Downtown Pittsburgh is well worth a visit and this 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. Many of these buildings 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.



When you suddenly come out of Fort Pitt Tunnel and cross the Monongahela River there is a spectacular view of Pittsburgh in front of you


The entrances to former banks resemble the entrance to churches, which is a testament to the immense amounts of money made on the heavy industry in Pittsburgh


The compact downtown of Pittsburgh, squeezed between the two rivers, has some amazing buildings from the industrial age

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. The rivers merge to become the mighty Ohio River, which we saw the day before in Cincinnati. 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 and blocked out a good chunk of the downtown.



These noble facades must have been blackened by the pollution from the industrial plants in times gone by


Quirky and quite life-like statue on a park bench in downtown Pittsburgh

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



This is the highway bridge across the Monongahela River featured further up in this post


Confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers