Before we hopped aboard the Gateway Clipper fleet to PNC Park, we had dinner and took a walk around Station Square. 

Station Square is home to the Clinton furnace, which was Pittsburgh's first successful blast furnace for making pig iron (which is used for making steel, a main source of Pittsburgh's early industry). The furnace is enormous, as you can see by how it dwarfs me in the photo. According to the placard beside it, "The furnace's technology initiated a new era, leading to more advanced furnaces capable of producing huge amounts of iron and resulting in the modern blast furnace. Clinton Furnace played an important role in establishing Pittsburgh's dominance in iron and steel making." Operations ran from 1859-1927. Operations were fueled using coke (coal that has been transformed in beehive ovens into almost pure carbon, making it burn hotter) from Connellsville, which is an area of the Laurel Highlands near where we are getting married. We drove through Connellsville looking for bed and breakfasts. It is neat to experience local history first hand like that. 

Dave and I with a view of Pittsburgh in the background. 

We're all in our Pittsburgh sports gear for the baseball game. Ironically, Dave, the only one of us not from this area, is the only one who owns an actual Pirates shirt. 

Station Square boasts really great views of Pittsburgh. 

A barge on the river.