The Next Page: High Point Pittsburgh’s Lofty Ambition

U.S. Steel Tower in downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Imagine this incredible Downtown experience. You enter the lower elevator station on the Seventh Avenue side of the U.S. Steel Tower. As you rise up the side of the building in a glass elevator, the cityscape expands to ever-longer perspectives up the Allegheny River.  As magnificent as these vistas are, they’re a mere prelude to the scenic wonderland at the top.

Welcome to High Point Pittsburgh!

A glass atrium encloses the building’s entire 1-acre rooftop, creating 60,000 square feet of interior space on two levels and a glass-walled, open-air promenade at the very top.

High Point Pittsburgh’s heart is Stage HP, a spacious center area and performance venue.  The main floor also features the Gallery of Interactive Arts; the New Top of the Triangle restaurant; Pie-in-the-Sky cafe; and The High Bar, the city’s loftiest watering hole.  “Viewseums,” expansive garden areas in each corner of the triangular structure, are places to ponder the amazing vistas.  Glass-floored sections look down 850 feet to the streets below.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/opinion/perspectives/the-next-page-high-point-pittsburghs-lofty-ambition-678719/#ixzz2NMv9BiB4

Click this link to be taken to the project website:  http://highpointpark.org/the-investigation

Fountain At Point State Park To Resume June 7

The fountain in Pittsburgh’s Point State Park, which has been shut off since April 2009, will resume operation in a ceremony set for June 7.

The announcement was made today in a statement released by the Riverlife organization, the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust.

“The transformation of Point State Park is almost complete, and with the reconstructed fountain it will once again be a jewel in our award-winning state park system,” said DCNR secretary Richard J. Allan in a statement.  ”After hard work and collaboration across the region, we’re happy to celebrate this major reconstruction with a public event that will showcase the renovations and the park in a stunning waterfront gathering spot.”

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/neighborhoods-city/fountain-at-point-state-park-to-sume-june-7-667187/#ixzz2FdM9zxY3

Pittsburgh Expects 2013 Completion For Point State Park Fountain

It will be another spring before the fountain at Point State Park bubbles up again.

That was the message Thursday about progress on the $9.6 million fountain renovation, which began in late 2011, part of a $35 million makeover of the entire park.

If the weather stays mild, flooding remains minimal and the construction work proceeds smoothly, park manager Matt Greene said he is “cautiously optimistic” that water will return to the fountain in spring 2013. The fountain was shut off in April 2009.

“So far, so good,” Mr. Greene said as he surveyed the tip of the Point.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/neighborhoods-city/city-expects-2013-completion-for-point-state-park-fountain-636861/

Pittsburgh WOW!

The title pretty much says it all.  If you don’t know much about Pittsburgh other than it used to be a dirty steel town, this video montage certainly gives you a sense of what Pittsburgh is like now.  If you live in Pittsburgh or used to live in Pittsburgh this video is certainly fun to watch.  It made me homesick!

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Pittsburgh’s North Shore Connector 80 Percent Complete

Image via Wikipedia

Pittsburgh’s controversial North Shore Connector project has passed the 80% completion mark.  The project is on time and the $528 million dollar budget is on track!

When the project is completed, Port Authority Transit (PAT) will be able to reach the three sports stadiums, museums, a casino and other North Side businesses through two twin tunnels that were bored 22 feet below the Allegheny River. 

The “T”, Pittsburgh’s light-rail system and subway, will leave the Golden Triangle, go under the river and come up on the North Shore.  This means that all those sports fans, concert goers, museum goers,  gamblers, shoppers and diners can park their cars and use mass transit to glide through Pittsburgh to their destination.

Being from Pittsburgh and having used mass transit there extensively, including the “T”, I think this will make life so much easier.  Sitting on 376, stuck in the Squirrel Hill Tunnel waiting for traffic to move ain’t pretty.  I have sat inside the Squirrel Hill tunnel many times going downtown for a game, shopping, or just trying to cross Pittsburgh during rush hour.  Thank goodness I am not claustrophobic. 

Tunnels are a way of life in Pittsburgh!  The Liberty Tubes and the Fort Pitt Tunnel are also pretty unavoidable and back up as well.  For example, it would be nice to ride from the South Hills all the way to PNC Park on PAT.  No parking worries and not being stuck in traffic!

While this project has its detractors and has been labeled a gigantic waste of money, hopefully once Pittsburgers are able to use this extension and reap the benefits from it, time will show it was a good thing.  I would most definitely use it!

To read more and watch a cool video shot inside the Connector, click here:

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/pittsburgh/s_712911.html