Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 2019
This aerial cityscape postcard of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania has a photo by Dan Amerson. The card was produced by Gold Star Products and printed in the U.S.A. with an identifying number, GSP-600, at the lower left on the reverse. The two sports stadiums, Heinz Field, home of the Pittsburgh Steelers professional football team can be found in the foreground, and PNC Park, home of the Pittsburgh Pirates professional baseball team, is found at the middle left.
Usually when we fly to Marietta, Ohio we travel via Chicago, Illinois and Columbus, Ohio, rent a car and drive about 2 ½ hours to Marietta. This time because we were going for Q’s funeral we wanted to travel and share the rental car with B and that meant getting 3 seats on the same plane.
B made the travel arrangements and managed to get us on a non-stop flight to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, also about a 2 ½ hour drive from Marietta. All the flights were full and we were extremely lucky to get on the same plane even though we could not sit together. I am a nervous flyer but Bob was behind me and I could reach over the back of the seat and grab his hand when necessary. He, in turn, handed me pieces of chocolate every now and then. B had to bump himself up to first class in order to be on the same flight.
I had never been to Pittsburgh and set about trying to pick up a few postcards and possibly a magnet for the fridge. No magnets could be found but I did find this postcard and one other that will shared next week.
Pittsburgh is located at the confluence of the Allegheny, Monongahela and Ohio Rivers and was named in honor of the 1st Earl of Chatham, William Pitt, in 1758 by General John Forbes. In 1794 the town was incorporated into a borough. The oldest structure still standing is the Fort Pitt Blockhouse built by the British in 1764. Boat building and glass manufacturing were early industries; however, the main industry began in about 1830 with arrival of the Welsh immigrants who had been steel and ironworkers in Wales before coming to the United States. By 1857 Pittsburgh had 1,000 factories and was using 22 million bushels of coal in steel and iron production. Coal mining and iron manufacturing drew large numbers of European immigrants to the area. Today in addition to steel production Pittsburgh has high tech businesses as major contributors to the economy. Before and during the Civil War era Pennsylvania was a free state with active Underground Railroad stations. There are numerous accounts of people fleeing slavery in southern states that received help from station agents and African-American hotel workers who gave advice about safe routes and safe places to stay.
Heinz Field opened in 2001 and is home to the Steelers and the NCCAA Pittsburgh Panthers. Prior to Heinz Field the imploded Three Rivers Stadium was used for football and baseball as well as other sports and entertainment. The new Heinz Field is located on the North Shore and is named for the H.J. Heinz Company famous makers of ketchup. It also is used for other sports, such as soccer and hockey, and as an entertainment venue for concerts.
PNC Park also opened in 2001 and is home to the Pittsburgh Pirates professional baseball team. It is also located on the North Shore near the 3 Sisters bridges. PNC Park is sponsored by PNC Financial Services who purchased the naming rights in 1998. Heinz Field, PNC Park and the David L. Lawrence Convention Center were all funded in conjunction for $216 million and took only 24 months to complete. Both Heinz Field and PNC Park use Kentucky bluegrass as their surface. PNC Park is also used as an entertainment venue.
For more interesting information, please see:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pittsburgh
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinz_Field
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PNC_Park
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