BALLOU'S PICTORIAL DRAWING-ROOM COMPANION
VIEWS IN PITTSBURG, PA.

[Pages 120 and 121]

We present on this and the next page a fine series of views, taken on the spot expressly for our Pictorial, by Mr. Kilburn, illustrating several points of interest in and near the flourishing city of Pittsburg.

The first view delineates the famous Western Penitentiary of the State of Pennsylvania, a strong castellated building, situated in Alleghany City, which communicates with Pittsburg by means of three substantial bridges, built on piers. It is an immense structure, in the Roman style of architecture, and is located on the western border of the city. It was completed in 1827, at a cost of $183,000. In the rear of our view, on the left, is seen the building of the 2d ward public school.

The second view delineates the noble bridge which crosses the Monongahela River, connecting Birmingham with Pittsburg. It is 1500 feet long, is a noble structure, and highly creditable to the city. One of the famous river steamboats is accurately delineated in the foreground. The spectator will not fail to notice the long columns of smoke which are so characteristic of this busy place. The total consumption of coal for the city in 1854, was 22,305,000 bushels -- enough to account for a cloudy canopy.

The next engraving represents the Pittsburg Court House, on Grant's Hill. It is a splendid edifice, and stands in a commanding situation, and is one of the many beautiful buildings for which the city is celebrated. It is a massive stone structure, of the Grecian Ionic order, 165 feet long and 100 feet deep, with a very handsome portico in front. The dome is 37 feet in diameter at the base, and elevated 148 feet from the ground, so that from the top a magnificent view of the city and its environs is obtained. Its architectural proportions are particularly fine, and its elevated position adds much to its general effect. A portion of the jail appears, directly in the rear of this building.

Our next view depicts the custom house and post-office, another fine, substantial building, in the design of which utility has very properly been kept in view. It is located at the corner of Smithfield and Fifth Streets, is built of freestone, and cost some $115,000.

There are many beautiful church edifices in the city. We have selected for illustration a very fine specimen--the First Presbyterian church, a beautiful structure, with two graceful towers.

Another church of which we present a view, is the German Catholic on Liberty Street, Alleghany City, which presents a very unique appearance, and forms a pleasing contrast with the usual style of church building. The towers remind us of some of the Greek churches in Moscow, Russia.

Pittsburg, as our readers are aware, is situated at the confluence of the Alleghany and Monongahela Rivers, which here unite to form the Ohio, 357 miles west of Philadelphia. Besides the interest which attaches to it as one of the most flourishing cities of the United States, there are historical associations attached to it. Here stood in the last century, Fort Du Quesne, a French trading-post, erected in 1754. In 1758, an English expedition marched against this fort, which was regarded by George Washington, then a young man, as the key to the West. Captain Grant, encamped on what has since been called Grant's Hill, where the court house now stands, was attacked and defeated by a combined force of French and Indians from Fort Du Quesue. The approach of Gen. Forbes, however, at the head of 2600 men, dismayed the victors, who set fire to the fort and retreated. The victorious English and colonial troops entered the place on the 25th of November, and named it Pittsburg, in honor of William Pitt, then prime minister of England. The town began to be settled in 1765, became a country town in 1791, was incorporated as a borough in 1804, and chartered as n city in 1816. On the 10th of April, 1845, $9,000,000 worth of property was destroyed by a great fire, which, however, did not crush the resources or energies of the inhabitants. The population in 1810 was only 4768, but in the beginning of 1853 the city and its suburbs reckoned 110,241 inhabitants. Pittsburg stands upon a triangular plain, enclosed by the Alleghany and Monongahela Rivers and by several hills.

In its outline and general features it has been thought to resemble the city of New York. Along the Monongahela River, the streets were laid out at right angles to each other. The same plan was also adopted on the Alleghany side--the streets extending either parallel or perpendicular to the river. The space included within these limits was found inadequate to the accommodation of the population, and hence Alleghany City and Winchester, situated directly opposite the junction of the Alleghany River with the Ohio, and Birmingham, on the left bank of the Monongahela, have sprung into existence. The business and interests of these places are identical. The surrounding hills are filled with iron, coal and limestone, the working of which constitutes the chief employment of the inhabitants. These hills are generally graceful in form and present a variety of pleasing combinations. In fact, all the environs of Pittsburg are remarkable for their beauty and fertility.

The city is principally built of brick, and the only drawback to a residence here arises from the fumes of the bituminous coal, of which, as we have seen, vast quantities are consumed. Our engravings have given the reader some idea of the architectural beauty of the public edifices, but a delineation of all of them would occupy an entire number of our publication.

The principal benevolent institutions of the city are the Mercy Hospital, the Western Pennsylvania Hospital, the United States Marine Hospital, the House of Refuge, and the poor houses of Alleghany and Pittsburg. Among the literary and educational institutions may be mentioned the theological seminary of the Associate Reformed Church, in Pittsburg, and the Western Theological Seminary in Alleghany City. The Mercantile Library, and other literary associations of Pittsburg are quite noted. There are upwards of fifty schools in the city, with 12,000 pupils. There are some twenty-five newspaper and periodical publishing offices in Pittsburg, and the city supports, we believe, twelve dailies. There are two or three newspapers in Alleghany City. A Chamber of Commerce was established in Pittsburg in 1850. It is dangerous, however, to attempt the statistics of a place that grows so rapidly, and has such elements of prosperity within it. There is no limit to the manufacturing capability of Pittsburg. Wood, coal, and ores abound in the vicinity, and may be obtained with little expenditure of labor and capital. In this respect there is no place in the world so favored. According to the latest published statistical account to which we have access, the manufactures of the city and vicinity employ 400 steam engines. One of the largest establishments is the Fort Pitt works, which, in 1853, consumed 3225 tons of pig and wrought iron, producing, among other things, 10 blast cylinders, 10 first class steam engines, and 150 freight cars. Several iron steamers have been built at these works; and from 1842 to 1847 there were cast, bored and mounted here 633 cannon, weighing in all, 1787 tons, and 22,189 shot and shell. The total amount of pig-iron, blooms and scraps, consumed in Pittsburg, in 1853, was estimated as follows: For steam engine foundries, 9250 tons; other foundries, 19,275 tons; and rolling mills, 93,850 tons; total, 127,375 tons.

The people of Pittsburg are largely interested in the copper mines of Lake Superior. One copper-smelting establishment, consuming 1000 tons of Lake Superior ore annually, is in operation here. There are forty salt wells in the vicinity of Pittsburg, producing from 6000 to 30,000 bushels of salt annually. We have not space to enumerate the various manufactures, such as glass, cotton, cloth, chairs, oil cloths, surveying instruments, Venetian blinds, etc., carried on here. According to the census of 1850, there were 819 manufacturing establishments in Pittsburg, and 120 in Alleghany City, employing 10,253 hands, and producing loads to the value of $11,883,427. In 1854 the manufactures amounted to $20,990,338. The commerce of the port is very extensive. By means of navigable waters, railways and canals, it stretches its arms to the east, west, north and south. When the various railways now in progress are completed, Pittsburg will be the terminus of nine distinct and independent routes, of which five will be trunk lines. In steam tonnage it is the third city in the Union, being surpassed only by New York and New Orleans. January 1st, 1854, the steam tonnage of the port was put down at 75,505 tons. The limits of our article have only permitted us to take a passing glance at the immense business of this thriving city. Volumes might be occupied with its statistics and details. No traveler, American or foreign, should fail to visit it, and personally examine it. It affords a most interesting field of study, and unites a great variety of attractions, in the city proper, its suburbs, the adjoining landscape, the mines, etc.

The text and images on this page are in the public domain; the originals were published in the United States prior to 1923. Thomas Cool (www.tomcool.us) scanned these images from an original copy of Ballou's Pictorial, issue of 21 February 1857. The text was captured via OCR and then proofed. Paragraph breaks and image lay-out are not per the original, but rather in logical order of the text. Archival copies of these images in TIFF format, ranging from 5 MB to 30 MB in size, are available upon request.

Colophon reads: "Ballou's Pictorial. The cheapest weekly paper in the world. Maturin M. Ballou, Editor and Proprietor."

The text credits the engravings to Mr. Kilburn, possibly Samuel Smith Kilburn. The engravings of the Western Peninteniary, Custom House, Court House, and German Catholic Church all have an engraver's mark, "Kilburn." The Bridge over the Monongahela River engraving also has "Kilburn" in the lower left, but a "Tarbell" in the lower right. In the engraving of the First Presbyterian Church, the engraver's mark is not evident.

The bridge shown in the Monongahela river scene is almost certainly the Smithfield Street bridge, a 1500-foot, eight-span suspension bridge designed by John Roebling, the creator of the Brooklyn Bridge. The Smithfield Street bridge was built in 1845 - 1846 to replace a wooden covered bridge at the same site, which burned down in the great fire of 1845. More information is available at Bruce S. Cridlebaugh's excellent site, Bridges and Tunnels of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.