IN PROGRESS

31. Pittsburgh and the Golden Triangle

Downtown Pittsburgh is well worth a visit and can easily be achieved on foot. The area between the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers is called the Golden Triangle and it's full of historic buildings. At the Golden Triangle the rivers merge and become the mighty Ohio River, which we saw the day before. Many of the buildings in downtown Pittsburgh exhibit a florid design and architecture reminiscent of the era of blast furnaces, steel mills, chemical factories - in other words, freely flowing money and riches. Where there's dirt, there's money, so the saying goes. A lot of this previous glamour and grime has become faded and some of the buildings have been repurposed by ... yes, tech firms of the likes of Google. Pittsburgh hasn't yet become gentrified, so visit it while you can, before the likes of Google and Microsoft wipe the remains of any authenticity and character away. Skyrocketing land prices will make the place unaffordable and will push all normal people out.

I had limited time, mainly because I had left far too little time to complete following US-22 and actually see something of the cities it passes through. We completed US-22 from Cincinnati to Newark in literally two and a half days and, while it's "only" 648 miles long, there's a heck of a lot to see along the way. Parking in downtown Pittsburgh was easy and cheap (but you do need to install a parking app on your phone). Walking around the downtown area and visiting the park at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers took just under an hour. At the confluence of the rivers there is a lovely park and a historic site where Fort Duquesne existed previously. Unfortunately, Market square was under renovation at the time I visited and this blocked out a good chunk of the downtown.

I reckon Pittsburgh could be quite grim in winter I tried to imagine the trees without leaves, a low grey sky, cold temperatures and drizzling rain. In June the city was positively radiant with greenery everywhere. Looking across the river at the major bridge which goes straight into Fort Pitt tunnel I tried to imagine what the site looked like before all this aging infrastructure was constructed. I think the most impressive introduction to Pittsburgh is to arrive by car from the West, pass through Fort Pitt tunnel and then suddenly be blasted by the impressive riverine urban vista that suddenly hits you. If you don't have a driver (!) it will be virtually impossible to take any pics, but the memory of the sudden view stays with you.

20.06.25