Station Square is a indoor and outdoor shopping and entertainment complex located in the South Shore neighborhood of

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

across the

Monongahela River The Monongahela River ( , )—often referred to locally as the Mon ()—is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed August 15, 2011 river on the Allegheny Plateau in north-c ...

from the Golden Triangle of

downtown Pittsburgh Downtown Pittsburgh, colloquially referred to as the Golden Triangle, and officially the Central Business District, is the urban downtown center of Pittsburgh. It is located at the confluence of the Allegheny River and the Monongahela River who ...

. Station Square occupies the buildings and land formerly occupied by the historic Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad Complex, including the

Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad Station The Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad Station, now Landry's, Inc.'s the Grand Concourse restaurant in Station Square Plaza in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is a building constructed in 1898. Into the 1960s, the station was the depot for the passenger r ...

, which are separately listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

. With of retail space, it features nearly 60 stores, restaurants and entertainment venues, including Highmark Stadium and the 396-room Sheraton at Station Square. As one of Pittsburgh's largest tourist destinations, it attracts more than three million people annually, including many Pittsburgh natives. The retail development was built at the location of a former station on the

Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad The Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad (P&LE) , also known as the "Little Giant", was formed on May 11, 1875. Company headquarters were located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The line connected Pittsburgh in the east with Youngstown, Ohio in the ...

, with many of the original structures such as the freight house building and the concourse being converted into restaurants and a shopping mall. Proximity to a stop on the

Port Authority of Allegheny County Pittsburgh Regional Transit (PRT, formerly Port Authority of Allegheny County) is the second-largest public transit agency in Pennsylvania and the 20th-largest in the United States. The state-funded agency is based in Pittsburgh and is oversee ...

'T' Pittsburgh Light Rail system and the dock for the

Gateway Clipper Fleet The Gateway Clipper Fleet, founded by John E. Connelly, is a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based fleet of riverboats. The fleet cruises the three rivers of Pittsburgh - the Monongahela, Allegheny, and Ohio. The fleet is named after the city of Pit ...

of local river cruise boats makes Station Square a major parking and jumping-off point for activities and events around the city. The property is operated by

Brookfield Asset Management Brookfield Asset Management Inc. is a Canadian multinational company that is one of the world's largest alternative investment management companies, with over US$725 billion of assets under management in 2022. It focuses on direct contro ...

. In 1979, the Station Square complex was listed on the

as the "Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad Complex."

History

Station Square was conceptualized by Arthur P. Ziegler, Jr., one of the founding national leaders of historic preservation in the United States and President of the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation, or Landmarks. Landmarks developed the site in 1976 as a mixed-use historic

adaptive reuse Adaptive reuse refers to the process of reusing an existing building for a purpose other than which it was originally built or designed for. It is also known as recycling and conversion. Adaptive reuse is an effective strategy for optimizing the o ...

development that gave the foundation the opportunity to put its urban planning principles into practice. Station Square fountain

Aided by an initial gift from the Allegheny Foundation in 1976, Landmarks adapted five historic

buildings for new uses and added a hotel, a dock for the

and parking areas. Now, shops, offices, restaurants and entertainment anchor the historic riverfront site on the south shore of the

, opposite the

Golden Triangle (Pittsburgh) Downtown Pittsburgh, colloquially referred to as the Golden Triangle, and officially the Central Business District, is the urban downtown center of Pittsburgh. It is located at the confluence of the Allegheny River and the Monongahela River whose ...

. It reflects a $100 million investment from all sources, with the lowest public cost and highest taxpayer return of any major renewal project in the Pittsburgh region since the 1950s. In 1994, Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation sold Station Square to

Forest City Realty Trust Forest City Realty Trust, Inc. was a real estate investment trust that invested in office buildings, shopping centers and apartments in Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and the greater metropolitan areas of Ne ...

which created an endowment to help support its restoration efforts and educational programs. Each year the staff and docents of Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation introduce more than 10,000 people — teachers, students, adults, and visitors — to the architectural heritage of the Pittsburgh region and to the value of historic preservation. Pittsburgh Station Square area from Smithfield Bridge 1951

Pittsburgh Station Square area from Smithfield Bridge 1951

References

External links

Station Square websitePost Gazette article on possible sale
{{National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Railway stations on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Transport infrastructure completed in 1897 Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad Forest City Realty Trust Tourist attractions in Pittsburgh Entertainment districts in the United States Shopping districts and streets in the United States Economy of Pittsburgh Redeveloped ports and waterfronts in the United States 1976 establishments in Pennsylvania Buildings and structures in Pittsburgh National Register of Historic Places in Pittsburgh

History

See also

References

External links