My Pittsburgh Pano - April 2003

[BrandonTO416]

On my 3 day trip to Pittsburgh, PA in April 2003, I took numerous pics. Only now have I gotten around to attaching this downtown pano taken from Mt Washington into a professional panorama.

It was raining/sprinkling on the right underneath that cloud as it passed by - so that's why its darker on the right side.

Part of what I love about Pittsburgh's downtown is that its got some extremely tall buildings, numerous midrange scrapers, and they range from art deco to gothic, classical to modern to post-modern and beyond. So much variety, so real. And its a pristine, clean, wonderful downtown. This pic doesn't do it justice!

Enjoy.

[monsoon]

[sunshine]

Great pano. Any new buildings going up there? What is the tall buildinga on the far right corner.

[BrandonTO416]

Point State Park is just to the left of that interstate where the three rivers meet, although you may know that. Its a very beautiful park with its large fountain.

The Interstate on the bottom along the Monongahela river is I-376 - its needed very badly. You couldn't get through the center city without it - and while I'm against massive Interstates choking downtowns - I-376 isn't a 14 lane behemoth. Its just a 6 lane downtown thoroughfare. There isn't an Interstate on the north shore blocking the waterfront on the Allegheny river.

[BrandonTO416]

Great pano. Any new buildings going up there? What is the tall buildinga on the far right corner.

There are two highrise apartment buildings going up, but I don't know details.

The tall building in the far background to the right is part of the University of Pittsburgh. Its the Cathedral of Learning.

The Cathedral of Learning is 42 stories tall and 535 ft in height. Its in beautiful neo-gothic architecture. Again, Pittsburgh has some amazing architecture in the region.

[Cotuit]

To the left it looks like there is some work going on on the waterfront expressway. Anyone know what they are doing?

If they can't remove the expressway they could maybe deck it like The FDR in New York or the BQE in Brooklyn. Standing on the decks you'd never know there was an expressway there. And it's not like you need to have direct access to the water in a city, it's not as if you're going to take a swim. Being a few stories above it, but right next to it still creates a nice environment.

Sweet pic by the way. B)

[Evergrey]

Awesome pano, heckles! I really need to get on the ball and get a professional job in Pittsburgh soon so I can move there!

To answer some questions:

monsoon: They actually are turning that area into a park. They don't need to dismantle the expressway (and they shouldnt, it's absolutely necessary), but there is an area along the river that is currently parking that will be converted into a riverside park (some parking will remain). Pittsburgh is making efforts to make its copious riverfronts more human-friendly.

As for downtown skyscraper construction: There are 18 and 17 story apartment/condo towers going up. There are also plans for a 20 story Convention Center hotel.

[Allan]

Nice pano. Pittsburgh has always been one of my favorite cities.