Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, as seen from Mount Washington
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pittsburgh_Skyline_Day.jpg
Author: Chych


Pittsburgh is the second largest city in Pennsylvania after Philadelphia. It is the county seat of Allegheny County. Located in western Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh is where the Allegheny River meets the Monongahela River to form the Ohio River. Pittsburgh is the biggest city in the Allegheny Mountains region. The city, which covers 58.3 sq mi (151 sq km) has a population of 306,000 (2011 estimate) within a metropolitan area with 2.4 million inhabitants.

Cathedral of Learning, University of Pittsburgh
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cathedral_of_Leaning_winter.jpg
Author: Phone jack


Pittsburgh is today a major industrial center. With an economy based on financial services, healthcare, education, technology, and robotics, it was even able to ride through the 2008 recession with stable growth. It did face an economic slowdown in the 1980's, when its steel, electronics and oil industries were in decline, but has since turned around. Pittsburgh is today the headquarters of a number of multinational corporations including BNY Bellon and PNC Financial Services.

Pittsburgh experiences a temperate continental climate. July is the warmest month here, when the average high temperature of the day regularly reaches 90°F (32°C). January is the coldest month, when the average low of the day dips to 27°F (-2.8°C), with even lower temperatures at night.

The first European to set foot in the Pittsburgh area was the French explorer René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de la Salle, who was going down the Ohio River from Lake Ontario in 1669. The French later built a fort here, called fort Duquesne, with plans to unite French Canada with French Louisiana.

Soldiers & Sailors National Military Museum and Memorial, Pittsburgh
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Allegheny_County_Soldiers_Memorial_-_IMG_1396.jpg
Author: Daderot


In 1758, the French were forced out of the area by the British under General Edward Braddock, with help from Major George Washington (who later became President Washington). The British then erected a fort in the area, calling it Fort Pitt, after British Secretary of State William Pitt the Elder. The site where the rivers met was called Pittsborough.

By 1769, when a land survey was conducted, the name has been spelled Pittsburgh. This led to the laying out of the Town of Pittsburgh in 1784. The following year it became part of Pennsylvania. The City of Pittsburgh was incorporated on 16 March, 1816.

St Benedict the Moor Church, Pittsburgh
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:St._Benedict_the_Moor_Church_%28Pittsburgh%29.jpg
Author: Trevin Shirey

Visiting Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

A number of interstate highways emanate from Pittsburgh, connecting it with neighboring cities. The I-79 connects it with Charleston to the south, while I-76 connects it to Harrisburg and Philadelphia to the east, and with Akron to the northwest.

Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) is the gateway to Pittsburgh by air. The airport is served by United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Midwest, American, and others, providing connection with major cities in the United States. From the airport, you can catch a cab to downtown Pittsburgh 20 miles away for between $35 and $50, depending on traffic.

Places of Interest in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

 Latest updates on Penang Travel Tips

About this website

Dear visitor, thank you so much for reading this page. My name is Timothy Tye and my hobby is to find out about places, write about them and share the information with you on this website. I have been writing this site since 5 January 2003. Originally (from 2003 until 2009, the site was called AsiaExplorers. I changed the name to Penang Travel Tips in 2009, even though I describe more than just Penang but everywhere I go (I often need to tell people that "Penang Travel Tips" is not just information about Penang, but information written in Penang), especially places in Malaysia and Singapore, and in all the years since 2003, I have described over 20,000 places.

While I try my best to provide you information as accurate as I can get it to be, I do apologize for any errors and for outdated information which I am unaware. Nevertheless, I hope that what I have described here will be useful to you.