Pittsburgh’s West End Bridge has connected the city’s Chateau neighborhood of its North Side with its West End since 1932. The “first bridge” on the Ohio River, it is located about a mile from Pittsburgh’s Point, where the Monongahela and Allegheny Rivers converge to form the Ohio. Its main 778-foot span is suspended from steel wire-ropes that hang from a massive bowstring through-arch. At both its southern and northern approaches, pony or Warren trusses usher vehicles to the main span making the entire bridge over 1,200 feet in length. The West End Bridge, like many of Pittsburgh’s bridges, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, an honor it achieved in 1979.
The Duquesne Incline is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Pittsburgh. It opened for business on May 20, 1877 and began transporting workers to and from downtown Pittsburgh to Mount Washington daily. As roads and car became more popular the incline faced financial troubles. In the 1960s, the incline went out of business with no thought of returning. The residents of Mount Washington raised the amount of money that the owners needed to fix the structural and mechanical issues the incline was facing. The Duquesne Incline has remained open for business ever since.
Pittsburgh’s Station Square is a lively dining and entertainment district known for its restaurants and specialty shops. The historic building is home to treasured local restaurants such as The Gandy Dancer while the adjacent Freight House Shops are home to two dozen retail shops within former rail yard sheds and other restored railroad buildings that were once part of the Pittsburgh and Lake Eire Railroad. Bessemer Court, the entertainment and nightlife hub of Station Square, was designed as a commemoration to the city’s steel industry. Located here is the Hard Rock Café and other attractions, the fountains at Bessemer Court, and the docks for the Gateway Clipper, a riverboat that offers tours of the Pittsburgh waterfront.
The Monongahela Incline, more commonly referred to by locals as the Mon Incline, is one of one of two remaining inclines in the Pittsburgh area, serving as one the city’s distinctive and recognizable features. The incline, located near the Smithfield Street Bridge, is 635 feet long, 367.4 feet high, and has a 78% grade along with a breathtaking view of the Pittsburgh cityscape and the Monongahela River. The Mon Incline “is the oldest continuously operating funicular railway in the U.S.” (“Monongahela Incline”). It opened in 1870, but still operates today, taking several daily riders to and from the city as well as visitors on a historic sightseeing view of the city.
Even in the “City of Bridges,” the Smithfield Street Bridge is in a class of its own. Spanning the Monongahela River and connecting downtown Pittsburgh with Station Square, what makes the bridge unique is its longevity and design. The double lenticular truss bridge was completed in 1883 and was designed by the Austrian born Gustav Lindenthal who also designed New York City’s Hell Gate Bridge. It is Pittsburgh’s oldest river bridge, attained National Historic Civic Engineering Landmark status in 1976, was designated a National Historic Landmark the same year, and has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1974.
Built in 1928 and formerly known as the 6th Street Bridge, the span’s name was changed to honor Pittsburgh Pirates hall of famer, Roberto Clemente, in 1998. It bridges the Allegheny River and connects the downtown’s 6th Street to the North Shore’s Federal Street just to the east of PNC Park. The Clemente Bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986 primarily for its unique, self-anchored eye-bar suspension design. It is also one of a trio of nearly identical Pittsburgh bridges known as the “Three Sisters,” the other two being the Andy Warhol and Rachel Carson Bridges, both of which sit just upriver from the Clemente Bridge.
One of Pittsburgh’s “Three Sisters” (a trio of nearly identical bridges), the Andy Warhol Bridge was, until 2005, known as the 7th Street Bridge. The first of the Three Sisters to open, in 1926, it, like its counterparts, is a unique self-anchored suspension bridge, the first built in the United States. It sits between the Roberto Clemente and Rachel Carson Bridges and spans the Allegheny River connecting downtown’s 7th Street with the North Shore’s Sandusky Street. Due to its unique design and longevity, the Andy Warhol Bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986, along with its two “sisters.”
The people of Pittsburgh see the Three Sisters Bridges as a vital aspect of the city’s beauty and history. Built between 1924 and 1928, the three bridges are similarly designed and side-by-side which make them unique compared to other bridges in the United States. The Three Sisters Bridges are named after an athlete, an artist, and an environmentalist.
Named for author and environmentalist Rachel Carson, the bridge that now bears her name was completed in 1926 and originally known as the 9th Street Bridge. It was renamed to honor Carson on Earth Day, 2006. The Carson Bridge is one of a trio of bridges known as the “Three Sisters” due to their proximity to one another and similarity of design. The other two, located just downriver, are the Andy Warhol and Roberto Clemente Bridges. The Carson Bridge, like the other two, is a self-anchored suspension bridge that connects Pittsburgh’s downtown with its North Shore. The “Three Sisters” were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.
Named after the Pittsburgh-born, Pulitzer Prize-winning author, historian and lecturer, David McCullough, the former 16th Street Bridge was completed in 1923. It was renamed to honor McCullough in 2013. The McCullough Bridge spans the Allegheny River and connects Pittsburgh’s Strip District with its North Shore. The bridge is a three-span, through arch bridge that was designed by the New York architectural firm of Warren and Wetmore and the lead engineer was Homer Gage Balcom who also designed the Empire State Building. The bridge has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1979.
Washington Crossing Bridge, also known as the 40th Street Bridge, crosses the Allegheny River and connects the neighborhood of Lawrenceville with the suburb of Millvale. The bridge was built between 1919 and 1924 at a cost of $2,344,904. At the time of construction, this bridge was built to handle two lanes of traffic plus a street car line. In 1982, the city removed the street car line and added a reversible third vehicle lane.
This Tour is a Driving or Biking Tour.
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This unique tour of Pittsburgh shares one of the things that makes this city so unique- the many bridges over the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers as well as the historic Duquesne and Monongahela Inclines. The tour is a bit impractical for physical travel but offers a wonderful "virtual tour" of these distinguishing landmarks that makes Pittsburgh unique from other American cities.
