Welcome to one of the most delicious surprises in the country. No longer the dirty steel city of yesteryear, Pittsburgh is now a true Renaissance city. A city of modern and Old World cathedrals, neighborhood charms, full of high-tech companies, friendly faces, fun, and adventure. Come take a closer look!
Pittsburgh basics
Founded: 1758
Founded: 1758
Incorporated: 1816
City Population: ~ 305,000 (2014)
Also known as (AKA): The ‘Burgh
Geography
Area: 55.5 square miles
Rank: 13th largest city in the nation
Elevation: 1,223 feet
Port: Pittsburgh is the largest inland port in the country, providing access to the extensive 9,000-mile inland waterway system of the US.
Incredible firsts from Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh was the first city in the world to do a lot of good things! Here are some of the best known.
First Heart, Liver, and Kidney Transplant (December 3, 1989): The first simultaneous heart, liver, and kidney transplant was performed at Presbyterian-University Hospital.
The First Internet Emoticon (1982): The Smiley 🙂 was the first Internet emoticon, created by Carnegie Mellon University computer scientist Scott Fahlman.
First Institute of Robotics (1979): The Institute of Robotics at Carnegie Mellon University was established to conduct basic and applied research in robotics technologies relevant to industrial and social tasks.
First Mr. Yuk Sticker (1971): Mr. Yuk was created at the Pittsburgh Children’s Hospital Poison Center after research indicated that the skull and crossbones previously used to identify poisons had little meaning to children They equate the symbol with exciting things like pirates. and adventure.
First Night World Series Game (1971): Game 4 of the 1971 World Series was the first night game in World Series history, a series that Pittsburgh won, 4 games to 3.
First Big Mac (1967) – Created by Jim Delligatti at his Uniontown McDonald’s, the Big Mac debuted and was marketed at three other Pittsburgh-area McDonald’s restaurants in 1967. By 1968 it was a mainstay on McDonald’s menus across the country.
First pull tab on cans (1962): Alcoa developed the pull tab and it was first used by Iron City Brewery in 1962. For many years, pull tabs were only used in this area.
First retractable dome (September 1961): The Civic Arena in Pittsburgh features the world’s first auditorium with a retractable roof.
America’s First Public Television Station (April 1, 1954): WQED, operated by the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Educational Station, was the first community-sponsored educational television station in America
First Polio Vaccine (March 26, 1953): The polio vaccine was developed by 38-year-old Dr. Jonas E. Salk, a researcher and professor at the University of Pittsburgh.
First All-Aluminum Building – ALCOA (August 1953): The first aluminum-fronted skyscraper was the Alcoa Building, a 30-story, 410-foot structure with thin stamped aluminum panels that form the exterior walls.
First Zippo lighter (1932): George G. Blaisdell invented the Zippo lighter in 1932 in Bradford, Pennsylvania. The name Zippo was chosen by Blaisdell because he liked the sound of the word “zipper,” which was patented around the same time in nearby Meadville, Pennsylvania.
First game of bingo (early 1920s) – Hugh J. Ward first came up with the concept of bingo in Pittsburgh and began running the game at carnivals in the early 1920s, taking it all the country in 1924. He secured a copyright to the game and wrote a bingo rulebook in 1933.
America’s First Commercial Radio Station (November 2, 1920): Dr. Frank Conrad, Westinghouse Electric’s assistant chief engineer, first built a transmitter and installed it in a garage near his home in Wilkinsburg in 1916. The station was licensed for 8XK. At 6 p.m. on November 2, 1920, 8KX became KDKA Radio and began broadcasting at 100 watts from a makeshift cabin atop one of Westinghouse’s manufacturing buildings in East Pittsburgh.
Daylight Saving Time (March 18, 1919): Robert Garland, a city councilman for Pittsburgh during World War I, devised the country’s first daylight savings plan, instituted in 1918.
The First Service Station (December 1913): In 1913, the first automobile service station, built by the Gulf Refining Company, opened in Pittsburgh at Baum Boulevard and St. Clair Street in East Liberty. Designed by JH Giesey.
The First Ballpark in the USA (1909): In 1909 the first ballpark, Forbes Field, was built in Pittsburgh, soon followed by similar stadiums in Chicago, Cleveland, Boston, and New York.
First Motion Picture Theater (1905): The first theater in the world dedicated to showing films was the “Nickelodeon”, opened by Harry Davis on Smithfield Street in Pittsburgh.
First Banana Split (1904) – Invented by Dr. David Strickler, pharmacist, at Strickler’s Drug Store in Latrobe, Pennsylvania.
The First World Series (1903): The Boston Pilgrims defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates five games to three in baseball’s first modern World Series in 1903.
First Ferris Wheel (1892/1893) – Invented by Pittsburgh native and civil engineer George Washington Gale Ferris (1859-1896), the first Ferris wheel was in operation at the Chicago World’s Fair. It was over 264 feet tall and capable of carrying more than 2,000 passengers at a time.
Long Distance Electricity (1885): Westinghouse Electric developed alternating current, allowing the transmission of electricity over a long distance for the first time.
First Air Brake (1869) – The first practical air brake for railways was invented by George Westinghouse in the 1860s and patented in 1869.
Fun Facts About Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh is an orderly city with a very rich past. We bet even people who have lived here their entire lives won’t know all these fun facts! Here is a list of them:
- Pittsburgh was named in 1758, incorporated as a city in 1794, and licensed as a city in 1816.
- Pittsburgh audiences enjoy the fifth oldest opera company in the country.
- Pittsburgh was ranked in the top five most livable cities in the 1983, 1989, and 1985 editions of the “Qualified Places Almanac.”
- The fountain at Point State Park, right at the tip of the Golden Triangle (downtown Pittsburgh) is fed by a glacial formation and sprays 6,000 gallons per minute.
- Pittsburgh is home to nine Fortune 500 companies.
- The Carnegie Museum of Art opened in 1895 as the world’s first modern art museum.
- Mister Rogers’s real neighborhood was Oakland, home to WQED (the first public television in the country) and the “Make Believe Neighborhood.”
- Allegheny County has more than 1,700 bridges, 720 within the city limits and 15 major bridges that span downtown Pittsburgh alone.
- Pittsburgh lost the “h” in its spelling in 1891, but after 20 years of protests, the United States Board of Geographical Names relented and the “h” was restored.
