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Pittsburgh is the second largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in the United States. It is the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. It is the economic, cultural, academic, transportational and service hub of the Pittsburgh Metro Area and the Pittsburgh Tri-State. Built on the land between the confluence of the Allegheny, Ohio and Monongahela rivers and the surrounding hills, Pittsburgh features a skyline of skyscrapers and dozens of bridges. Once an industrial center, the collapse of the United States steel industry has had a lasting impact on Pittsburgh's economy and identity. However, in 2005 in The Economist, Pittsburgh shared with Cleveland the top spot for most liveable cities in the United States, and tied for 26th on cities world-wide. In response to the collapse of the steel industry in the 1970s and 1980s, Pittsburgh has become a nationally-known center for medicine, education, art education, technology, and financial services(*,*). Pittsburgh is the home of several prestigious universities, including the University of Pittsburgh, Duquesne University, and Carnegie Mellon University, among others. The city also hosts several nationally acclaimed sports teams, including the five-time Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers, five-time World Series champion Pittsburgh Pirates and the two-time Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins. In addition, Pittsburgh is home of many top-rated medical institutions, such as the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and Allegheny General Hospital. Although still facing a declining population, Pittsburgh remains the chief city of the eastern Ohio River Valley.
History At the site of present-day Pittsburgh, in 1754, the French built Fort Duquesne. During the French and Indian War, British General John Forbes occupied the fort. He ordered the construction of Fort Pitt, named after British Secretary of State William Pitt the Elder. He also named the settlement between the rivers "Pittsborough."• By this time, the pollution from burning coal and steel production created a black fog (or smog). Following the war, the city launched a clean air and civic revitalization project known as the "Renaissance." This much-acclaimed effort was followed by the "Renaissance II" project, begun in 1977 and focusing more on cultural and neighborhood development than its predecessor. The industrial base continued to expand through the 1960s, but beginning in the 1970s and 1980s, the steel industry in the region imploded, with massive layoffs and mill closures. Beginning in the 1980s, the city shifted its economic base to services, tourism, medicine and high technology. During this transition, the city population shrunk from 680,000 in 1950 to 330,000 in 2000. Multiple organ transplants were pioneered in Pittsburgh by Dr. Thomas Starzl in 1983 and Pittsburgh hospitals remain premier medical research institutions. Name and spelling Pittsburgh was officially named with its present spelling on April 22, 1794, by an act of the Pennsylvania Department, stating: "Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, in General Assembly met, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same, That the said town of Pittsburgh shall be, and the same is hereby, erected into a borough, which shall be called the borough of Pittsburgh for ever." Geography and climate Pittsburgh is located at (40.441419, -79.977292). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 151.1 km² (58.3 mi²). 144.0 km² (55.6 mi²) of it is land and 7.2 km² (2.8 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 4.75% water. The city is located on the Allegheny Plateau, where the confluence of the Allegheny River and Monongahela River form the Ohio River. The area between the rivers is known as the Golden Triangle, the extremity of which is The Point. Pittsburgh occupies the Golden Triangle as well as the slopes of the river valleys, and the ridges beyond. Many of the city's neighborhoods, particularly south of the Monongahela, are deeply sloped, making Pittsburgh one of the hilliest cities in America. Pittsburgh has a continental climate, with four seasons, spring, summer, autumn, and winter. Because of its position between the Great Lakes and the Allegheny mountains, Pittsburgh's weather is often overcast and rainy. It is the third cloudiest city in the United States and it averages over 200 days of cloudy days per year . In the winter, when a northwest flow establishes itself over the Great Lakes, the wind blows from Lake Erie across eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania. That wind carries moist air from the lake, often producing heavy snow squalls. It also produces clouds. In addition, deep low pressure systems often establish themselves in the winter over Hudson Bay. Those systems also bring clouds and precipitation to the lower Great Lakes and western Pennsylvania. Neighborhoods The city can be broken down into the downtown area, called the golden triangle, and four main areas surrounding it. These four surrounding areas can are further subdivided into distinct neighborhoods. These areas, relative to downtown, are known as the North Side/North Hills, South Side/South Hills, East End, and West End. The North Side is home to a neighborhood known as Central Northside as well as many other neighborhoods including Allegheny West, Perry Hilltop, Brighton Heights, Spring Garden, Troy Hill, Observatory Hill, East Allegheny/Deutschtown, the Mexican War Streets, and Manchester. The North Side is primarily composed of residential neighborhoods and is noteworthy for well-constructed and architecturally interesting homes. Many buildings date from the 19th century and are constructed of brick or stone and adorned with decorative woodwork, ceramic tile, slate roofs and stained glass. The South Side neighborhoods include the Southside Flats and Southside Slopes, and South Hills neighborhoods such as Brookline, Beechview, Overbrook, Carrick, Beltzhoover, and Allentown. The South Side was once an area composed primarily of dense inexpensive housing for mill workers, but has in recent years become a trendy part of the city known for its clubs, cafés, and restaurants. The East End is home to the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University, Chatham College, and many of the most prominent city neighborhoods which include Oakland, Squirrel Hill, Shadyside, Friendship, Point Breeze, Bloomfield, Regent Square, Greenfield, Lawrenceville, East Liberty, Homewood, Hazelwood, the Hill District, Highland Park, Greenfield, and many others. The West End is perhaps the most overlooked part of the city, but it includes Mt. Washington, with its world-famous view of the Downtown skyline, as well as the West End neighborhoods, Elliott, Sheraden, and Duquesne Heights. Pittsburgh is a patchwork of neighborhoods, many of which still retain an ethnic character reflecting the city's immigrant history. This includes African American (Hill District, Homewood), Jewish (Squirrel Hill), Irish American, Italian American (Bloomfield), German American (Troy Hill, East Allegheny) and Eastern European such as Polish (South Side, Lawrenceville, Polish Hill). There is also a small but growing population of Hispanics centering around the Beechview neighborhood. Several neighborhoods on the edges of the city are less intensely urban, featuring tree-lined streets, yards and garages giving a more characteristic suburban feel. These include the South Hills neighborhoods such as Brookline, Carrick, Beechview, and Overbrook, some of the West End areas such as Oakwood and Westwood, as well as far North Side neighborhoods like Observatory Hill and Brighton Heights. Other neighborhoods, such as Oakland, in which are located the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University, are characterized by a more diverse, urban feel. Demographics According to the 2000 census there were 334,563 individuals, 143,739 households, and 74,169 families within the city limits. The population of the surrounding metropolitan area was 2,358,695. The largest groups in terms of race were 67.63% White, 27.12% African American, 2.75% Asian, and 1.32% Hispanic. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.8 males. The median income for a household in the city was $28,588, with 20.4% of the population living below the poverty line. Pittsburgh has the lowest property crime rate and a lower-than-average violent crime rate among cities of similar size. Local dialect The Pittsburgh English dialect, or "Pittsburghese," derives from influences from the Scotch-Irish, German, Central European and Eastern European immigrants. The dialect is somewhat similar in tone to other nearby regional dialects (ie, Philadelphia, Baltimore), but is noted for its somewhat staccato rhythms (a result of the Eastern European influence). The lexicon itself contains notable cognates borrowing from Croatian and other Slavic and European languages. Examples include babushka, pierogi, and halušky. Emblematic of Pittsburghese is "yinz" as the plural of "you", with "yunz" as a variant. Pittsburghese is distinctive in dropping the "to be" from sentences. For instance, "the brakes need to be replaced" is instead phrased "the brakes need replaced." Speakers of the dialect also often compress the pronunciation of words and phrases. For example, "up there" becomes "up er." In Pittsburghese, one might "redd up" (clean) her room, which is an archaic English expression (see for example the American Heritage Dictionary) meaning "to set things in order." Speakers also often end a sentence with "and that", pronounced as, "n'at." For example, a Pittsburgher might say, "Yinz guys goin' dahntahn to get some pants n'at?" Economy Pittsburgh has adapted to the collapse of the region's steel industry. The primary industries have shifted more to high technology, such as robotics, health care, tourism, biomedical technology, finance, and services. Pittsburgh is the fourth most financially headquartered city in the US. Education is also a major employer, from primary through magnet schools, specialized professional institutes and highly-ranked universities. In 2006, Expansion Magazine ranked Pittsburgh among the top 10 metropolitan areas in the nation for climates favorable to business expansion.• Major employers Pittsburgh has grown its industry base in recent years to include technology, retail, finance and medicine. The largest employer in the city is the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, followed closely by the University of Pittsburgh. Fortune 500 Corporations headquartered in Pittsburgh include: Fortune 1000 Corporations headquartered in the Pittsburgh region include: Other major employers in the Pittsburgh area include the North American headquarters for Bayer, GlaxoSmithKline and Lanxess. Northeast U.S. regional headquarters for Nova Chemicals, FedEx, Ariba, Rand, US Airways and National City. Guru.com, 84 Lumber, Giant Eagle, Highmark, Rue 21, and GENCO are major non-public companies with headquarters in the region. Other major companies headquartered in Pittsburgh include Mylan Laboratories, General Nutrition Center (GNC), and CNX Gas (CXG), a subsidiary of Consol Energy. Cost of living Pittsburgh has a low cost of living compared to other cities in the northeastern U.S. The average price for a 3- to 4-bedroom, 2-bath family home in Pittsburgh is $162,000, which is well below the national average of $264,540, as of October 2004, according to the Federal Housing Finance Board. Government and politics
Education
Culture In the 19th and 20th centuries, wealthy businessmen and nonprofit organizations donated millions of dollars to create educational and cultural institutions. As a result, Pittsburgh is rich in art and culture. Among the professional music venues, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra performs in Heinz Hall, and the Pittsburgh Opera performs in the Benedum Center. Both The Benedum Center and Heinz Hall provide venues for other groups, such as the River City Brass Band and the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra. Pittsburgh has a long tradition of jazz, blues and bluegrass music. Pittsburgh also has a large indie and punk rock scene. Additionally the National Negro Opera Company was founded in Pittsburgh, and was the first all African-American opera company in the United States. This led to the prominence of African-American singers like Leontyne Price in the world of opera. Pittsburgh Dance Council and the Pittsburgh Ballet Theater host a variety of dance events. Polka, folk, square and round dancing have a long history in the city and are celebrated by the internationally famous Duquesne University Tamburitzans, a multicultural academy dedicated to the preservation and presentation of folk songs and dance. In theater, the Pittsburgh Playhouse of Point Park University has four resident companies of professional actors. Other companies include Attack Theatre, City Theatre, Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre, Pittsburgh Musical Theater, Pittsburgh Public Theater, and Quantum Theater. The city's longest-running theatre show, Friday Nite Improvs, is an improv jam that has been performed in the Cathedral of Learning and other locations for 17 years. Pittsburgh has long been a center of film culture as well. Pittsburgh Filmmakers, one of the oldest and largest media arts centers in the United States, runs a filmmaking school and three art film theaters. The Three Rivers Film Festival brings a venue of independent, documentary and international films each November. Pittsburgh is also a popular location for films, including Flashdance, The Silence of the Lambs, Lorenzo's Oil, Robocop, Wonder Boys, and Night of the Living Dead. Rawson Thurber's The Mysteries of Pittsburgh currently is being filmed in Pittsburgh. The city has an extensive library system, both public and university. Most notable are the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh and the University of Pittsburgh's University Library System. Many notable individuals in the world of culture emerged out of Pittsburgh. Andy Warhol and August Wilson were both born and raised in the Pittsburgh area. Media Pittsburgh is the home of the world's first commercial radio station (KDKA 1020AM), the world's first non-commercial television station, the first "networked" television station, and "mid-western" newspaper. It is one of the few mid-sized metropolitan areas in the U.S. with two major daily papers; both the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review have long histories of Pulitzer Prizes and breaking in-depth investigative news stories on a national scale. The alternative papers in the region include the Pittsburgh City Paper, the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle, The New People, published weekly by the Thomas Merton Center, and the Pittsburgh Courier, one of the larger ethnic publications in the region. The Pitt News, a financially independent student-written and managed newspaper of the University of Pittsburgh, is closing in on its 100th year of publication. Television The Pittsburgh TV market is served by: Radio Pittsburgh radio has long been dominated by KDKA 1020 AM. However, as of early 2006 the station is no longer Outdoor advertising in the area is handled by Lamar Outdoor, who controls a majority of large posters and billboards in the region, while Clear Channel Outdoor concentrates on bus shelters (including Downtown Pittsburgh) and shopping centers in the area. Sports Pittsburgh's dedication to sports has a long history. Both its professional and collegiate teams have championship records. Three separate colleges have sent their football teams to major bowl games. The Pitt Panthers have won multiple national titles in both football and men's basketball. As home to two of the most successful teams in the former Negro League, the Pittsburgh Crawfords and the Homestead Grays, as well as the first Major League Baseball team to field an all-black lineup, the 1971 Pittsburgh Pirates, "no city is more synonymous with black baseball than Pittsburgh." • The Pittsburgh region also has developed several NFL quarterbacks and running backs including Dan Marino, Joe Montana, Joe Namath, Jim Kelly, Marc Bulger, George Blanda, Jeff Hostetler, and Johnny Unitas as well as Tony Dorsett, Curtis Martin, Mercury Morris, Larry Brown and Ernie Davis. There is also a long list of baseball stars such as Ken Griffey, Jr., Ken Griffey, Sr., Stan Musial, and Honus Wagner, as well as numerous Olympic gold medal winners such as wrestler Kurt Angle and John Woodruff. Pittsburgh also claims many major league coaching legends as its own including Marvin Lewis, Mike Ditka, Marty Schottenheimer, Mike McCarthy, Bill Cowher, Barry Alvarez, Terry Francona, Ken Macha and Art Howe. For these reasons, Pittsburgh has been called the "City of Champions." Transportation The main highway connecting Pittsburgh to the Pennsylvania Turnpike (I-76) on the east is I-376, locally known as the "Parkway East," while I-279 (called either the "Parkway North" or the "Parkway West," depending on its location relative to Downtown) connects the city with points north and west. I-76 (Pennsylvania Turnpike), I-79, and I-70, roughly form a triangular-shaped "beltway". Navigation around Pittsburgh can also be accomplished via the Pittsburgh/Allegheny County Belt System. The city is served by Pittsburgh International Airport in Findlay Township. Allegheny County Airport handles 139,000 general aviation flights a year. Pittsburgh is a city of bridges-- 446 in total. Pittsburgh has more bridges than Venice, Italy, which has historically held the title of "City of Bridges". Around 40 bridges cross the three rivers near the city. The southern "entrance" to Downtown is through the Fort Pitt Tunnel and over the Fort Pitt Bridge. A bridge also carries the Port Authority's 42-S/47-L/52 subway lines across the Monongahela River. All told, over 2,000 bridges dot the landscape of Allegheny County. Port Authority of Allegheny County, commonly known as the Port Authority, but sometimes erroneously referred to by its former nickname "PAT" or "PAT Transit," is the region's mass transit system. While serving only a portion of the Pittsburgh area's 20th largest metro area it is the 11th largest transit agency in the nation. Port Authority runs a network of inter- and intracity bus routes, two funiculars (more commonly known as "inclines") on Mount Washington (used primarily by tourists rather than a means of commuting), a light rail system that runs mostly above-ground in the suburbs and underground as a subway in the city, and one of the nation's largest busway systems. The city has Amtrak intercity rail service at Penn Station, as well as various freight railroads. Current railroads include Norfolk Southern, CSX and Amtrak. Steep hills and variable weather make biking a challenge in Pittsburgh, but some bike trails have been established. Sites of interest Museums include the Andy Warhol Museum, the Carnegie Museum of Art and the Frick Museum. Installation art is featured outdoors at ArtGardens of Pittsburgh. The Carnegie Museum of Natural History has extensive dinosaur collections and an Ancient Egypt wing. The Carnegie Science Center is technology oriented. The Pittsburgh History Center and its Sports Museum are located in the Strip District. The unusual and eclectic Bayernhof Music Museum is six miles (9 km) from downtown. Pittsburgh houses the country's National Aviary. The Phipps Conservatory & Botanical Gardens features a Victorian-style greenhouse. The Botanic Garden of Western Pennsylvania and Rodef Shalom Biblical Botanical Garden are also located in the area. Other sites of interest include: Sister cities Pittsburgh has fifteen sister cities: Pittsburgh, as well as Baltimore, Maryland, also have a special relationship with the city of Karmiel, and the neighboring region of Misgav, in Israel, as a part of the Partnership 2000 program. The United Jewish Federation of Pittsburgh donated a Torah scroll to the city of Karmiel in a ceremony on June 19, 2001. The federation also raised $11 million through a community campaign, with $600,000 going to grants in Karmiel and Misgav. 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