At the confluence of two rivers, situated in the valley where the land point meets their flow, is a gorgeous skyline more than 200 years in the making. From a mostly wooden aesthetic in its past, to the brick, glass, and steel of a distinct modern line that is the signature of the The Steel City, the views and spaces are a marvelous display from its many surrounding angles. A city made of steel, in its buildings and its personality; both because of the industrial production of the matter and the never give up tough-as-nails attitude, that built both the buildings and the people who comprise it.
Pittsburgh is known the world over for being a steel capital, ever since an A. Carnegie put it on the map for that. There are plenty of other reasons that Pittsburgh would have been known for over the course of history besides steel, but one huge one that often goes forgotten and unnoticed. Glass. The story of glass in Pittsburgh dates back well into the early days of the city. The story also was a huge part of the city, and despite that never became the one that identified the city. Why?
Since 1797, when the region’s first two glasshouses were founded, the conical furnace stacks of glass factories have been a defining feature of the region’s skyline.” (Glass, Overview) And from the past to now, the skyline has evolved to depict the dichotomy of the two intertwined stories of steel and glass, glaringly. On one end of the line is the U.S. Steel Building, rugged and cold metallic looking, fairly plain, yet tremendously sturdy. On the other end is PPG, unique and delicate, gothic and beautiful in it’s reflective panes of glass, artistic.
In some ways, as an identity, maybe that is good. In some ways maybe that is not. Think about the characteristics that associate with each. Steel. Glass. Some good, some bad. But yes, perhaps steel fit better then, but now, or later? Glass may be perceived as fragile, but let’s not forget steel rusts with time.
Rust away the city did for a time. The steel belt became the rust belt, as the cities along the river ways from the Atlantic Seaboard to the Mississippi River one by one fell by the way side as the steel industry hollowed out into ghost of it glorious past. The people of the city remained, and so did a lot of the smog and decay.
But glass was always there. Long before steel was an industry, there was glass; and long after steel fell away, there was still glass. So maybe glass isn’t as delicate and fragile as it’s linguistic analogies suggest? Is the dual nature of the function of glass in both industry and art, a more pliable nature, the reason for this? It’s ironic that something that physically cracks under too much stress, is actually so flexible in the intangible facets of its existence.
Perhaps the reality of coexistence between Steel and Glass, as it relates to the city, is more of a partnership. Interesting that Pittsburgh being built on the backs of two men in partnership, Carnegie and Frick being a bitter one, Glass and Steel are one more symbiotic and harmonious. It’s because the two fit together so nicely in their function, and in their purpose that the city of Pittsburgh is, was, and will be.
The way this partnership works isn’t quite the good cop, bad cop routine. It’s more of family of, on the surface, oddly matched types. Like two brothers from the same family who are nothing alike, but go into business together and it just works. Think about it. Both start as raw dirt materials in the ground, and go through an extreme heating and cooling process that produce two drastically different products. Like the difference between bread and biscuit.
All the great cities of the world have had their revivals. Whether it’s the reconstruction of ancient cities after great wars, or the reinventing of their spaces in order to ensure survival and relevance into the ever changing image of a future; all timeless cities have done it.
Pittsburgh is no different. Steel has become a thing of the past, but glass will keep it going. Industries like PPG, and art institutions like Pittsburgh Glass Center facilitating both sides of the element. “Not all cities make it this far…New Orleans failed but survived… But New York is the first” (Jemisin). Pittsburgh had it’s New Orleans moment in the 80s, it more than survived. And now it’s hot on the heels of that Big Apple to the East.
Instead of looking at glass as fragile, what about adaptable? Versatile? The practical, work functions it provides such as windows and drinking ware, but also art that can be made of its minute details of beauty. Steel is learning its lesson from Glass. Evident at the last installment of the Carnegie International.
“We came here to be listeners, to be learners,” Mr. Martinez said during an interview at the Ace Hotel in East Liberty. “There’s a real pragmatism to our process. We’re trying to understand our relationship to a place.”(PItz). A different use of steel was about to be seen, with homage to the cities past, and a nod to it’s future.
“At the mill in Swissvale, the artists saw two blast furnaces that produced iron before and after World War II for the Homestead Steel Works across the river. Carrie Furnaces 6 and 7, which stand 92 feet high but no longer operate, are monumental industrial ghosts. We became inspired by the materials used in the furnace,” said Mr. Chacon, and the exhibit did not fail to communicate (Pitz). Rusty death of steel, strewn grotesquely with a composed beauty of symmetry across the floor of the Hall of Sculpture, Carnegie Museum of Art. A reminder of how death can be renewed. How?
While the exhibit stood as a stark reminder of a cities glories, failures, and days gone by; a few miles away can be found Pittsburgh Glass Center. Unassuming on the outside, full of artists taking the new commodity of the steel town to new heights of potential. Alive, heated, and filling surrounding galleries with its message of revival and timeless stand toward the future. Steel learning to be art, Glass bringing together industry; 3 rivers, 2 opposing towers on a skyline, 1 city and its people hoping towards a better future.
Works Cited
Jesimin, NK. “The City Born Great." Tor.com. 2016. https://www.tor.com/2016/09/28/the-city-born-great/
Madarasz, Anne. “Overview." Glass Shattering Notions. Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania. April 1998.
Pitz, Marylynne. “Postcommodity creates art from Pittsburgh's steel, music history for Carnegie International." Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. June 2018. https://liber.post-gazette.com/ae/art-architecture/2018/06/22/Postcommodity