Pittsburgh, (2014 part whatever)- Central Business District

 

(Starting from near the beginning of the Ohio River)

 

part of Gateway Center (1950)

 

 

part of Gateway Center, but a different tower

 

 

Highmark Place (1988)

 

 

 

 

 

wandering around in the Cultural District…

 

 

 

 

 

Heinz Hall for the Performing Arts

 

 

 

Benedum Center

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Union Station /(Pennsylvania Station)

 

 

Gulf Tower (1932)

 

 

US Steel Tower (1970) // tallest in Pittsburgh, 841ft

 

 

 

 

Two Mellon Center (1913)

 

 

Mellon Center (1983)

 

 

Allegheny County Courthouse Jail (1888)...

 

 

…connects to the Courthouse with a bridge over the street...

 

 

…designed by Henry Hobson Richardson...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pitetsbkrrh  (Grant Building, 1929)

 

 

 

 

 

(Ok, no more County Courthouse after this one)

 

 

Standard Life Building (1903)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Arrott Building (1902)

 

 

 

The Bank Center (1902)

 

 

Tower at PNC Plaza under construction, 'the greenest skyscraper in the world'

 

 

Three Melon Center (Citizens Bank Tower) (1951)

 

 

Kaufmann's Clock (Attached to the department store, now a Macy's) and whatever across the street

 

 

Mellon Square Park, which has things like three-dimensional geometric pavement

 

 

Heinz 57 Center (1917)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ewart Building (Charles Bickel, 1891)

 

 

part of PIttsburg's Pointy Plate-Glass plaza, which has a little area within the dozen or so buildings for sitting and fountains and ice skating in winter. Unfortunately the buildings ignore the numerous streets around them, creating a fake fortress feeling.

 

 

Meanwhile, just a block to the north is a public square done properly… (Market Square)

 

 

 

 

Benedum Trees Building (1905)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Granite Building (1890, Charles Bickel)

 

another old and tall building…

 

 

and more of them…

 

 

more, but not as tall here...

 

 

this  block on Liberty Avenue will finish the set

 

 

Wow really awesome!  I'm a little jealous that Pittsburgh has such a collection of tall older buildings. Seems like they didn't suffer as much demo in the 50s/60s as Cleveland did

Summit Street, thank you for this incredible set.  I love the tall old narrow buildings.  This type of architecture has been almost completely obliterated in Cleveland and it is really cool to see that it still exists in a nearby city.  Excellent work.

You did your research on that Grant Building.  Well done.

Pittsburgh is great. And you more than did it justice. Thanks.

I was just up there, beautiful downtown and love the density (it reminded me of a small Manhattan) but I felt it was very much lacking the energy that even Cincinnati or Cleveland have in their central core. We spent a considerable time walking around and beyond the typical fast food joints, there was not much as far as local flavor that we could find there. Even the high end places like Mortons are tucked in high rise towers and hidden from the street.  There is a nice theatre district but again not too much as far as street level dining.

 

We ate at the Six Penn which was nice but we were expecting a lot more of that in the area to choose from. We tried going to Market Square and there were a few things there but again it was mostly fast food type places and seemed lacking. I did not get a great feel for a ton of apartment conversions in the city and the downtown area seemed more office than neighborhood.

 

I was there about 10 years ago for a baseball game and the little area by the ballpark was starting to develop and it seemed to have a lot of potential, I was disappointed to see that it really has not changed much in that area over the last 10 years beyond a hotel or two that has come to the area.

 

I was expecting a little more with all of Pittsburgh's potential.

^ What days were you there? Last time I was there I thought the downtown had a great energy, and was surprised at the foot traffic levels at all times of day. I was also surprised how used the downtown subway stations were, even at random times. Pittsburgh really is a great city.

 

Not quite sure about their food scene, but Id assume a lot of good places are probably on Carson Street.

^ What days were you there? Last time I was there I thought the downtown had a great energy, and was surprised at the foot traffic levels at all times of day. I was also surprised how used the downtown subway stations were, even at random times. Pittsburgh really is a great city.

 

Not quite sure about their food scene, but Id assume a lot of good places are probably on Carson Street.

 

I was there 2 weeks ago. There were decent amount of people around because there was a ball game in town but there was just not that vibe places to gather and such. For example, Cincy has OTR and Cleveland has E 4th and Columbus has the arena district and Short North. All have a ton of little eateries and cafes with local flair. Even chain places like Rock Bottom were non-existent downtown.

 

There were a ton of fast food places and places like chipotle and Qdoba and high end places like Ruth Chris and Mortons but not much in between.

^ What days were you there? Last time I was there I thought the downtown had a great energy, and was surprised at the foot traffic levels at all times of day. I was also surprised how used the downtown subway stations were, even at random times. Pittsburgh really is a great city.

 

Not quite sure about their food scene, but Id assume a lot of good places are probably on Carson Street.

 

I was there 2 weeks ago. There were decent amount of people around because there was a ball game in town but there was just not that vibe places to gather and such. For example, Cincy has OTR and Cleveland has E 4th and Columbus has the arena district and Short North. All have a ton of little eateries and cafes with local flair. Even chain places like Rock Bottom were non-existent downtown.

 

There were a ton of fast food places and places like chipotle and Qdoba and high end places like Ruth Chris and Mortons but not much in between.

 

I was just there too and I see what you're saying, but the weird thing about Pittsburgh is how compact it is.  Even though the Golden Triangle gets a little quiet at night, Southside, the Strip, and even the North Shore sometimes are all very active and pick up the slack.  It's not a stretch to walk from any of those places to downtown.  There's a ton of energy in the city as a whole.

^Agreed.  I lived in Pittsburgh for 7 years.  The golden triangle is livelier during the day but not so much at night outside of the Cultural District, HOWEVER all the energy you could want is just across the river in the South Side, starting at Station Square downtown and going along Carson street for 2-3 miles, day and night.  Same goes for the strip district to the east.  Very close very compact and very much energized.

^And now even the North Shore is picking up the tab, along with Lawrenceville and Squirrel Hill.

Such a solid downtown. So much great architecture and nice, narrow streets.

All cities are going to have their districts, I was just hoping for a little more in the urban core like there is in Cincinnati, Indy, Columbus, even Cleveland.

 

I just did not get that feeling in Pittsburgh.

 

It is like saying Mt. Adams in Cincy is part of the downtown urban fabric. You can walk downtown from there but there is something that removes it from the rest of the city. Same with Pittsburgh, there is a disconnect that is created when you need to cross the river

All cities are going to have their districts, I was just hoping for a little more in the urban core like there is in Cincinnati, Indy, Columbus, even Cleveland.

 

I just did not get that feeling in Pittsburgh.

 

It is like saying Mt. Adams in Cincy is part of the downtown urban fabric. You can walk downtown from there but there is something that removes it from the rest of the city. Same with Pittsburgh, there is a disconnect that is created when you need to cross the river

 

Even Cleveland? You can't be taken seriously if you consider the urban fabric of downtown Cleveland and downtown Columbus to be in the same league...at least use the Short North as your point of comparison.  I haven't spent enough time in Indy to compare but I doubt it is on the same level either.

 

I really don't mean to start a pissing contest here (sincerely, I don't) but the slight was unjustified and deliberate.

All cities are going to have their districts, I was just hoping for a little more in the urban core like there is in Cincinnati, Indy, Columbus, even Cleveland.

 

I just did not get that feeling in Pittsburgh.

 

It is like saying Mt. Adams in Cincy is part of the downtown urban fabric. You can walk downtown from there but there is something that removes it from the rest of the city. Same with Pittsburgh, there is a disconnect that is created when you need to cross the river

 

I think Downtown Pittsburgh is about on par with Cincinnati when it comes to liveliness.  They both have their clusters of restaurants and entertainments, largely surrounded by dead zones (at night).  Market Square/Fountain Square, Cultural District/Aronoff area, North Shore/Banks.  Not a perfect comparison, but I'd say they're about equal.  I don't think you can include Columbus in the same discussion as Cincinnati, Indy, and Pittsburgh when it comes to downtown liveliness, though.  Having been in Downtown Columbus many times recently, it feels almost completely dead at night.  The arena district adds some life but is on the fringe of downtown.  There is no Fountain Square/Market Square/Monument circle area in downtown Columbus...not even close to it.  Now, if we're talking downtown near, and you pick up High Street just north of the Convention Center and the area near North Market, then yes, there is a ton of energy and vibrancy.  I think that's akin to including OTR with Cincinnati, though.  Not a true CBD to CBD comparison.

 

I haven't been to Cleveland in over 10 years, so I can't comment on it. 

All cities are going to have their districts, I was just hoping for a little more in the urban core like there is in Cincinnati, Indy, Columbus, even Cleveland.

 

I just did not get that feeling in Pittsburgh.

 

It is like saying Mt. Adams in Cincy is part of the downtown urban fabric. You can walk downtown from there but there is something that removes it from the rest of the city. Same with Pittsburgh, there is a disconnect that is created when you need to cross the river

 

I think Downtown Pittsburgh is about on par with Cincinnati when it comes to liveliness.  They both have their clusters of restaurants and entertainments, largely surrounded by dead zones (at night).  Market Square/Fountain Square, Cultural District/Aronoff area, North Shore/Banks.  Not a perfect comparison, but I'd say they're about equal.  I don't think you can include Columbus in the same discussion as Cincinnati, Indy, and Pittsburgh when it comes to downtown liveliness, though.  Having been in Downtown Columbus many times recently, it feels almost completely dead at night.  The arena district adds some life but is on the fringe of downtown.  There is no Fountain Square/Market Square/Monument circle area in downtown Columbus...not even close to it.  Now, if we're talking downtown near, and you pick up High Street just north of the Convention Center and the area near North Market, then yes, there is a ton of energy and vibrancy.  I think that's akin to including OTR with Cincinnati, though.  Not a true CBD to CBD comparison.

 

I haven't been to Cleveland in over 10 years, so I can't comment on it.

 

Totally agree with the Pit-Cincy assessment. Between the two cities, I see plenty of parallels between similar downtown clusters of nightlife, parks, museums/cultural venues and public spaces, open markets, sports/arena zones (and outlying gentrifying neighborhoods). Not too much concentrated energy and vibrancy in either CBD when there isn't a game or festival going on, but there's still no shortage of places to go and things to do in either. You just might have to walk a block or two to get from Point A to Point B in either case.

Generally, I think the assessments about downtown Pittsburgh are about right.  It's extremely bustling by day with office workers, like Cleveland used to be in the 80s but not so much now.  But by night, it's somewhat deserted.  Friday and Saturday nights things pick up a little bit, esp when there's a Pirates game... Pittsburgh and Cincinnati have small, tight downtowns with narrow streets that can give the greater allusion of excitement, even if only a few people are walking around... I found Market Sq. to be roughly similar to E. 4th street -- a pedestrian oriented plaza surrounded by old buildings.  But E. 4th has apartments over restaurants (not offices like Market Sq) and more original restaurants, as opposed to the usual chains like Market Sq.  It seems Cleveland has more office-to-apartment conversions than downtown Pittsburgh but, then again, that's probably due to the fact Cleveland's core was devastated by HQ and office closure and abandonment from the 80s through early 2000s. 

I should not have thrown Cbus in there, because their CBD is extremely dead at night. Indy is very busy but they are a convention city so they cater to the convention crowd and they have a lot of chains in the middle of the city. It is more touristy than business related.

 

Having lived in both Cincy and Cleveland I found both to have a better mix of urban dwellers to offices in the city than Pittsburgh. There seem to be a lot more loft conversions in both cities than I saw in Pitt. There is more residential in both cities and less office which seems to create a better after hours type feel to it. Part of this may be because I know my way around both towns and Pitt was new to me.

 

I loved the density of downtown Pitt but I was left a little disappointed with the variety of choices downtown.

 

part of PIttsburg's Pointy Plate-Glass plaza, which has a little area within the dozen or so buildings for sitting and fountains and ice skating in winter. Unfortunately the buildings ignore the numerous streets around them, creating a fake fortress feeling.

 

 

I love skyscrapers but hate how some of them do not interact with the street at all, like this.