It is always great to visit my hometown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. During the late 1800s and into the 20th century, Pittsburgh was known as the city of steel, as it was home to U.S. Steel and many other steel works. Over the last fifty years, Pittsburgh has enjoyed quite the renaissance as it is no longer dominated by the steel industry, but now is home to many companies in the medical and technology fields.
Recently, Pittsburgh hosted the NFL Draft and I made my way back for a true sports weekend checking out games by the NHL Pittsburgh Penguins and the MLB Pittsburgh Pirates. The Pittsburgh Pirates play at the best ballpark in America, PNC Park, which is located on the Allegheny River and has incredible views of the Pittsburgh skyline.
Pittsburgh is located at the confluence of the Allegheny River and the Monongahela River, which form at the Golden Triangle to start the Ohio River. Pittsburgh is home to many hills and one of the best places to view the city is from the top of Mount Washington. There you can see the rivers and the city. One of the coolest ways to get to the top of Mount Washington is to take the Duquesne of Monongahela inclines to the top of the Mountain. These have been in place since the late 1800s and continue to run today.
Pittsburgh is known as the “City of Champions” as the NFL team, the Pittsburgh Steelers has won six Super Bowls and the Penguins have won five Stanley Cups and the Pirates have won five World Series titles. The Penguins play at PPG Paints Arena, a newer arena that opened in 2010. This arena has amazing sight lines, and the fans always bring the energy.
Pittsburgh is home to many incredible restaurants as well. One of the local chains is Eat-N-Park, which has been in business since 1949! There are numerous locations around Pittsburgh and Eat-N-Park has an expansive menu, which includes some of their specialties such as the Superburger and also there famous smiley cookies. Other local restaurant chains that deliver include Monte Cello’s for incredible Italian food, and Burgatory for delicious hamburgers.
The best time to visit Pittsburgh is during the summer as the rivers are filled with boaters and there are many swimming pools around the city that include wave pools. The summer is also a great time to visit the world renowned Pittsburgh Zoo or the amusement park, Kennywood which has been around since 1898!
All in all, I cannot recommend enough taking a visit to Pittsburgh, the locals are among the friendliest in the world and take incredible pride in their city.