List of tallest buildings in Pittsburgh facts for kids

Skyline of Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh skyline 2015 from Mount Washington

Pittsburgh, the second-largest city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, is home to over 125 completed high-rise buildings of at least 115 feet (35 m), 32 of which exceed 300 feet (91 m). The tallest building in Pittsburgh is the 64-story U.S. Steel Tower, which rises 841 feet (256 m), was completed in 1970, and is also the fifth tallest building in Pennsylvania. The second-tallest skyscraper in the city is BNY Mellon Center, which rises 725 feet (221 m).

The history of skyscrapers in Pittsburgh began with the 1895 completion of the Carnegie Building; this structure, rising 13 floors, was the first steel-framed skyscraper to be constructed in the city. It never held the title of tallest structure in the city, however, as it did not surpass the 249-foot (76 m) tower of the Allegheny County Courthouse, which was completed in 1888. The Carnegie Building was later demolished in 1952 to make way for an expansion of a Kaufmann's (now Macy's) department store. Pittsburgh experienced a large building boom from the late 1960s to the late 1980s. During this time, 11 of the city's 20 tallest buildings were constructed, including the city's three tallest structures, the U.S. Steel Tower, BNY Mellon Center, and PPG Place. As of January 2020^[update] the entire city had 10 completed skyscrapers that rise at least 492 feet (150 m), which ranks Pittsburgh's skyline 14th in the United States and 90th in the world, with two skyscrapers exceeding 700 feet (213 m).

Unlike many other major American cities, Pittsburgh was the site of relatively few skyscraper construction projects in the first two decades of the 21st century. Only two skyscrapers over 300 feet (91 m) have been completed since 2000. The 361-foot (110 m) Three PNC Plaza was completed in 2010, and the 545-foot (166 m) Tower at PNC Plaza was completed in 2015, making it the city's most recently completed skyscraper. Overall, as of January, 2020^[update], there were no high-rise buildings over 300 feet (91 m) under construction and one proposed for construction in Pittsburgh.

Tallest buildings

This list ranks completed and topped out Pittsburgh skyscrapers that stand at least 300 feet (91 m) tall, based on standard height measurements. This includes spires and architectural details but does not include antenna masts. An equal sign (=) following a rank indicates the same height between two or more buildings. An asterisk (*) indicates that the building is still under construction, but has been topped out. The "Year" column indicates the year in which a building was completed.

     Was Pennsylvania's tallest building upon completion

Rank	Name	Image	Height ft (m)	Floors	Year	Notes
1	U.S. Steel Tower		841 (256)	64	1970	58th-tallest building in the United States, 5th tallest in Pennsylvania. Has been the tallest building in the city since 1970, and was the tallest building in the state from 1970 until the 1987 completion of One Liberty Place in Philadelphia. Tallest building constructed in Pittsburgh in the 1970s. Known as the USX Tower between 1986 and 2000. Corporate headquarters of U.S. Steel and UPMC.
2	BNY Mellon Center		725 (221)	54	1983	Tallest building constructed in Pittsburgh in the 1980s. Formerly known as One Mellon Center during its period as corporate headquarters of Mellon Financial. Bank of New York Mellon currently has its largest concentration of employees in the facility.
3	One PPG Place		635 (194)	40	1984	Corporate headquarters of PPG Industries and co-headquarters of Kraft Heinz.
4	Fifth Avenue Place		616 (188)	32	1987	Corporate headquarters of Highmark.
5	One Oxford Centre		615 (187)	45	1983	Corporate headquarters of Oxford Development.
6	Gulf Tower		582 (177)	44	1932	Tallest building constructed in Pittsburgh in the 1930s. Name references structure's status as former headquarters of Gulf Oil, although the site has functioned as a multi-tenant building since 1982.
7	Tower at PNC Plaza		544 (166)	33	2015	Part of PNC Financial Services corporate headquarters.
8	Cathedral of Learning		535 (163)	42	1936	Second-tallest university building in the world, behind the main building of Moscow State University. Tallest building in the city located outside of Downtown. Landmark structure of the University of Pittsburgh.
9	525 William Penn Place		520 (158)	41	1951	Tallest building constructed in Pittsburgh in the 1950s. Originally housed corporate headquarters of both U.S. Steel and Mellon Financial. Signage rights belong to largest tenant Citizens Financial Group.
10	K&L Gates Center		511 (156)	39	1968	Tallest building constructed in Pittsburgh in the 1960s. Originally known as One Oliver Plaza and formerly named for lead tenants FreeMarkets and later Ariba. Corporate headquarters of K&L Gates.
11	Grant Building		485 (148)	40	1930	Signage rights belong to largest tenant Huntington Bancshares.
12	Koppers Tower		475 (145)	34	1929	Tallest building constructed in Pittsburgh in the 1920s. Corporate headquarters of Koppers.
13	Two PNC Plaza		445 (136)	34	1975	Part of PNC Financial Services corporate headquarters.
14	EQT Plaza		430 (131)	32	1987	Corporate headquarters of EQT. Formerly named for CNG and Dominion Energy before these entities were acquired via merger.
15	One PNC Plaza		424 (129)	30	1972	Part of PNC Financial Services corrporate headquarters.
16	The Residences at the Alcoa Building		410 (125)	30	1953	First skyscraper with an all-aluminum facade. Formerly the corporate headquarters of Alcoa before its relocation to a low-rise structure. Then known as the Regional Enterprises Tower during a period of multi-tenant occupancy. Converted to the city's tallest residential structure in 2016.
17	Federated Tower		358 (109)	27	1982	Corporate headquarters of Federated Investors.
18	11 Stanwix Street		355 (108)	23	1970	Former corporate headquarters of Westinghouse Electric Corporation. Signage rights owned by largest tenant KeyBank.
19	Oliver Building		347 (106)	25	1910	Tallest existing building constructed in Pittsburgh in the 1910s In 2015, one-third of the structure's floor space was converted from office to hotel use.
20=	Three PNC Plaza		344 (105)	23	2010	Part of PNC Financial Services corporate headquarters. Signage rights owned by largest tenant Reed Smith.
20=	Three Gateway Center		344 (105)	24	1952
22	Centre City Tower		341 (104)	26	1971	Signage rights owned by largest tenant Huntington Bancshares.
23	William S. Moorhead Federal Building		340 (104)	23	1964
24	Verizon Building		339 (103)	21	1931
25	Wyndham Grand Pittsburgh Downtown		333 (101)	22	1959	Tallest all-hotel building in the city. Formerly operated as a Hilton property.
26	Frick Building		330 (101)	20	1902	Tallest existing building constructed in Pittsburgh in the 1900s.
27	Four Gateway Center		305 (93)	22	1960
28=	City View		300 (91)	24	1964	Apartment structure. Formerly known as Washington Plaza.
28=	Commonwealth Building		300 (91)	21	1906	Conversion to apartment building began October 2019.
28=	The Carlyle		300 (91)	22	1906	Converted to condominiums in 2006. While serving as an office building, was named for Union National Bank and, later, its successor Integra Bank.

Tallest approved or proposed

Skyscrapers approved or proposed in Pittsburgh that are planned to be at least 300 feet (91 m) tall, and are not yet under construction:

* Table entries with dashes (—) indicate that information regarding building dates of completion has not yet been released.

Timeline of tallest buildings

This lists buildings that once held the title of tallest building in Pittsburgh.

Name	Image	Street address	Years as tallest	Height ft (m)	Floors	Reference
Trinity Episcopal Cathedral		328 Sixth Avenue	1872–1888	200 (61)	N/A
Allegheny County Courthouse		436 Grant Street	1888–1902	249 (76)	5
Farmers Bank Building		301 Fifth Avenue	1902–1910	344 (105)	25
Oliver Building		535 Smithfield Street	1910–1912	347 (106)	25
First National Bank Building		511 Wood Street at Fifth Avenue	1912–1929	387 (118)	26
Koppers Tower		436 7th Avenue	1929-1930	475 (145)	34
Grant Building		330 Grant Street	1930–1932	485 (148)	40
Gulf Building		707 Grant Street	1932–1970	582 (177)	44
U.S. Steel Tower		600 Grant Street	1970–present	841 (256)	64

Tallest destroyed

This table lists buildings in Pittsburgh that were demolished and at one time stood at least 300 feet (91 m).

See also

In Spanish: Anexo:Edificios más altos de Pittsburgh para niños