Pittsburgh, the Steel Capital of the United States
Pittsburgh, known as the "Steel Capital", is located in the northeastern United States. It is the second largest city in Pennsylvania, after Philadelphia. Pittsburgh is surrounded by mountains and rivers, where the Allegheny River and the Monongahela River meet and flow into the Ohio River, forming a peninsula-like golden triangle. This is the core and most spectacular place of the city. If you take a cable car from the south of the Monongahela River up to Mount Washington, you can have a panoramic view of the Golden Triangle from the top of the mountain. You see, steel bridges connect the Golden Triangle to the surrounding urban areas. Among the numerous buildings, stands the city's symbol - the 64-story, 256-meter-tall U.S. Steel Corporation Building. The building is entirely made of steel, with auburn steel plates embedded on the surface, shining in the sun. Coupled with the high-rise buildings of other companies, including the first skyscraper made of iron and aluminum alloy in the United States, Pittsburgh became a city shining with steel everywhere.
The history of Steel City also begins with the Golden Triangle. Initially, this was a sparsely populated wilderness. In 1753, when Washington was serving in the British army, he passed by here and admired it "its geographical location is extremely suitable for building a fort, because it can completely control the two rivers." Unexpectedly, the French also had the same view. They arrived first and built a bunker at the headland of the Golden Triangle. In 1758, the British recaptured this important place from the French, making it a fortress for the British march into North America and named it "Pittsburgh" after cabinet minister William Pitt (1708-1778). Today, only one heavy, fortress-like old house remains, which is protected as a historic site. In the first half of the 19th century, people discovered large and high-quality coal fields and iron ore in the area, and the steel industry rose accordingly. The rapid development of water transportation and railways ensured the transportation of steel and raw materials. Industrial giants established large enterprises here. Carnegie (1835-1919), an industrial giant born in Scotland, has been operating here for decades. Steel production has skyrocketed, and he has created an integrated group that owns steel plants, coal fields, iron mines, railways and the Neihu Steamship Company. It is known as "Steel King". In 1901, the Carnegie Steel Company and the Federal Steel Company merged to form the United States Steel Company. This company has always been the world's largest steel company until it was surpassed by New Japan Steel in the 1970s. Around the steel industry, Pittsburgh has also developed aluminum smelting, glass, military industry, machinery, aviation equipment and electrical industries.
The steel industry has brought prosperity to Pittsburgh, but it has also brought serious environmental problems. The entire city was submerged in the smoke from the steel mills, and street lights were turned on even during the day, making it a "city of black smoke." Air pollution, turbid rivers, and the ecological environment have been greatly damaged. Even the mayor has described his city as "the dirtiest cinder heap in America." After World War II, the city government carried out large-scale urban transformation focusing on smoke control, sewage treatment and old urban renewal. Since the 1960s, aging steel mills have lost competition and have closed down one after another, leaving a large number of workers unemployed and the city in a state of collapse. The harsh reality forced Pittsburgh to transform from a heavy industry dominated by steel to a diversified economic structure. After decades of hard work, the city has successfully completed its economic transformation, moving from the trough to new prosperity.
High technology plays an important role in Pittsburgh's new economic structure. The city has a certain technological foundation in its history. In 1886, electrical inventor Westinghouse (1846-1914) founded the Westinghouse Electric Company (also translated as Westinghouse Electric Company) here. As early as 1920, Pittsburgh established the world's first radio station, allowing listeners to experience the endless benefits of this modern communication medium for the first time. In 1957, the first nuclear power plant in the United States was built on the outskirts of the city. Today, Pittsburgh has a concentration of 150 scientific and technological research institutions, employing 15,000 scientists, engineers and technicians, developing various high-tech products from nuclear reactors, computer software and hardware to robots, etc., making economic development full of vitality. This place is also one of the major medical centers in the United States, equipped with various advanced medical equipment.
After remediation, Pittsburgh has restored its beautiful scenery, with green trees and grass everywhere.
The city's air cleanliness and river water quality have reached government standards. 7 of the 100 largest companies in the United States are located here. Japan and Western European countries are also optimistic about this city and have come to set up factories or offices. The urban area changed its old look, with the opening of the subway and a series of new buildings. Let’s just say Civic Hall! It is a multi-purpose building that can accommodate more than 10,000 people for meetings, theater or sports matches. The strange thing is that when it rains, it is an indoor dome building, and when it is sunny, it is an open-air venue. All these changes were completed within two and a half minutes, as if by magic. The subtlety lies in the fact that the dome roof is movable and consists of 8 stainless steel blades. As soon as the electric button is pressed, six of the petals will slide along the guide rail and overlap on the two fixed leaves, turning it into an open-air venue to receive sunlight and return to its original state immediately when it rains.
The strong economic strength of the steel city has promoted Pittsburgh's cultural and educational undertakings. There are 9 colleges and universities in the city. The University of Pittsburgh, located in the east part of the city, was founded in 1787 and has grown to more than 30,000 students. There is a towering building on campus that looks like a church, which is very eye-catching. It is 42 stories high and is the tallest teaching building in the world. Carnegie Mellon University focuses on science and technology teaching and research, with more than 7,000 students. This university was founded in 1900 with donations from steel magnate Carnegie and financial aluminum giant Mellon. It is not uncommon for wealthy people to donate to charity in the United States, but it is even more prominent in Pittsburgh. Carnegie said that talented and courageous people should get rich, but if they do not use most of their wealth for public welfare during their lifetime, they will die in disgrace. In his later years, he donated and built 3,000 libraries in the United States, Britain and other English-speaking countries. He was particularly generous to Pittsburgh, where he made his fortune, and donated to build the Carnegie Library (currently holding 4 million books), the Carnegie Museum of Art and the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Frick, another steel industry tycoon, also donated to the Frick Art Museum. These cultural facilities have made important contributions to enriching the cultural life of Pittsburgh citizens and improving people's cultural quality.