A great day in Pittsburgh!

First of all, we couldn't have asked for better weather. It was a little cloudy and windy in the morning, but by early afternoon the sun came out and it was sunny and warm! We won't say no to 80F (27C) and sunshine in late October! Perfect!

So, we had done our architecture tour this morning, and then came back to the hotel and had some lunch in our room while I posted the blog update from the morning tour. We had a boat tour planned for the afternoon with Gateway Clipper Cruises, and we had to be at the dock around 2:30pm.

Ruth, at the Gateway Clipper dock.

Everybody was on the top deck enjoying the beautiful day.

Lots of different views of the downtown area.

Pittsburgh wasn't a very "liveable" city back in the 1970's and 1980's. Prior to that, the city used to be so thick with smog that streetlights were lit in the middle of the afternoon. People would go to work with a change of clothes because the soot from the smokestacks would stain their clothing as the day wore on. Pollution was rampant. The collapse of the steel industry caused widespread unemployment and there was a lot of poverty and crime. However that was the old Pittsburgh.

Today, Pittsburgh is home to three universities and the economy has shifted from industry to high tech, medicine, tourism, and corporate headquarters. There is a drive on to bring people back to live in the downtown core with many former office and warehouse buildings being converted to residences.

For 2012, Pittsburgh was listed as the 30th "most liveable" city in the world. Quite a change from only 30 years ago.

Pittsburgh.

Our one hour cruise was interesting, and our host Katy was really good at telling some stories and pointing out the sights.

After the cruise, we walked over to the Duquesne Incline to get to the top of Mt. Washington. There used to 17 of these inclines that were originally used to bring coal down to the river. Now, there are only two left and they are used by tourists looking for a view, as well as local commuters.

Ruth, in the old funicular cable car.

Beautiful view of Pittsburgh from the top.

We walked along the top of Mt. Washington and enjoyed the viewpoints along the way.

Tonight we are watching game one of the World Series. Interestingly, the very first World Series game was played right here in Pittsburgh back in October of 1903!

Lots of baseball history here in Pittsburgh!