Arrive in Pittsburgh via the Fort Pitt Tunnel,
and you’ll emerge to find one of America’s
most striking skylines rising above you. At
sunset, this is truly spectacular: the collage of
shimmering glass towers, Victorian bridges
and rippling rivers a thrilling system shock.
Here in Pennsylvania, in the foothills of the
Appalachian Mountains, a city that gained
fame as a forge for US steel is being remade
for a new future. Tech company Astrobotic
Technology is launching a mission to the moon
from Pittsburgh, while artists are finding
refuge from global conflict within its walls at
pioneering safe haven City of Asylum. And the
opulent remains of the Gilded Age at places
like the Phipps Conservatory and Botanical
Gardens create form a spectacular backdrop to
all that 21st-century innovation and creativity.
The birthplace of Andy Warhol, Pittsburgh
embraces its creative side with quirky
museums like Bicycle Heaven, Randyland
outdoors art museum, and the Mattress
Factory — not to mention a gallery dedicated
to the enigmatic artist himself. The city’s
Civil Rights legacy as a post-Civil War nexus
for Americans fleeing the South is showcased
powerfully at the August Wilson African
American Cultural Center.
This isn’t a city of blockbuster sights;
Pittsburgh is for return visitors to America,
America’s steel city is forging a new name for itself as an incubator for
cutting-edge tech, oeat arts and innovative places to eat, drink and dance
WORDS: JOE SILLS. PHOTOGRAPHS: CHRISTINE ARMBRUSTER
PITTSBURGH
CITY LIFE
keen to eager to explore beyond the likes of
New York or LA. There’s no better way to get to
know the city than by sampling the contrasting
flavours of its 90 neighbourhoods, each paying
homage to a unique identity. In the Strip
District, red-brick warehouses that were once
home to foundries, mills and workshops now
house organic grocery stores, indie boutiques
and some of the city’s best new restaurants
— along with foodie founding father Mancini’s
Bread, producer of the Pittsburgh pepperoni
roll, among other things. Over in Allentown,
distinctly modern tastes are catered to at
heavy metal-themed coffee shop Black Forge
Coffee House and vegan Asian and American
restaurant Onion Maiden.
Pittsburgh has a way of quickly endearing
itself to visitors, notably in summer, after snow
heaps have melted from pavements and parks,
giving way to cafe tables and baseball games.
Baseball is big here with games afoot in every
greespace; PNC Park pays homage to one of the
sport’s legends, Puerto Rican Pittsburgh Pirates
right fielder Roberto Clemente, cast in bronze.
The ‘City of Bridges’ is a contrasting
patchwork of steel and leafy parks set along
the banks of three rivers, replete with summer
festivals, including such headliners as June’s
Three Rivers Arts Festival: 10 days of free art
and music right across the heart of Downtown.
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