The Pittsburgh Inclines: The Last of the Great Funiculars
Pittsburgh is a city built on impossible topography - three rivers meeting in a bowl surrounded by 500-foot bluffs. In the 19th century, those bluffs were covered with workers' housing; getting there meant climbing. The solution was inclines: funicular railways that hauled cable cars up cliffs too steep for roads. At peak, Pittsburgh had seventeen inclines, more than any city except perhaps Lisbon. Today two survive: the Duquesne Incline (1877) and the Monongahela Incline (1870), climbing Mount Washington to offer the best view of downtown from the overlooks above. They're tourist attractions now, but they're also working transit - residents still ride them to work, commuting the way their great-grandparents did, tilted toward the sky.
The Necessity
Pittsburgh's topography created the inclines. The city center occupies the Golden Triangle where the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers meet to form the Ohio. Surrounding the Triangle, steep bluffs rise 500 feet to plateaus above. Workers at the steel mills and glass factories couldn't afford downtown housing; they lived on the bluffs, climbing stairs that numbered in the hundreds. The inclines were a practical solution: two cars counterbalanced on cables, one descending as the other rises, powered first by steam and later by electricity. They turned vertical geography into manageable transit.
The Fleet
Seventeen inclines operated in Pittsburgh at various times, connecting hilltop neighborhoods to the flats below. The Knoxville Incline, the Penn Incline, the Castle Shannon Incline - each served a different bluff, each carried workers to jobs that built America's industrial might. The inclines ran constantly during shift changes; companies chartered special cars. A ride cost a few cents. The inclines were infrastructure, not attractions - as essential as bridges, as invisible to residents as streets. Then automobiles arrived, roads improved, and inclines began closing. By 1967, only two remained.
The Survivors
The Monongahela Incline (1870) and Duquesne Incline (1877) survive because communities fought to save them. The Monongahela, the nation's oldest continuously operating funicular, was nearly closed in 1967; public outcry saved it. The Duquesne was slated for demolition in 1962; citizens organized, raised funds, and converted it to nonprofit operation. Both now climb Mount Washington - the Monongahela to Station Square, the Duquesne to its original upper station. Both carry tourists to the overlooks, but both also carry commuters, students, and residents who prefer the three-minute incline to driving Pittsburgh's winding roads.
The View
Mount Washington's overlooks offer what's often called the best urban view in America. The Golden Triangle spreads below: three rivers, Point State Park's fountain, the glittering towers of downtown. At night, the bridges glow. Both inclines connect to these overlooks; riding up and walking to Grandview Avenue is a Pittsburgh rite of passage. The view has appeared in countless films and photographs, always from this angle, always looking down from the bluffs the inclines climb. Without the inclines, Mount Washington would be accessible but inconvenient. With them, it's part of the city's daily life.
Visiting the Inclines
The Duquesne Incline is located at 1197 West Carson Street (lower station) and 1220 Grandview Avenue (upper station). The Monongahela Incline runs from Station Square to Grandview Avenue. Both operate daily; tickets are cheap. The Duquesne has a museum at the upper station showing incline history and mechanisms. Grandview Avenue runs between the upper stations along Mount Washington's edge, with multiple overlooks for photography. Restaurants and bars line the street. The inclines are part of Pittsburgh's transit system; standard fare applies. Both inclines offer wheelchair accessibility. Riding one up and walking to the other is a good strategy. The view alone justifies the visit; the transit history makes it essential.
From the Air
Located at 40.43°N, 80.01°W on Mount Washington overlooking downtown Pittsburgh. From altitude, the inclines are visible as linear tracks climbing the bluff face - two dark lines ascending from the river flats to the plateau above. Mount Washington's overlooks line Grandview Avenue, visible as development along the bluff edge. The Golden Triangle spreads below: downtown Pittsburgh where the rivers meet, bridges spanning every direction. The three rivers - Allegheny, Monongahela, and Ohio - define the topography that made inclines necessary. The former locations of the fifteen closed inclines are invisible now, absorbed into the hillside, but the two survivors still climb, still carry passengers, still making Pittsburgh vertical.