In 1888, the new Allegheny County Courthouse was built. At the time it was the tallest structure in the city of Pittsburgh. By the end of the 19th century the use of structural steel revolutionized new construction methods. The strength of steel meant buildings could now rise higher than ever before. The entire landscape of the city, now filled with five to six story structures, would soon erupt skyward.

In 1897, the 15-story Park Building rose on Fifth Avenue. This was the first in a string of new office buildings to rise above the Triangle. The 20-story Frick Building in 1902 was eclipsed a year later by the 24-story Farmers Bank Building. A decade later the First National Bank Building rose to a height of 26-stories. Seventeen years passed before the Grant Building, at 37-stories, became the city's tallest skyscraper.

In Oakland, east of downtown Pittsburgh, on the University of Pittsburgh campus, ground was broken in 1927 for a proposed 52-story Gothic Cathedral. Although it only rose to 42-stories, the Cathedral of Learning is an architectural masterpiece, and the tallest educational building in the country.

Not to be outdone, the Gulf Building, erected in 1932, rose to a height of 583 feet, or 44-stories. This was the end of what might be considered the city's first renaissance, but could more accurately be refered to as "modernization."

The first renaissance began after World War II. Steel for construction was again readily available and a building boom ensued, beginning in 1950 with the construction of the US Steel/Mellon Bank Building (now Three Mellon Center). The stainless steel skyscraper rose to 550 feet, 33 feet short of the Gulf Building. The next twenty years saw several new skyscrapers redraw the city skyline. The end of Renaissance I was punctuated by the towering new US Steel Building, dedicated in 1970. The tower rose to an incredible 831 feet, or 64 stories, making it visible to the South Hills over the 600 foot Mount Washington.

Renaissance II began in the 1980s, and saw several new skyscrapers rise towards the clouds. One PPG Place, Oxford Centre eclipsed 40-stories, and the new headquarters of Mellon Bank, One Mellon Center, rose to 54 stories, making it also visible to the southern communities.

The last true skyscraper built in Pittsburgh was the 31-story Fifth Avenue Place, dedicated in 1988. Below is a list of some of the skyscrapers built in Pittsburgh since the turn of the century.

The 64-story U.S. Steel rises above the City of Pittsburgh