Skyline of Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh, the second-largest city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, is home to 137 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 fifth 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 buildings 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^[update], 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, with Three PNC Plaza being the only skyscraper taller than 300 feet (91 m) completed in the decade. The most recent completed high-rise development in Pittsburgh is the 545-foot (166 m) Tower at PNC Plaza, completed in 2015. Overall, as of January, 2017^[update], there were no high-rise buildings under construction and one proposed for construction in Pittsburgh.^[1]

Skyline of Pittsburgh viewed from Mount Washington

Tallest buildings[edit]

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	1971	52nd-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] Corporate headquarters of U.S. Steel[10]and UPMC[11].
2	BNY Mellon Center		725 / 221	54	1984	103rd tallest building in the U.S. Tallest building constructed in Pittsburgh in the 1980s. Formerly known as One Mellon Center during its period as corporate headquarters of Mellon Financial.[3][12]Bank of New York Mellon currently has its largest concentration of employees in the facility.[13]
3	One PPG Place		635 / 194	40	1984	Corporate headquarters of PPG Industries and co-headquarters of Kraft Heinz.[14][15][16]
4	Fifth Avenue Place		616 / 188	31	1988	Corporate headquarters of Highmark.[17][18][19]
5	One Oxford Centre		615 / 187	45	1983	Corporate headquarters of Oxford Development[20][21][22]
6	Gulf Tower		582 / 177	44	1932	Tallest building constructed in Pittsburgh in the 1930s.[23][24]Name references structure's status as former headquarters of Gulf Oil, although the site has functioned as a multi-tenant building since 1982.[25]
7	Tower at PNC Plaza		545 / 166	33	2015	Part of PNC Financial Services corporate headquarters.[26][27][28]
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. Landmark structure of the University of Pittsburgh.[29][30]
9	525 William Penn Place		520 / 158	41	1951	Tallest building constructed in Pittsburgh in the 1950s.[31][32]Originally housed corporate headquarters of both U.S. Steel and Mellon Financial. Signage rights belong to largest tenant Citizens Financial Group.[33]
10	K&L Gates Center		511 / 156	39	1968	Tallest building constructed in Pittsburgh in the 1960s. Originally known as One Oliver Plaza and formerly named for lead tenants FreeMarkets and later Ariba.[34][35] Corporate headquarters of K&L Gates.[36]
11	Grant Building		485 / 148	40	1929	Signage rights belong to largest tenant Huntington Bancshares[37][38][39]
12	Koppers Tower		475 / 145	34	1929	Tallest building constructed in Pittsburgh in the 1920s.[40][41]Corporate headquarters of Koppers.[42]
13	Two PNC Plaza		445 / 136	34	1975	Part of PNC Financial Services corporate headquarters.[43][44]
14	EQT Plaza		430 / 131	32	1987	Corporate headquarters of EQT. Formerly named for CNG and Dominion Energy before these entities were acquired via merger.[45][46][47]
15	One PNC Plaza		424 / 129	30	1972	Part of PNC Financial Services corrporate headquarters.[48][49]
16	The Residences at the Alcoa Building		410 / 125	30	1953	First skyscraper with an all-aluminum facade. Formerly the corporate headquarters of Alcoa before its relocation to a low-rise structure. Then known as the Regional Enterprises Tower during a period of multi-tenant occupancy. [50][51] Converted to the city's tallest residential structure in 2016.[52].
17	Three PNC Plaza		361 / 110	23	2009	Tallest building constructed in Pittsburgh in the 2000s. Part of PNC Financial Services corporate headquarters. Tallest mixed-used structure in the city, as it also features a hotel[53]. Signage rights owned by largest tenant Reed Smith.[54].[55]
18	Federated Tower		358 / 109	27	1982	Corporate headquarters of Federated Investors.[56][57][58]
19	11 Stanwix Street		355 / 108	23	1969	Former corporate headquarters of Westinghouse Electric Corporation[59]. Signage rights owned by largest tenant KeyBank[60][61][62]
20	Oliver Building		347 / 106	25	1910	Tallest existing building constructed in Pittsburgh in the 1910s.[63][64]In 2015, one-third of the structure's floor space was converted from office to hotel use.[65]
21	Three Gateway Center		344 / 105	24	1952	[66][67]
22	Centre City Tower	-	341 / 104	26	1971	Signage rights owned by largest tenant Huntington Bancshares[68][69][70]
23	William S. Moorhead Federal Building		340 / 104	23	1964	[71][72]
24	Verizon Building		339 / 103	20	1923	[73][74]
25	Wyndham Grand Pittsburgh Downtown		333 / 102	22	1959	Tallest all-hotel building in the city. Formerly operated as a Hilton property.[75][76]
26	Frick Building		330 / 101	20	1902	Tallest existing building constructed in Pittsburgh in the 1900s.[77][78]
27	Four Gateway Center		305 / 93	22	1960	[79][80]
28=	City View		300 / 91	24	1964	Apartment structure. Formerly known as Washington Plaza.[81][82]
28=	Commonwealth Building	-	300 / 91	21	1906	Currently under redevelopment as an apartment building.[83][84][85]
28=	The Carlyle		300 / 91	21	1906	Converted to condominiums in 2006[86]. While serving as an office building, was named for Union National Bank and, later, its successor Integra Bank.[87][88]

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

Timeline of tallest buildings[edit]

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	[89]
Allegheny County Courthouse		436 Grant Street	1888–1902	249 / 76	5	[6]
Farmers Bank Building[A]		301 Fifth Avenue	1902–1910	344 / 105	27	[90]
Oliver Building		535 Smithfield Street	1910–1912	347 / 106	25	[64]
First National Bank Building[B]		511 Wood Street at Fifth Avenue	1912–1928	387 / 118	26	[91]
Grant Building		330 Grant Street	1928–1932	485 / 148	40	[39]
Gulf Building		707 Grant Street	1932–1970	582 / 177	44	[24]
U.S. Steel Tower		600 Grant Street	1970–present	841 / 256	64	[9]

Tallest destroyed[edit]

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

See also[edit]

• Architecture of Pittsburgh

Notes[edit]

A. ^{^} This building was demolished in 1997 due to lack of tenants.^[96]

B. ^{^} This building was demolished in 1970 to make room for One PNC Plaza.^[97]

References[edit]

General

• Emporis.com - Pittsburgh

Specific

External links[edit]

• 
  Diagram of Pittsburgh skyscrapers on SkyscraperPage

Further reading[edit]

• 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