USA Guide
The Mid-Atlantic
The Golden Triangle
The New York Times once described Pittsburgh as "the only city with an entrance" – and, true enough, the view of the Golden Triangle skyline on emerging from the tunnel on the Fort Pitt Bridge is undeniably breathtaking. Surrounded by water and steel bridges, the Triangle's imaginative contemporary architecture stands next to Gothic churches and redbrick warehouses. Philip Johnson's magnificent postmodern concoction, the black-glass Gothic PPG Place complex, looms incongruously over the old Market Square, lined with restaurants and shops and a venue for frequent free live lunchtime entertainment in summer. Point State Park, at the peak of the Triangle, is where it all began. The site of five different forts during the French and Indian War, it still contains the 1764 Fort Pitt Blockhouse, the city's oldest structure, a lookout of sandstone and rough brick. The park itself is now a popular gathering area, boasting a 150ft fountain with a pool, and is a great place to view sunsets and an excellent venue for the city's free outdoor festivals.
History is most apparent on the faded buildings along Liberty Avenue, with 1940s and 1950s fronts left in place during successive interior renovations. At the flat end of the triangle, the spaceship-like dome of Mellon Arena looms above the transport stations – it hosts large concerts and exhibitions, and is home to the Pittsburgh Penguins ice hockey team ( 
412/642-7367, 
www.pittsburghpenguins.com ). Northeast of downtown, along Penn Avenue past the vast new Convention Center, the characterful Strip District has a bustling early-morning fresh produce market, as well as bargain shops by day and lively night-time venues. The seven-floor Senator John Heinz Pittsburgh Regional History Center, at 1212 Smallman St (daily 10am–5pm; $9; 412/454-6000, www.pghhistory.org ), does a good job of telling the city's story, paying particular attention to immigrants of various eras.