Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1902 bird's-eye view map

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Pittsburgh sits where the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers meet to form the Ohio, and a bird's-eye view from 1902 shows how tightly the city was packed into that wedge of land. Maps like this were drawn by artists who sketched streets, rail lines, and major buildings from an imagined height, giving viewers a sense of the whole city at once. By 1902 Pittsburgh was a center of steel, glass, and rail manufacturing, and the smoke-heavy industry along the rivers was the engine behind its rapid growth. Looking closely at the map, you can trace the river bends, the dense downtown grid, and the hillside neighborhoods that climbed above the mills.

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