What things mean "Pittsburgh" to you?

[PghUSA]

Always wanted to know how many unique things out there make us a special town to the people that call themselves 'yinzers.

To me its Mt. Washington's Vista

Watching the ET's towers across the river from Kennywood

The warm summer days and cool summer nights while listening to the Pirates on KDKA

Always finding a tiny windy road to discover a new little covert or bluff in the city.

Going down to Primantis in the strip in the middle of the night and eating the biggest french fry burger in the world

How about yours?

[TheGerbil]

The incline, the bridges, Point State Park. I like to walk around Point State Park and go sit by the river and watch boats go by

[DoHen51]

Most of my family is from the Pittsburgh area. My mom was raised in Crafton, PA and my dad had family in Whitehall, PA. and I still have a aunt who lives in Scott township. I've spent alot of summers in Pittsburgh over the years.

For me especially after I started driving Mt. Washington was always my first stop. I love hanging out up there the city spread out in front of me, I would go up there for hours. All the bridges that span the three rivers and the tunnels. Many a summer nights spent at Three Rivers Stadium watching the Pirates play. I remeber watching Stargell, Parker, Maddux and Johnny Ray, then Bonds, Bonilla, Van Syke, LaValliere and Jay Bell. I loved Three Rivers and have to admitt I cried a little when it was torn down.

This is silly but another thing that meant Pittsburgh for me was the Blue Bridge on I-79 near Neville Island. Coming from Buffalo I always knew we were close to Pittsburgh when we crossed over the Blue Bridge.

[PghUSA]

That Blue Bridge I don't really think has any specific name Maybe we should name it!

What wakes me up all the time on 79 is the Kennywood ride "The Whip" right south of the Blue Bridge, with different elevations for northbound and southbound lanes and enough curves to make the most careful driver dizzy, and that pesky 45 MPH warning. More proof on how Pittsburgh got dissed on the "interstate" funds but anyways wrong thread for that .

Another distinction about the "blue bridge" its a near exact twin of the Birmingham Bridge in uptown and it is one of the few stretches of interstate that bicycles are allowed to go on!

Gerbil,

Point State Park has always been a favorite of mine but I like it more for the history and the Blockhouse.

I wish they still had the "top of the triangle" that was a favorite treat growing up, and someplace I would have liked to take my kids someday

[DoHen51]

I haven't been across the Blue Bridge in many years! Lately I've been taking I-579 and cutting right through downtown.

I like going down to the point, and stand right on the tip of the point. just a great vantiage point have the city behind you.

Also when I 've taking friends to Pittsburgh for the first time I run them down the parkway and through the Fort Pitt tunnel so the get the effect of the city exploding into view when you come through the other side.

[PghUSA]

^^ I like the "exploding affect" you mentioned, but an even better treat is to get off at 19 and make a right onto Saw Mill Run then a left up the backside of Mt. Washington which takes you right up to the PJ McArdle top, having everyone in the car get the view and then slowly descending the mountain while everyone can take it all in for a few minutes, that was always a great show and tell for me, the only bad thing about the Ft. Pitt Tunnel is either its a real quick snapshot of downtown before ur right ontop of it (and can't enjoy the forest view) or its a really really slow view because traffic is backed up, but before that really really slow view, your stuck in the tunnel for a half hour. Then again if EVERYONE took the backroad up the back of Mt. Washington to PJ McArdle's top then we'd have Duquesne Heights up in arms and traffic would be a nightmare up there, so keep it a well guarded secret

[DoHen51]

Secrets safe with me

[PghUSA]

No one has mentioned the Dirty O yet? Ok maybe it's just me

[DoHen51]

Dirty O?

[PghUSA]

University District's (Oakland's) "The Original Hotdog Stand" really a restaurant, to all the ultra locals it's always been a tad rundown compared to the cookie cutter restaurant franchises, but to the locals that's "character", thus "the Dirty O".

[TheGerbil]

The 'O' supposedly has some of the best hotdogs in the country. I wouldn't know, I never tried them. But my friends and I in high school used to sometimes go down there after school and get a big thing of fries to share. Sometimes we got them to go and found a nice outside place to sit down and eat them. Memories!

[Kasper]

Visiting Dinosaur Hall at the Carnegie Natural Museum during school fieldtrips is one of my favortie childhood memories.

The view of Oakland from Panter Hollow Bridge.

Coming through the Fort Pitt Tunnel (duh)

The streets of the Southside at 2:05 am on a Friday night

Walking down from the civic arena after a Penguins playoff victory (hopefully there are more such walks to come)

The Dirty O and Primantis (before I became a vegetarian)

MAD MEX!

[PghUSA]

Almost forgot about MadMex!

Eating perogis at church picnics in the swealtering heat on a bluff high above the Mon at Kennywood, having the JackRabbit and Racer on one side of you and the river as old as time itself with barges filled with steel and iron floating past below you, and beyond the field where General Braddock gave birth to what we now know as "Pittsburgh". Those are the best memories for me.