3 Tours in Pittsburgh
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Tour Descriptions
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This tour will take you to the major historical points in downtown Pittsburgh that are all in walking distance to each other.
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The tour will start at Monongahela Incline with a grand overhead view of the city from Grandview Avenue and then back down the Duquesne Incline. After crossing the Monongahela river we’ll visit Point State Park, the historical roots of Pittsburgh, and then cross over the Allegheny to visit the museums on the North Shore (Carnegie Science, Children’s Museum, National Aviary and the Warhol Museum). Then back again over to the Allegheny to finish in downtown at the Senator John Heinz History Center.
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A more detailed description of this tour can be found here: Downtown Walking Tour sites
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This tour will require driving to get to the various locations around Pittsburgh but offers great walking potential at each site.
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We start the tour at the Frick Pittsburgh and then after a brief stop at the last wooden street in Pittsburgh (Roslyn Place) we move on to the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, the Carnegie Museum of Art and then the Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Garden. Driving over to the North Shore we visit the holy relics at St Anthony’s Chapel followed by the more modern art of Randyland and the Mattress Factory. A final place to visit is across the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers to the world’s steepest street – Canton Avenue.
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A more detailed description of this tour can be found here: Pittsburgh Driving Tour sites
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The Pop Artist Andy Warhol (originally Andrew Warhola) was born in Pittsburgh on August 6, 1928.
This tour will take you to Warhol’s childhood homes and the schools he attended up through his college graduation at the Carnegie Institute (now Carnegie Mellon). Warhol didn’t return for any length of time until after his death in 1987 and this tour will visit where the funeral liturgy was held and where he is buried alongside his parents. Finally the tour will visit the Warhol Museum and the bridge named in Warhol’s honor.
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A more detailed description of this tour can be found here: Andy Warhol's Pittsburgh Tour sites
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Start Andy Warhol's Pittsburgh Tour
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About Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, with a population of 305,700, is the 63rd largest city in the US and the 26th largest metropolitan area (with a population of 2.4 million). It is physically located at the confluence of 3 rivers, the Allegheny, Monongahela, and the Ohio, and is thus known as the “City of Bridges” due to its 446 bridges over those rivers (3 more than Venice, Italy). But Pittsburgh is known even more as “The Steel City”. This was where most of the US steel industry was located and where the streetlights used to come on at noon due to the smog and pollution from steel smelting. In 2015, Pittsburgh was listed among the "eleven most livable cities in the world" and The Economist's Global Livability Ranking placed Pittsburgh as the first- or second-most livable city in the United States in 2005, 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2014
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In the 1700s the mineral-rich Allegheny Mountains made this area sought after by both the French and British empires. The French and Indian War began when Major George Washington (the future 1st president) and British General Edward Braddock were sent to take Fort Duquesne, situated where downtown Pittsburgh is now, away from the French.
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The area grew significantly during the War of 1812 after the US was cut off from British goods and had to develop its own using significant quantities of iron, brass, tin, and glass. More expansion took place in the 1840s during the American Civil War with the Union’s demand for iron and armament.
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Andrew Carnegie began steel production in 1875 which after merging several companies became, in 1901, U.S. Steel. By 1910 Pittsburgh had become the 8th largest city in the US and accounted for between one-third and one- half of US steel output. The city's population swelled to more than a half million, attracting numerous European immigrants to its industrial jobs. For part of the 20th century, Pittsburgh was behind only New York and Chicago in corporate headquarters employment.
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In the early 1980s both the area's steel and electronics industries imploded during national industrial restructuring. There were massive layoffs from mill and plant closures and Pittsburgh suffered economically for many years. Times have improved and new industries like high tech have grown especially due to the influence of local university -- Carnegie Mellon.
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Other
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Free Wireless Internet
Downtown Pittsburgh offers two free hours of wireless Internet access within the Golden Triangle (Point State Park, the North Shore and Lower Hill District). Click on "Viewable Wireless Networks”, select "WiFi Pittsburgh" and click "Connect."
Free Subway
Pittsburgh's subway, called the "T," allows you to ride for free within the Golden Triangle. Downtown stops include Wood Street Station, US Steel Tower, First Avenue and Gateway.
Free Parking
Downtown street parking is free on Sundays.