List of tallest buildings in Pittsburgh

Skyline of Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh, the second-largest city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, is home to 135 completed high-rises,^[1] 29 of which stand at least 300 feet (91 m) tall. The tallest building in Pittsburgh is the 64-story U.S. Steel Tower, which rises 841 feet (256 m) and was completed in 1970.^[2] It also stands as the fourth-tallest building in Pennsylvania and the 43rd-tallest building in the United States. The second-tallest skyscraper in the city is BNY Mellon Center, which rises 725 feet (221 m).^[3]

The history of skyscrapers in Pittsburgh began with the 1895 completion of the Carnegie Building; this structure, rising 13 floors, was the first steel-framed skyscraper to be constructed in the city.^[4][5] It never held the title of tallest structure in the city, however, as it did not surpass the 249-foot (76 m) tower of the Allegheny County Courthouse, which was completed in 1888.^[6] The Carnegie Building was later demolished in 1952 to make way for an expansion of a Kaufmann's (now Macy's) department store.^[7] Pittsburgh experienced a large building boom from the late 1960s to the late 1980s. During this time, 12 of the city's 21 tallest building were constructed, including the city's three tallest structures, the U.S. Steel Tower, BNY Mellon Center, and PPG Place. The city is the site of 10 skyscrapers at least 492 feet (150 m) in height, of which two rank among the tallest in the United States. As of 2014, the skyline of Pittsburgh is ranked 18th in the United States and 77th in the world with 25 buildings rising at least 330 feet (100 m) in height.^[8]

Unlike many other major American cities, Pittsburgh was the site of relatively few skyscraper construction projects in the 2000s decade. The most recently completed skyscraper in the city is Three PNC Plaza, which rises 344 feet (105 m) in height and was completed in 2009. As of 2013, the largest high-rise development under construction in Pittsburgh is the 545-foot (166 m) Tower at PNC Plaza, which is expected to be complete by 2015. Overall, as of May 2014, there were five high-rise buildings under construction or proposed for construction in Pittsburgh.^[1]

Skyline of Pittsburgh viewed from Mount Washington

Tallest buildings

This list ranks Pittsburgh skyscrapers that stand at least 300 feet (91 m) tall, based on standard height measurement. This includes spires and architectural details but does not include antenna masts. An equal sign (=) following a rank indicates the same height between two or more buildings. The "Year" column indicates the year in which a building was completed.

Rank	Name	Image	Height ft / m	Floors	Year	Notes
1	U.S. Steel Tower		841 / 256	64	1970	46th-tallest building in the United States, 4th tallest in Pennsylvania. Has been the tallest building in the city since 1970, and was the tallest building in the state from 1970 until the 1987 completion of One Liberty Place in Philadelphia. Tallest building constructed in Pittsburgh in the 1970s. Known as the USX Tower between 1986 and 2000.[2][9]
2	BNY Mellon Center		725 / 221	54	1983	103rd tallest building in the U.S. Tallest building constructed in Pittsburgh in the 1980s. Formerly known as One Mellon Center.[3][10]
3	One PPG Place		635 / 194	40	1984	[11][12]
4	Fifth Avenue Place		616 / 188	31	1988	[13][14]
5	One Oxford Centre		615 / 187	45	1983	[15][16]
6	Gulf Tower		582 / 177	44	1932	Tallest building constructed in Pittsburgh in the 1930s.[17][18]
7	Tower at PNC Plaza		545 / 166	33	2015	Opened October 2, 2015.[19][20][21]
8	Cathedral of Learning		535 / 163	42	1936	Second-tallest university building in the world, behind the main building of Moscow State University. Tallest building in the city located outside of Downtown.[22][23]
9	525 William Penn Place		520 / 158	41	1951	Tallest building constructed in Pittsburgh in the 1950s.[24][25]
10	K&L Gates Center		511 / 156	39	1968	Tallest building constructed in Pittsburgh in the 1960s Formerly known as One Oliver Plaza.[26][27]
11	Grant Building		485 / 148	40	1929	[28][29]
12	Koppers Tower		475 / 145	34	1929	Tallest building constructed in Pittsburgh in the 1920s.[30][31]
13	Two PNC Plaza		445 / 136	34	1975	[32][33]
14	EQT Plaza		430 / 131	32	1987	[34][35]
15	One PNC Plaza		424 / 129	30	1972	[36][37]
16	Regional Enterprise Tower		410 / 125	30	1953	First skyscraper with an all-aluminum facade. Formerly known as the Alcoa Building.[38][39]
17	Three PNC Plaza		361 / 110	23	2009	Tallest building constructed in Pittsburgh in the 2000s.[40]
18	Federated Tower		358 / 109	27	1982	[41][42]
19	11 Stanwix Street		355 / 108	23	1969	Formerly known as the Westinghouse Tower.[43][44]
20	Oliver Building		347 / 106	25	1910	Tallest existing building constructed in Pittsburgh in the 1910s.[45][46]
21	Three Gateway Center		344 / 105	24	1952	[47][48]
22	Centre City Tower	-	341 / 104	26	1971	[49][50]
23	William S. Moorhead Federal Building		340 / 104	23	1964	[51][52]
24	Bell Telephone Building		339 / 103	20	1923	[53][54]
25	Wyndham Grand Pittsburgh Downtown		333 / 102	22	1959	Tallest hotel building in the city. Formerly operated as a Hilton property.[55][56]
26	Frick Building		330 / 101	20	1902	Tallest existing building constructed in Pittsburgh in the 1900s.[57][58]
27	Four Gateway Center		305 / 93	22	1960	[59][60]
28=	City View		300 / 91	24	1964	Formerly known as Washington Plaza.[61][62]
28=	Commonwealth Building	-	300 / 91	21	1906	[63][64]
28=	The Carlyle		300 / 91	21	1906	[65]

• indicates building is still under construction, but has been topped out

Timeline of tallest buildings

This list shows chronologically the buildings that held the title of tallest building in Pittsburgh.

Name	Image	Street address	Years as tallest	Height ft / m	Floors	Reference
Trinity Episcopal Cathedral		328 Sixth Avenue	1872–1888	200 / 61	N/A	[66]
Allegheny County Courthouse		436 Grant Street	1888–1902	249 / 76	5	[6]
Farmers Bank Building[A]		301 Fifth Avenue	1902–1910	344 / 105	27	[67]
Oliver Building		535 Smithfield Street	1910–1912	347 / 106	25	[46]
First National Bank Building[B]		511 Wood Street at Fifth Avenue	1912–1928	387 / 118	26	[68]
Grant Building		330 Grant Street	1928–1932	485 / 148	40	[29]
Gulf Building		707 Grant Street	1932–1970	582 / 177	44	[18]
U.S. Steel Tower		600 Grant Street	1970–present	841 / 256	64	[9]

Tallest destroyed

This list ranks Pittsburgh skyscrapers that stood at least 300 feet (91 m) tall but have since been demolished or destroyed.

See also

• Architecture of Pittsburgh

Notes

A. ^{^} This building was demolished in 1997 due to lack of tenants.^[73]

B. ^{^} This building was demolished in 1970 to make room for One PNC Plaza.^[74]

References

General

• Emporis.com - Pittsburgh

Specific

External links

• Diagram of Pittsburgh skyscrapers on SkyscraperPage

Further reading

• Six page Pittsburgh Post-Gazette feature on some of the city's iconic skyscrapers
• Who owns the sky? news feature
• 1982 news feature on city's skyscraper boom
• News feature

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