Give Pittsburgh a Chance: Monongahela Incline

So, I guess Pittsburgh has some cool stuff after all.  One of the things we did when my parents visited was go up on Mt. Washington via the Monongahlea Incline.  The Monongahela Incline is the oldest continuously operating funicular in the USA.  What does that mean?  It's like a train ride right up the side of this giant hill!

Also kind of cool?  It's part of the Port Authority (our public transit system), which means that we rode for free with our student IDs!  My dad rode for free with his medicare card and my mom paid $3 so this is definitely budget-friendly entertainment.  Let's hear it for Port Authority! (something I never thought I'd say)

In the 1860s Pittsburgh was expanding at a rapid rate, and needed workers like crazy.  The German immigrants to the region settled on top of Mt. Washington, but didn't have a good way to get from the top of the hill down to where the factories were.  They proposed the construction of inclines along the face of the hill, and these inclines were completed in 1870 to take them to and from work every day.  Much more scenic than my bus ride, that's for sure.

 I'm really afraid of heights so it took some convincing to get me to leave the safety of the street and step out on to the big concrete platforms that jutted out from the side of the mountain, held up only by what looked to me like toothpicks.

If you visit Pittsburgh and have a chance, definitely check out the Incline and Mt. Washington, even if you're afraid of heights.  The views are totally worth it.