The G-20 Summit in Pittsburgh

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Pittsburgh? Why Pittsburgh? That’s what everybody kept asking me when I said I was heading to the “Steel City” to cover the G-20 Summit.

This is the face of America that President Obama wants to show the world? A city once described as “hell with the lid off,” a place so smoky that it permanently felt like midnight. I mean I love a good underdog story, but a world summit in Pittsburgh?

Or perhaps the president knows something we don’t.

PNC Park in Pittsburgh

In the early 1980’s, Pittsburgh hit its nadir — the steel industry collapsed, unemployment in nearby Beaver County reached 28 percent, and Steeler running back Franco Harris signed on with the Seattle Seahawks. Well, guess what folks? That was then… This is no longer your grandfather’s Pittsburgh.

Today, Pittsburgh is green, clean, and an employment machine. The city reinvented itself, investing heavily in biotech, healthcare, and green technology. Riverfront steel mills were ripped down and replaced with stores and office buildings teeming with scientists. Today, Pittsburgh is skating through this recession (relatively).

If you arrived in Pittsburgh knowing nothing of its past, the Dickensian nightmare portrayal of Pittsburgh might seem absurd. The day before the G-20, I took a riverboat tour of the city along the picturesque Alleghany and Monongahela rivers. (They converge to form the Ohio River.) The tour was organized by the Pittsburgh Regional Alliance, an organization that markets to companies worldwide to expand or relocate to Pittsburgh. On board, about ten speakers fed a few members of the visiting press information about Pittsburgh’s economic and environmental revitalization along the river, from industrial highway to hot-spot for bikers, kayakers, and joggers.

The transformation didn’t take place overnight. And there has been pain along the way. A whole demographic was pushed out: The city has steadily shrunk in size for five decades. And people talk about high racial tension in Pittsburgh.

Still, it’s tough not to take your hat off to community leaders here. And while I’m busy fawning over Pittsburgh… The Pittsburgh Post Gazette had fantastic economics coverage of the G-20 in the weeks leading up to the event and during the summit. As a former newspaper writer and member of the media, I lament the decline of newspapers in America. I find it incredibly sad and depressing. But the Gazette provides hope. As far as regional papers go, from what I’ve been reading, the Gazette is as good as it gets.

Dave Hepps and the Pitts-Burgher

OK, I need something negative and overly critical to say about Pittsburgh to strike some balance. Here’s a concern: The baseball team is an embarrassment. (Although what a stadium! For my money, it’s the prettiest ballpark in America.) And yet another problem: Pittsburghers, as well as my colleague Matthew Bell, told me I HAD to try a Primanti Bros Pitts-Burgher cheese steak: a cheeseburger covered with coleslaw and a mountain of french fries, jammed between two thick slices of Italian bread. Now I like a greasy burger as much as the next guy, but c’mon, be reasonable, Pittsburgh. My childhood friend Dave Hepps (legendary teenage eater and new Pittsburgher) and I each tried to take one down. We couldn’t do it. Two days later I still haven’t fully recovered from trying. (Matthew Bell’s one-word assesment: “Wussy.”)

So, despite the clogged arteries and minor league caliber baseball team, all in all, good show, Pittsburgh. Maybe President Obama was pretty shrewd in choosing this place after all.

One footnote: Just so nobody accuses me of ignoring the protests in my stories or this blog post, that wasn’t my assignment. In my three days here, I only encountered a handful of protesters, but I wasn’t exactly trying to track them down.