Pittsburgh through the eyes of a writer

I just blog-searched "Pittsburgh and art", looking for a Pittsburgh arts blogger since there are several arts events coming up. I found this entry instead, by some writer I haven't heard of, Peter May, that happens to be visiting Pittsburgh, maybe on a book tour or something. He was quite impressed by the city. I was rather pleased with his description of my new home. Some excerpts:

Bridges! Everywhere I look. Big, bad, beautiful, box girder bridges
spanning this magnificent confluence of three great rivers, this extraordinary crossroads where the Allegheny and the Monongahela run into the Ohio, making Pittsburgh the biggest inland port in the United States...

We cross water again. The light is gorgeous. The sky is torn black and
blue, and pink-tinted by the sunset. But the sun has almost gone. We speed past the Monongahela Incline - a kind of funicular railway that climbs steeply to the viewpoint we are searching for. But we want to get there by car, and John speeds along the riverside road before cutting back and climbing sharply upwards.The top of the hill is lined with restaurants, panoramic windows giving out on to the spectacular view. I jump out of the SUV and leap on to the viewing platform.
There is just enough light to catch a picture. But an ugly, bruising cloud has swept in from the west, and that soft pink light has gone.

Nonetheless, I run off a series of shots, two of which can be seen below. And then I draw breath just to look. What a fabulous view. Pennsylvania sweeps away north and west over undulating country. Pittsburgh, once blighted by the steelworks that dominated
its centre, has grown from the ashes of its foundries, to become a proud new city, known for its 720 bridges and its 29 colleges and universities.

It takes my breath away...

And here I am, standing with the warm wind in my face, looking out over this magical sunset city, unfashionable though it is, and feeling an odd sense of connection.