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Pittsburgh Facts, Pittsburgh Firsts

Pittsburgh Facts:

Pittsburgh Firsts:

Founded: 1758 Incorporated: 1816 City Population: 325,337 Allegheny County Population: 1,261,303 Allegheny and 10 Surrounding Counties Population: 2.6 million Median Family Income: $37,220 (1997) Average July High: 82.5 Average January Low: 20.8

First U.S. Public TV Station WQED First U.S. Radio Station KDKA First U.S. Movie Theater 1905 First Press Club First Ferris Wheel - 1893 First Retractable Dome - Mellon Arena First Night World Series Game 1971 First Mass Transit Busway System First All Aluminum Bldg. Alcoa First Polio Vaccine - Jonas Salk, 1954 First Robotics Institute First NFL Team to Win Four SuperBowls First Ice Capades - 1940

Nickname: The Burgh

Geography:

Area:	55.5 Square Miles
Elevation:	1,223 Feet
Port:	It's within 500 miles of more than half of the nation's top 50 metro retail markets and equipped with a transportation infrastructure that includes the top airport in the U.S., busiest inland shipping port and extensive highway and rail connections

Travel Economy:
More than 10 million people visit Pittsburgh region annually. Travel is a $2.36 billion industry that provides more than 40,000 full-time equivalent jobs in Allegheny County.

Short Takes on Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh ranked in the top five Most Livable Cities in the Places Rated Almanac in the 1993, 1989 and 1985 editions. Pittsburgh was named in 1758, incorporated as a borough in 1794, and chartered as a city in 1816. Pittsburgh audiences enjoy the nation's fifth oldest opera company. Pittsburgh is home to seven Fortune 500 companies. Kennywood Park's Thunderbolt was given first place on the National Amusement Park Historical Association's "Top Ten Coasters in the World" list. Point State Park's fountain, fed by a glacial formation, sprays 6,000 gallons per minute.

The Carnegie Museum of Art opened in 1895 as the world's first museum of modern art. The triennial Carnegie International is called the "nation's foremost showcase of modern art." Pittsburgh ranks among the Top 25 Arts Destinations in the Nation, according to 2001 American Arts magazine. Mister Rogers' real neighborhood is Oakland, home to WQED, the first public television station in the country and the "Neighborhood of Make Believe." Allegheny County has 1,945 bridges, more than any city in the world except Venice. Pittsburgh lost the "h" in its spelling in 1891 but after 20 years of protest, the U.S. Board on Geographic Names relented and the "h" was restored in July 1911.

Filmed on Location in Pittsburgh
Hollywood film crews are drawn to Pittsburgh for its endless variety of architecture, neighborhood charm and great local support. More than 50 major films have been shot on location in the area during the past decade, including the Academy Award-winning Silence of the Lambs, Lorenzo's Oil and Hoffa. Other highlights include:

The Wonder Boys Desperate Measures Kingpin Mothman Prophecies Striking Distance

Inspector Gadget Milk Money Roommates Boys on the Side Houseguest

The Deer Hunter Money For Nothing Only You Dominick & Eugene Sudden Death

Pittsburgh: Safety First
Pittsburgh is one of the safest cities of its size in the United States. According to the most recent Uniform Crime Reports, Pittsburgh enjoys the seventh-lowest crime rate among 44 major U.S. cities. Safety has been one of the key reasons Pittsburgh ranks so high among lists of best places to live in America.

Pittsburgh: Location, Location, Location
Pittsburgh is located in southwestern Pennsylvania, halfway between New York City and Chicago, and within a two hour flight or a day's drive of more than 70 percent of the U.S. population and 50 percent of the Canadian population.

Pittsburgh: High on Technology
More than 800 firms and 100,000 employees are involved in Pittsburgh's advanced technology industries. In the year 2000, Pittsburgh became one of the largest research and development centers in the country. Carnegie Mellon University, founded by Andrew Carnegie in 1900, is recognized as one of the best technical universities in the world. It is also recognized as having one of the top 10 programs in the United States in software engineering, robotics and artificial intelligence. President George W. Bush has referred to Pittsburgh as the "Knowledge City."

The NASA Robotics Engineering Consortium is based in Pittsburgh. Researchers and engineers there developed prototypes for the Mars rover, Dante, the robot able to explore volcanoes, and Demeter, the first totally automated harvester.

Pittsburgh is also home to the Pittsburgh Tissue Engineering Initiative, a network of researchers, engineers and business professionals interested in developing commercially viable tissue engineering research.

Pittsburgh: A Low Cost of Living
The cost of housing in the Pittsburgh region ranks as the most affordable in the nation according to the U.S. Bureau of Census, well below the national median. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics ranks the Pittsburgh region as the ninth best metropolitan area in terms of the cost of living increases during the past decade.

Pittsburgh: A High Quality of Life
Both residents and visitors enjoy Pittsburgh's small town ease and access, as well as the amenities - parks, great schools, cultural offerings, health care - of a city twice its size. Recognized the world over as a center for organ transplantation, Pittsburgh has more than 50 medical facilities, including two world class teaching hospitals.

Pittsburgh: Among the Cleanest Cities
Pittsburgh ranks among the cleanest cities in the United States and is the 17th cleanest city in the world, according to a new survey by William M. Mercer, a San Francisco-based consulting firm. Pittsburgh ranked 145.5 on the index along with seven other U.S. cities. Scores are based on the level of air pollution and the efficiency of waste disposal and sewage systems.

Famous Pittsburghers:

• Dancer/choreographers Martha Graham and Gene Kelly
• Musicians Stephen Foster, Henry Mancini, Art Blakey, Billy Strayhorn, Billy Eckstine, Erroll Garner and George Benson
• Vocalists Lena Horne and Perry Como
• Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright August Wilson
• Silent Spring author Rachel Carson
• Artists/Actors Michael Keaton, Henry Mancini, The Vogues, Christina Aguilera, Bobby Vinton, Jeff Goldblum and Dennis Miller
• Football superstars Tony Dorsett, Joe Montana, Johnny Unitas, Joe Namath, Dan Marino, Jim Kelly and Gus Frerotte

• The Big Mac, the world's most famous hamburger was "invented" near Pittsburgh by McDonald's franchise owner Jim Delligatti in 1967, distributed nationally in 1968.
• Heinz Ketchup, invented in Pittsburgh by H.J. Heinz.
• Pierogies, found at restaurants all over Pittsburgh, reflect Pittsburgh's Polish heritage. Cooked in butter, these delicious dumplings are stuffed with potato and other flavorings, depending on the creativity and tradition of the cook.
• Chipped Ham is one of Pittsburgh's most famous foods. A spicy lunch meat that made its debut in 1933 at Isaly's, a locally based family chain of dairy stores. Former Pittsburghers have been known to have it trucked or flown across the country when they get a hankering for this hometown favorite.
• Klondikes, another Isaly's original, is a vanilla ice-cream bar dipped in pure chocolate and packaged in a familiar silver wrapper. When Sam Isaly invented them in 1929 they cost a nickel.
• Wedding Soup, that delectable Italian broth with tiny meatballs and rich egg pastina, is served throughout the city.
• Fried Zucchini Strips, thin, crispy and savory, are a hometown original and popular as an appetizer.
• Pittsburgh Salad, take a salad, any salad, and top with french fries.