We were the Smokey City, instead of today’s more metropolitan City of Bridges.Īfter nearly 100 years, the steel industry came to a close in the 1980s and many workers were left unemployed or working for a foreign company. Environmentally, the industry left the city in a state of fog and dust. The steel industry attracted immigrant workers because it paid well despite the fact that the work was hot, grueling, and dangerous. Pittsburgh’s forging mills hammered out the 70-ton axle used in George Ferris’ world-famous 2,000 passenger wheel at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair as well as the Panama Canal’s 110-foot-high lock gates. We were the steel making capital of the world and our steel built the Brooklyn Bridge, the George Washington Bridge, the Chrysler Building, and the Empire State Building. At one time Pittsburgh was known the world over for the steel and glass it seemed to produce in endless supply. Pittsburgh SteelĪ common nickname for Pittsburgh is the Steel City.
Let us take a look at a small sample of the many cool and famous things made in Pittsburgh.
Innovative Pittsburghers have crafted everything from the steel for the Brooklyn Bridge to a famous sandwich that brings with it a true taste of Pittsburgh. Of course, in Pittsburgh world renowned sports teams are just the start. Pittsburgh is known to Americans as the home of champion sports franchises, including the Pittsburgh Steelers, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Pittsburgh Pirates.