A gritty, detailed illustration of Pittsburgh’s steel mills at their peak — blast furnaces glowing, open-hearth operations underway, and smokestacks pouring into the sky. Include workers laboring near molten steel, rail lines hauling materials, and the Monongahela River in the background. Dark industrial tones with fiery highlights.

Steel Titans and Silent Stacks: The Technologies That Built (and Broke) Pittsburgh’s Steel Empire

Industry & Innovation

Introduction: Innovation and Obsolescence in the Steel City Pittsburgh’s steel dominance wasn’t just built on raw resources — it was driven by relentless technological innovation. From the Bessemer process that launched an empire to the outdated open-hearth furnaces that spelled its collapse, Pittsburgh’s rise and fall as America’s steel capital is a story of industrial evolution and…