank Lloyd Wright over a waterfall. Seven miles south of Kentuck Knob is another home originally designed by Frank Lloyd Wright for the Hagan family. The Northland Public Library is located in McCandless Township .

Sports

Pittsburgh is represented in the National Football League by the Pittsburgh Steelers , in Major League Baseball by the Pirates and in the National Hockey League by the Penguins . Remarkably, all teams wear the same team colors, namely black and gold. When the Pirates won the World Series in 1979 and the Steelers won the Super Bowl for the fourth time within six seasons shortly afterwards , this was the reason for Pittsburgh to call itself the “City of Champions” or “City of Winners” ever since. In February 2009, the Steelers won the Super Bowl for the sixth time, making them the team with the most Super Bowl wins. In February 2019, the New England Patriots also won the Super Bowl for the sixth time, setting the Steelers' record. In addition, the Penguins won their fourth Stanley Cup on June 12, 2016 with a 4-2 win over San Jose and on June 11, 2017 the fifth Stanley Cup with a 4-2 win over Nashville .

Movies

Numerous films have been made in and around Pittsburgh that also take place in the city. The best known include:

music

The political punk - band Anti-Flag is from Pittsburgh and stressed this frequently in live performance ". We are anti-Flag from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania" Wiz Khalifa is a rapper from the city. The musical punk act Aus-Rotten was founded in Pittsburgh.

Personalities

People who have worked in the city

sons and daughters of the town

Web links

Commons : Pittsburgh  - album containing pictures, videos and audio files
Wikivoyage: Pittsburgh  Travel Guide

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ritter's Geographical-Statistical Lexicon. (2nd volume) Verlag von Otto Wigand mbH, Leipzig 1910, 9th edition, p. 561.
  2. ↑ Statistical Abstract of the United States, 1951 , p. 53
  3. ↑ "Fact Finder" of the United States Census Bureau
  4. ↑ praecepti - mottoes . Archived from the original on November 21, 2006. Retrieved November 20, 2006.
  5. ^ Religious Latin Phrases, Latin Quotes on Religion . In: Latin Phrases Web Site . Archived from the original on January 11, 2007. Retrieved November 20, 2006.
  6. ↑ History of the Stadtl (PDF; 5.3 MB)
  7. ^ US Department of Commerce, BEA, Bureau of Economic Analysis: Bureau of Economic Analysis. Retrieved July 4, 2018 (American English).
  8. ^ Pittsburgh, PA Economy at a Glance. Retrieved July 4, 2018 .
  9. ↑ Leading Companies by Revenue in the Pittsburgh Region (> $ 1 Billion)  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as broken. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / pdfmerge.alleghenyconference.org  
  10. ↑ John D. Oravecz: South Pointe development acts as region's relief valve. In: TribLIVE.com. August 9, 2014, accessed July 14, 2016 .
  11. ↑ Advanced Manufacturing