History

Pittsburgh established itself as a center for industry due, in part, to its strategic location at the confluence of three rivers and the region’s abundance of coal, oil, limestone, and sand. These assets paired with the ingenuity of early industrialists and entrepreneurs, the skills and manpower afforded by a large and diverse immigrant workforce, and a tenacity for hard work forged Pittsburgh’s success as a manufacturing powerhouse. By 1911, Pittsburgh was producing half the nation’s steel, but that progress came at a price.

Steel mills, factories and coal mines contributed to air and water pollution, creating smoke and grime that settled with such thickness that streetlights were lit by 3 p.m. and workers changed their sooty shirts after returning to their offices from lunch. Visiting the city in 1868, James Parton, writing for Atlantic Monthly, described the city as “…Hell with the lid taken off.”

Civic and business leaders recognized that the city’s image would impact future growth, launching efforts in 1946 to clean and revitalize the region’s urban center through smoke control, restoration and redevelopment projects, and brownfield site reclamation. After the collapse of the steel industry in the late 1970s, Pittsburgh continued the hard work of reinventing itself. As a result, the city is well recognized and widely ranked for many reasons, including being a center for finance, education, healthcare, technology, energy, and sustainability – and one of the Most Livable Cities.