We were very excited to wake up this morning and see The New York Times article “Built on Steel, Pittsburgh Now Thrives on Culture.” Featured prominently in the article is a photo of Andrea Polli and Ron Gdovic’s “Energy Flow” wind-powered LED lighting installation on the Rachel Carson Bridge.
Riverlife is proud to have been one of the partners who produced the bridge lights installation as part of last year’s Pittsburgh Bicentennial Celebration. For more information about the “Energy Flow” bridge lights as well as behind-the-scenes video of how the installation came together, visit our Riverlife project page at www.riverlifepgh.org/energyflow.
Times writer Lucas Peterson begins with a tribute to the city’s bridges:
“Of all the things to love about Pittsburgh, its bridges are perhaps the most visible. There are over 440 bridges, an astounding number for a city of 300,000 people — hence its nickname City of Bridges. I was standing on the Roberto Clemente Bridge, named after the great Pirates outfielder, looking up the Allegheny River at two other huge, majestic steel bridges: the Andy Warhol and the Rachel Carson. The three pale-mustard-color suspension bridges, known as the Three Sisters, are part of a system without which Pittsburgh, which meets at the convergence of the Allegheny, Monongahela and Ohio Rivers, would be a fractured collection of neighborhoods.
Pittsburgh is also known as Steel City, and while United States Steel still has its headquarters there, the industry collapsed in the 1980s, a devastating blow. But given two options, evolve or perish, Pittsburgh began growing in a new direction.” Read the full article at The New York Times.
The “Energy Flow” bridge lights have been extended through 2017 and are visible at dusk every night on the Rachel Carson Bridge, pending weather and regular maintenance.
Photo by Jeff Swensen for The New York Times.
