The Bridge Capital of the World

the city of Pittsburgh its location with the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers meet and create the mighty Ohio earn Pittsburgh the title the Gateway to the West locals refer to this confluence as the point it was from this site that Lewis and Clark set off on their journey west in 1803 establishing Pittsburgh's important role in America's westward expansion the city's first major industry was glass production thanks to a plentiful supply of sand and limestone nearby today the most distinctive tower on the pittsburgh skyline is the headquarters of the Pittsburgh plate glass company founded more than a century ago in 1883 designed by legendary architects Philip Johnson and John Bergy in the early 1980s the building was quickly hailed as a landmark of a new postmodern style a dazzling modern cathedral two glass sheath in a million square feet of it but ultimately it wasn't glass that transformed Pittsburgh into one of America's great industrial cities it was steel steel that built many of the city's bridges Pittsburgh is the bridge capital of the world it has 446 bridges of all kinds and shapes more than the city of Venice this one was named for one of Pittsburgh's native sons artist Andy Warhol you

Channel: Smithsonian Channel

Views: 29,930

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Keywords: air, Pittsburgh, space, glass, Vacation, steel, america, capitols, bridges, Travel, landmarks, aerial, pennsylvania, vacation

Id: gEEuITL2kok

Length: 1min 57sec (117 seconds)

Published: Sun Dec 02 2012