U.S. Steel Tower

History

In the planning stages, U.S. Steel executives considered making the building the world's tallest, but settled on 840 ft (260 m) and the distinction of being the tallest building outside Seattle and Orlando. However, it eventually lost even that distinction to newer buildings erected across the United States. Prior to 1970, the tallest building in Pittsburgh, at 44 stories, was the Gulf Building, now known as Gulf Tower. In 2014, the elevators were modernized by "Schindler PORT".

The U.S. Steel Tower is architecturally noted for its triangular shape with indented corners. The building also made history by being the first to use liquid-filled fireproofed columns. U.S. Steel deliberately placed the massive steel columns on the exterior of the building to showcase a new product called Cor-ten steel. Cor-ten resists the corrosive effects of rain, snow, ice, fog, and other meteorological conditions by forming a coating of dark brown oxidation over the metal, which inhibits deeper penetration and doesn't need painting and costly rust-prevention maintenance over the years. The initial weathering of the material resulted in a discoloration of the surrounding city sidewalks, as well as other nearby buildings. A cleanup effort was orchestrated by the corporation once weathering was complete to undo this damage, but the sidewalks still have a decidedly rusty tinge. The Cor-Ten steel for the building was made at the former U.S. Steel Homestead Works.

Rockwell International, which had its headquarters in the building, displayed a large model of the Rockwell-designed NASA Space Shuttle in the building's lobby until the company moved its headquarters to Southern California in 1988.

In May 1986 two men parachuted off the roof of the tower before being arrested by Pittsburgh Police near the Civic Arena.

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. Currently, the largest tenant of the building is UPMC who occupies 500,000 square feet (46,000 m²) of office space within the tower. In 2007 UPMC added signage to the top of the tower for the first time in its history, a move that was criticized by some involved in the construction of the structure.

Possible departure of US Steel

On November 24, 2014, US Steel announced that they would be leaving the U.S. Steel Tower as an anchor tenant to build new office space at the adjacent site of the former Civic Arena. U.S. Steel canceled those plans in November 2015 and announced they would stay in the U.S. Steel Tower until at least 2017.

Water filled columns

Although accepted for bridges, etc., exposing structural Cor-Ten in a building was not possible using standard construction methods because steel needed to be protected by concrete or an applied insulation to meet the fire-protection requirements of building codes. Fire protection was achieved for the 18 columns of this tower by making them hollow and filled with a water/antifreeze/rust inhibitor mixture, a technique patented in the 19th century. In another building cited in 1970, the horizontal beams were also hollow and interconnected with the columns, the entire system tested to be leakproof.

Internal systems

The U.S. Steel Tower features several redundant systems that have allowed the building to remain free of unplanned service interruptions since it was constructed. It is fed by two redundant water mains, one from Grant Street and one from 7th Avenue. Both are fully maintained and tested annually. There is a fail over system in place, and either main will automatically meet the water demands of the building in the event of a failure. In addition, the building has four redundant water pumps, any one of which can meet the needs of the entire building. The building also has four redundant electrical feeds, which come from several substations. Finally, the building has fully redundant heating and cooling systems, including two boilers and two air chillers. The heating boilers can burn either natural gas or No. 2 fuel oil. There is no fail over, but manual adjustment of the system in the event of a supply shortage takes only minutes.

Signage

The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center leased several floors of the tower, which now serves as the institution's headquarters, in 2007. To go along with this lease, the company also purchased new signs reading "UPMC" for the top of each three sides of the building. The Pittsburgh Planning Commission approved the 20-foot (6.1 m) signs, and the majority of the letters were installed via helicopter lift on June 7–8, 2008.

Nativity scene

Each year, a crèche, or nativity scene, goes on display in the building's courtyard. It is larger than the original nativity, and is the only creche nationally to be authorized by the Vatican.

Roof

Unlike many buildings of similar heights, the U.S. Steel Tower does not taper in width from its lower floors to its higher floors. Accordingly, the tower sports the "largest roof in the world at its height or above", at a size of approximately one acre. This flat expanse was once used as a heliport, but as of January 2012, it had sat dormant for 20 years.

High Point Park proposal

An organization known as the High Point Park Investigation was formed to explore the possibility of converting the dormant roof of the U.S. Steel Tower into an attraction of some sort—a "pinnacle of perspective where people go to see the view, a signature landmark like the Eiffel Tower or the Empire State Building". This transformation could take the form of a nature park, a gallery space, or some other type of attraction. The High Point Park Investigation is based at Carnegie Mellon University's STUDIO for Creative Inquiry and has received the endorsement of regional organizations including the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy and VisitPittsburgh.com. A 360-degree, gigapixel panorama of the view available from the building's rooftop can be seen at www.gigapan.org or www.gigapanorama.org. As of January 2010, the building's owner had expressed no interest in developing the roof of the tower, but public interest in the potential of such a project has been high.

In March 2013 a group of architects and designers finished detailed plans for a glass covered 2 floor atrium at the top of the skyscraper, however the building management has not responded thus far to requests for potential construction.

Sightseeing

On clear days, it is possible to spot the U.S. Steel Tower from as far as 50 miles (80 km) away, from the top of Chestnut Ridge in the Laurel Highlands southeast of the city.

Fictional portrayals

The U.S. Steel Tower makes an appearance in the movie Dogma and figures prominently in Sudden Death, Boys on the Side, Striking Distance, Jack Reacher and the video for the 2010 rap song Black and Yellow. It can also be seen in the movie The Dark Knight Rises. It is the setting for the Syfy network's series of web shorts, The Mercury Men. It can also be seen in George A. Romero's 1978 horror film, Dawn of the Dead.

The Tower has also been portrayed in multiple video games set in and around Pittsburgh. It can be seen in the Fallout 3 downloadable mission pack The Pitt. It is also viewable in The Last of Us sporting the letters "NA" at the top instead of the usual "UPMC". Most recently used on daytime soap opera "The Young and the Restless".