Tom Ratchkauskas Photography: Through the Eyes of our Founding Fathers - Vista of Steel

George Washington and Chief Guyasuta meet atop a vista overlooking the eastern edge of the Ohio Territory at the forks of the Ohio River. A unique and often times tumultuous relationship between these two has led to the two surveying land seen to be of extreme value. The two leaders knew of the points importance but could only fathom of how grand it would look in the future. America was not even founded yet, but he land they surveyed would become a beacon of industry, and later a picturesque view of progress, resilience and ingenuity. Voted as the most beautiful urban vista in the United States, the mount's humble beginnings come from it's coal mining days. Along the banks of the Monongahela River, which roughly translates to "falling banks", the hill provided easy access to the Pittsburgh Coal Seam, giving it the name Coal Hill. European influences helped develop the inclines, funicular trains that rode up and down the hard to navigate hillside carrying passengers and freight. The hilltop neighborhoods began to expand and Coal Hill became Mount Washington. Innovation began to mold the hilltop as Chatham Village was created and then later the famous light up sign on the hillside. Chatham Village, inspired by the garden city movement was well ahead of its time and often imitated, successfully attempting to eliminate the negatives of urban sprawl and bringing greenspace and communities together. The sign that lights up with Bayer Pharmecuticals logo and asks random questions was placed their in the 1930's, at times mimicking the Hollywood sign. Now Grandview Avenue is lined with upscale restaurants, expensive homes and lookouts that give visitors the most unparalleled urban view in the country. The materials once mined and quarried from the hillside, visible across the river as towers of stone, steel and glass, while the cars of two inclines still climb the hill like they did over 100 years ago. Funicular cars counterbalance with one car going up as the other goes down, much like the perfect balance of history and progress that exists atop Mount Washington.

Visit the links below for more information:

Guyasuta and Washington: http://www.popularpittsburgh.com/pittsburgh-info/pittsburgh-history/washington-guyasuta.aspx

Duquesne Incline:http://www.duquesneincline.org/index.php?page=about-the-incline

Chatham Village: http://chathamvillage.coop/en/home/history.html