[wyliepoon]

Tons of photos of downtown skyscrapers and scenes... enjoy!

Pittsburgh Penn Station, famous for the outdoor rotunda designed by Daniel Burnham.

US Steel Tower... big and prominent on the Pittsburgh skyline with its Cor-Ten steel facade, but surprisingly inviting at ground level with its well-landscaped plaza.

(Unfortunately, while I was taking photos in the US Steel Tower plaza, a security guard came out and demanded that I stop... second time in my architectural photography career where I got told off by a guard)

Mellon Center

Allegheny County Courthouse... "twin" of Toronto's Old City Hall

PPG Place in the sun

More PPG Place

Market Square

Gateway Center

More Market Square

 

[smuncky]

nice. i was wondering if you'd show some downtown pics.

market square looks really nice, but where are the people there? was it early in the morning?

 

[wyliepoon]

^ Yes, it was early Sunday morning. If not for the Steelers-Bills game going on later that day, the square would probably look even more dead.

 

[Jayomatic]

Did you manage to take any pictures of the united steelworkers union building? Its quite beautiful.

 

[Tewder]

It feels somewhat like Hamilton, though much more vibrant than our Steel Town. The commercial buildings seem far more grand too.

 

[Hipster Duck]

^the commercial buildings are far more grand (it was, after all, a bigger city in 1900 than Toronto) but as for vibrancy, I found Pittsburgh dispiritingly dull. I would go so far as to say that Hamilton is a much more exciting city to explore.

 

[Zephyr]

PPG, credited to Phillip Johnson, is one of my favourite spots in the city, because there always seems to be available parking there on the weekends.

What a shame to see some very good ideas about glass cladding, ultimately ruined by the castle-like towers that also comprise this example of Johnson's more sleek po-mo work.

 

[khris]

Really awesome shots. Was a bit of a trip down memory lane for me, from when I was there in 2001.

Primanti Bros!! I want one now!! Those sandwiches are so damn good.

 

[ganjavih]

It's interesting how even the less signficant larger US cities have much more interesting architecture than that of large Canadian cities. The unwillingness of Canadians to invest in architecture still persists today... fortunately, Canadian cities make up for it in other ways, such as vibrancy, safety, etc.

 

[flar]

Even towns of 5-10k in the NE and MidWest of the US have impressive architecture. Pittsburgh is among the best for late C19 early C20 highrises, and still has one of the best skylines in the US.

 

[Long Island Mike]

Great PGH Downtown pics!

Wylie: Great PGH Downtown pics! I will start with the old PRR station and Rotunda-I first traveled thru PGH in 1973 by train from NYC to Chicago-the Amtrak station is located there-I recall that for a time the rotunda and building were fenced off for a rehab project back in the early 80s that restored both. Did you notice the four PRR prime destinations in each corner? Chicago is pictured and I believe the others are Philadelphia,New York and St.Louis. The building was extensively renovated inside also after being closed for a time back then.
The USS STEEL building was once the tallest US building outside of NYC and Chicago when it was constructed in the early 70s-there was once a observatory and restaraunt at the top but I was told it was closed due to post 9/11 security concerns. It is indeed COR-TEN steel and triangular shaped.
In other pics I recognize One Oxford Square,Mellon Bank and the neat PPG Place center-all from the 80s. The neatest part of PPG Place is the Atrium down below between them.
Did you go down to Point State Park also? My first PGH memory is from 1979 when I stopped off Amtrak's Broadway Limited and I walked down Liberty Avenue to PSP at 4 am! Not the smartest thing to do but I had go get to the intersection of the Three Rivers as one of my first PGH stops.
Did you go inside the Allegheny County Building or tower-that I recall was quite neat! In closing-neat pics all! LI MIKE

 

[wyliepoon]

Did you go down to Point State Park also?

Point State Park is closed for renovation. However, the fountain in the park remains turned on.