Supposedly Pittsburgh is the only place in the world where you can see three identical suspension bridges in a row: the Sixth, Seventh, and Ninth Street Bridges over the Allegheny, now named for Roberto Clemente (because the Sixth Street Bridge leads to the ball park), Andy Warhol (because the Seventh Street Bridge leads to the Andy Warhol Museum), and Rachel Carson (because we’re really proud of Rachel Carson).
The Duchess, one of the Gateway Clipper fleet, putters down the Monongahela late in an autumn afternoon.
Chunks of ice drift by in the Ohio in this view of downtown Pittsburgh from the Carnegie Science Center.
The Tenth Street Bridge reflected in the unusually placid Monongahela.
Downtown Pittsburgh seen from the Monongahela side, with the mighty river rolling in the foreground.
Foreground to background:
Liberty Bridge,
Panhandle Bridge (trolleys only),
Smithfield Street Bridge,
Fort Pitt Bridge.
The Monongahela is still very much a working river, and barge trains like this are a common sight. This one is empty and going upstream. Somewhere up there these barges will be filled with coal and come back downstream with their loads.
The boat that pushes the barges from behind is called, defying common sense, a towboat (corrected from “tug,” thanks to the helpful comment of a kind reader). Working on the barge trains is a dangerous business, but river culture has its own romance, with strong traditions passed on through the generations that most of us who spend our days on dry land know nothing about.
On a spring or summer evening, a favorite Pittsburgh pastime is to ride a streetcar or drive to Station Square, and then take a boat to the baseball game. The short trip actually takes us on all three rivers. Above, the Majestic, flagship of the Gateway Clipper fleet, chugs under the Fort Pitt Bridge on its way to PNC Park; below, the little Countess and the Princess make the same trip.
