|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Our company name is a tribute to Pittsburgh's heritage as a steel town and to the hundreds of thousands of steelworkers who have powered the city's economic engine.
Until recent years, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania was known as "The Smoky City." Heavy industry, primarly iron and steel production, dominated the city's economic and physical landscape. Other nicknames for Pittsburgh were "The Iron City" and "The Steel City."
The iron and steel industry took hold in Pittsburgh in the late 1700s and by the 1820s had become the city's leading industry. For the next hundred and fifty years the steel industry was king. As the hub of the nation's steel industry, Pittsburgh supplied the steel for bridges, railways and skyscrapers.
Pittsburgh's factories produced billows of smoke from thousands of stacks, giving it the nickname of "The Smoky City." On the worst days, the streetlights and automobile headlights had to be lighted during the day and downtown office workers changed shirts at noon because of the sooty air.
In 1945, Pittsburgh Mayor David Lawrence and the Allegheny Conference on Community Development proposed a grand design for Pittsburgh. Over the next decade and a half, their program, called the Pittsburgh Renaissance, reduced smoke and water pollution and rebuilt downtown Pittsburgh.
The 1950s and 1960s brought even stricter air pollution controls. The decline of the steel industry in the 1970s brought economic hardship to many, but also brought cleaner air.
Settled by waves of immigrants coming to work in the steel industry, Pittsburgh includes many culturally and ethnically defined neighborhoods. Its residential neighborhoods make Pittsburgh a big city with a small-town feel. Its sense of community contributes to Pittsburgh's consistently high ranking among the nation's most liveable cities.
Pittsburgh offers a rich and ever-expanding array of arts and cultural opportunities. It may not be New York, but at the same time, the down-to-earth character of Pittsburgh's population helps it avoid excesses of popular culture.
Now, in the early 21st century, Pittsburgh's economic landscape is more diverse. Pittsburgh is a center for corporate headquarters, high-technology companies, computer software companies, health service-related businesses and more.
A city of bridges, churches and neighborhoods, a city of hills, parks and valleys, Pittsburgh is a very attractive town.
Text and images are Copyright © 1998-2000,
Smoky City Design, LLC and/or John Strait. |
