Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: At the forefront of the breathtaking Pittsburgh skyline rests the iconic Point State Park fountain. A landmark since 1973, the fountain recently underwent a four-year, multimillion-dollar refurbishment and will reopen in June. The reopening marks the 30th anniversary of an economic crisis in Pittsburgh and the celebration of Pittsburgh's remaking of itself into an internationally renowned comeback city.
6 comments:
As a fine arts major, it is wonderful to hear that the city I am living and learning in is so full of culture, and is recognized for it not only nationwide but on a global scale. All kinds of art are represented here: studio art, theatre, modern art, installations, the list is endless, and the benefits this art provides the city are impressive. This victory of progress is made all the more sweet be the fact that Pittsburgh was a struggling, rather rundown city just a few short years ago, but has come so far in such a small amount of time and now offers a richness of culture that is found few other places.
Pittsburgh is the sort of city that most people aren't too excited about. Maybe it's the weather, maybe it's that it used to be a very industrial city. The point is, that people should be more proud of Pittsburgh. When I first arrived here, I was surprised at exactly how green it was. If you look up the slopes, you see lots of green because of all the trees people have in their yards and the large parks that exist. And, even though I don't have much time to go out and explore, whenever a class is cancelled, I like to walk around explore. There's so much culture in this city, and I don't think we as students take advantage of it very much. Without a doubt, Pittsburgh is culturally aware and alive, and I hope that it continues in this direction. With such a great cultural scene, it's the perfect place to spend one's college years studying the arts.
Great to know that the investment in arts and culture has such an impact on Pittsburgh's economy, because usually, in other regions, it can be quite the opposite. This is largely also impart due to your audience numbers. Pittsburgh has many tourists and citizens who frequent cultural and arts events, while other regions many now be trying to build their audience base. On a side note, I really didn't know that Pittsburgh attracted that many tourists yearly.
It was also great to see that so many jobs are created from the arts, due to the fact that so often artist usually have to struggle while moving from gig to gig. However what is interesting is that they state the number of jobs that are created, but not the average salary of these jobs. Which I think that I would be more interested in knowing. $400 million in household income overall may seem like a large figure, but when you break that down into the many different people and jobs and pay scales, it may start to look fairly dismal. However the most interesting part was the $74 million in local and state tax revenues which is enough to pay the salaries of almost 1,400 school teachers, firefighters, librarians and police officers. That really shows a great contribution from arts revenue.
That is really awesome to hear and encouraging to see such a strong desire and funding of the arts in a town where I am receiving my theatre education. The statics are very impressive and amazing to see the surge of jobs and wealth in the city. I hope the city is able to continue to grow and change with the global environment and keep looking attractive to the world. That the city is able to continue this new pattern of love for the arts, knowledge, and a pursuit of an improved life. Excited to see this and to know this city is progressing forward.
You're starting to this more and more and in old industrial cities across the country, a transformation and deviation to the arts. Buffalo, NY is another example of a city that has begun to see a similar shift, but on a smaller scale than Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh having a slight advantage in its size and history. As a student of Carnegie I've seen first hand the immense impact Andrew Carnegie had on this city, and not just within the industrial community but the arts community as well. And it's easy to attribute much of the cities artistic lineage to Andy Warhol but it's grown to be so much more than that...
Having been born and raised in Pittsburgh, I have been lucky enough to see the city grow and develop from what I remember in the early 2000's. I remember seeing children's shows and going to art festivals when I was younger, but as I grow up, and just recently, I have started to go to more and more concerts and other arts events. Pittsburgh has so grown in many different ways through my eyes. I've noticed an increase in both big-name bands and bands with a smaller, but devoted following have started to realize that Pittsburgh is a great city to play in. These bands bring in people from all over the area, including those from Ohio and West Virginia. Just recently, Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeroes headlined the wonderful Three Rivers Arts Festival, which has now become a great tradition in Pittsburgh. The festival highlights local artists and musicians, while bringing people to see the city. The city has developed in the arts so much, but there is still a lot of room for it to grow.
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