Nicknames of Pittsburgh

There are many nicknames for the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Major nicknames

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"The City of Bridges"
  • City of Bridges
    • Pittsburgh boasts more bridges, owing to its location at the confluence of the Allegheny, Ohio, and Monongahela, than any other city or region in the world.[1]
  • Steel City
    • Pittsburgh and the surrounding area was once one of the largest steel producers in the world, gaining it international renown as such. The U.S. Steel Tower remains the headquarters for that company.
  • Dirty 'Burgh
    • Pittsburgh and the surrounding area was once one of the largest producers of steel in the world. It was said that due to the pollution caused by the steel industry, you would leave for work in a white shirt and come home in an all black one.
  • The 'Burgh
    • Unlike many cities in America that end in burg (including the capital of the state, Harrisburg), Pittsburgh retains the h at the end of its name, making this quality instantly recognizable.
  • City of Champions[2][3][4][5]
  • Hell with the Lid Off[6]
    • Boston writer James Parton described Pittsburgh as "hell with the lid off" in 1868. This was because of the smoke, smog, and fire that were prevalent during the city's steelmaking heyday.

Minor nicknames

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  • Iron City[7]
  • The Pit
    • Derived from the name of the city and university, as well as the fact that downtown Pittsburgh is in a "hole" due to the hilly topography of the surrounding neighborhoods.
  • Paris of Appalachia[8]
    • Pittsburgh is the largest metropolitan area in the entire Appalachian region.
 
  • Sixburgh [citation needed]
  • The 412
    • 412 is the telephone area code for much of Allegheny County, though it covered much more geographically at the time the name was coined, prior to the introduction of 724. Both 412 and 724 are now part of an overlay complex in which the entire region served by those codes is also covered by 878.
  • The Only City with an Entrance[9]
  • Capital of/Largest City in West Virginia
    • So called because many West Virginians migrate to Pittsburgh.
  • Benigno Numine
    • Comes from the city's Latin motto. It is generally translated as "With the Benevolent Deity"[10] or "By the Favour of Heaven".[11]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Which US City Is Known As "The City Of Bridges"?". WorldAtlas. Retrieved 2019-01-13.
  2. ^ O'Brien, Jim; Marty Wolfson (1980). Pittsburgh, the story of the city of champions: the '70s—a decade unmatched in the annals of sports. Wolfson Pub. Co. ISBN 978-0-916114-07-7.
  3. ^ Scarpaci, Joseph L; Kevin Joseph Patrick (2006). "Chapter 6: Pittsburgh, City of Bridges". Pittsburgh and the Appalachians: cultural and natural resources in a postindustrial age. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press. p. 81. ISBN 978-0-8229-4282-5. Retrieved February 28, 2010.
  4. ^ Rossi, Rob (February 14, 2010). "Deadline-day deal? Not likely for Penguins". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Archived from the original on September 10, 2012. Retrieved February 28, 2010.
  5. ^ Bobkoff, Dan (December 16, 2010). "From Steel To Tech, Pittsburgh Transforms Itself". NPR. Retrieved December 21, 2010.
  6. ^ Kalson, Sally (19 Nov 2003). "Cartoonist draws, fires a blank with Pittsburgh joke". Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  7. ^ "Iron City, The" . New International Encyclopedia. 1905.
  8. ^ O'Neill, Brian (2009). The Paris of Appalachia: Pittsburgh in the Twenty-first Century. Carnegie Mellon University Press. ISBN 978-0887485091.
  9. ^ Goldberger, Paul (3 January 1988). "ARCHITECTURE VIEW; A Tempered Skyline Strengthens a City of Steel". The New York Times. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  10. ^ "Præcepti -- Mottoes". Archived from the original on 2006-11-21. Retrieved 2006-11-20.
  11. ^ "Religious Latin Phrases, Latin Quotes on Religion". Latin Phrases Web Site. Archived from the original on 2007-01-11. Retrieved 2006-11-20.