Pittsburgh Pa.

This week took me on my first trip to Pittsburgh, Pa. This picture is part of the downtown area.

In the 1700s the French were the first European settlers to come to the Pittsburgh area. When the British learned that the French had settled in the area young Major George Washington was sent to demand their withdrawal. When the French refused to leave, Washington returned with troops to evict them; however, the British garrison was defeated. It was not until the French and Indian War that the British managed to capture Fort Duquesne and construct a larger fort on the same site. They named the new “burgh” Fort Pitt after William Pitt the Elder, a famous British statesman. In the late 1970s revitalization and the “greening of Pittsburgh” became priorities for city leaders and marked the beginning of the Pittsburgh Renaissance. Gradually the economy shifted to education, medicine, technology, and tourism. As the Renaissance continued modern skyscrapers replaced slums. Today, Pittsburgh is home of The Carnegie Mellon University Robotic Institute and is one of the top robotic cities in the world. The University of Pittsburgh is a recognized organ transplant center and top medical school. The Pittsburgh Renaissance has paid off. Pittsburgh prospers and is cited as one of the “Most Livable” cities in the United States.

For more visit: http://www.hellopittsburgh.com/History.Cfm