What ever happened to Fort Pitt?

Your tour of Pittsburgh should start here. The Fort Pitt Blockhouse.  It is the oldest building in Pittsburgh and west of the Appalachian Mountains. Point State Park was the home to two pre-Revolutionary War forts. Fort Duquesne and Fort Pitt, The Blockhouse dates back to 1764. Look around, and you will see modern bridges connecting the old. How technology has changed. History of the Blockhouse Some times called Bouquet’s Blockhouse[ or Bouquet’s Redoubt. TheBlock House was constructed in 1764 as a defensive military redoubt. Henry Bouquet initiated the construction of a small number of redoubts around the outer walls of …

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Explore Pittsburgh through photos

After 20 years, I moved back to my hometown. Pittsburgh was always home. But when I returned it was different. What did I find? Not a smoky, rusting city, but a city reborn.  Cat’z tales are photo essays of Pittsburgh. They show the city as art. use google map to explore Pittsburgh. Is it a Northeast city like New York or Midwest? It’s more Eastern.  But not really. Pittsburgh’s history started before the Revolutionary War. Pittsburgh was the frontier. The Ohio River was the gateway to the interior of North America. The Rivers Brough Coal. Then they sent Steel to …

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Take a walk into 1970 Pittsburgh.

Photo by Ross A Catanza

Downtown Pittsburgh is so different now. In 1970, there was no PPG Place. Market Square had so many shops. My dad worked in downtown Pittsburgh. Every day when my dad would go to lunch, he would hear…..” Hey Ross, get me a street photo.” That’s what the Photo editor would ask. These are some of his lunch break photos. Renaissance I To kick off this major urban renewal, later known as Renaissance I, the urban planners went back to the city’s birthplace: The Point.  Located at the tip of the Golden Triangle, which is formed by the confluence of the …

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