In Spring 2012 I had the magnificent opportunity to explore Pittsburgh’s tallest tower, the U.S. Steel Tower. I was afforded the opportunity to explore every nuance of the building, from the underground transportation links to the parking garage to the penthouse mechanical floors and original Heliport Reception area 64 stories and 841 feet up in the air, where the US Steel Executive would enter his office from his helicopter in the earlier years of the building.
A few interesting facts worth noting about the tower:
- The tower has about 2,300,000 SF(210,000 m2) of leasable space.
- It was designed by the well-known firm of Harrison, Abramovitz & Abbe.
- It is the tallest skyscraper in Pittsburgh, the fourth tallest building in Pennsylvania, and the 37th tallest in the United States.
- U.S. Steel is still one of the largest tenants of the building, although there are discussions in the works implying they may relocate to the suburbs in the not-so-distant future. UPMC is the largest tenant.
- U.S. Steel initially considered initially making the building the world’s tallest but settled for the (short) distinction of being the tallest building outside New York City and Chicago when completed in 1970.
- The triangular structure holds the distinction of being the first to use liquid-filled fireproofed columns for its exposed structure, which was designed to showcase Cor-ten steel.which was made at the former U.S. Steel Homestead Works.
- The tower contains over 44,000 U.S. tons (40,000 metric tons) of structural steel, and almost an acre of office space per floor.
- the tower features the “largest roof in the world at its height or above”, at a size of approximately one acre. There has been some conceptual design work proposing to convert this rooftop into a public urban park.
While I was initially bummed by the miserable winter weather upon reaching the top mechanical floors, it actually afforded some interesting shots of the city, a few of which I’ve included as well.
US Steel Tower - Approaching
US Steel Model
Steel Plaza Station Wall Art
Loading Dock Turntable
Loading Dock
Loading Dock Airlock
Parking Garage
Fitness Center
Stairwell from Bottom
Conference Room
Penthouse Deck
Penthouse - Diamond Electric
Penthouse Heliport Control Panel
Penthouse Heliport Escalator
Rooftop View
Stairwell from Top (No I did not walk all the way up). The stack effect here was hard to conceive. Like looking straight into a wind tunnel.
Water Return Systems
Water Supply Systems 1
Water Supply Systems 2
Water Tanks - Testing
Panel - Wish I could recall exactly what this relay panel was for, but it was moving up and down along the belts, and it was impressive to see.
Boiler 1
Boiler 2
Chilled Water Pumps
Control Room
Heliport Weather - Note the -20 degree F temperature out on the heliport deck.
Old Mechanical / Electrical Drawings
Electrical Panelboards
Elevator Cable Wheel Caution - Ok fine, I will resist temptation
There were many of these (around 30?) and they were all whirring very fast. Pretty much standing above 800 feet of empty air.
Elevator Mechanical Penthouse
Empty Floor 1 - doing some mechanical renovations prior to tenant move in
Mech and Duct Work
Fire Suppression System - controls what runs through the exterior columns
Freight Hatch - Portal for moving large equipment between Mechanical floors
HVAC 1
HVAC 2
HVAC 3
And now the views...
View of BNY Mellon from Top of US Steel
View of the Igloo & New Arena
Igloo Demo from US Steel
Igloo Demo from Lobby
William Penn from US Steel
Citizens Bank Building from US Steel
My fav - BNY Mellon from US Steel
And just for old time's sake...
Ok. Back to work - i miss you Pittsburgh! Thanks for stopping by.