Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
A view of Brașov’s Old Town.
Romania • 12 days, 11 nights
Legends of Romania: Castles, Ruins & Culinary Delights
from
Balkans road trip
Bosnia and Herzegovina • 9 days, 8 nights
Balkans Road Trip: Serbia, Croatia & Bosnia and Herzegovina
from
View all trips
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
The ‘Old Secretariat’ government building in New Delhi.
The 'Old Secretariat'
This set is inspired by a Roman arena.
Bozdağ Film Platolari
The Sea Water Distilling Plant.
Sea Water Distilling Plant
Contemplative paths.
Ayo Rock Formations
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
The pavlova comes crowned with jewel-like fruit.
Central Park Boathouse
The Village Tavern of Long Grove - exterior.
The Village Tavern
Hunter House Hamburgers
L’Escamoteur
Names on the bartop.
The Dive
Recent Stories
All Stories Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
Wortley built the wooden backpack she used while retracing Alexandra David-Néel’s journey from a chair she found on the street in London.
How Elise Wortley Climbed Mont Blanc in 1830s Women’s Attire
27 days ago
Simplicity is key: Just a slice of bread with a sprinkling of salt and pepper is the perfect accompaniment.
The Sweet Second Life of Creole Cream Cheese
27 days ago
My rendition of frog legs, popping mushroom curry, pad prik khing with salted egg yolk, and sweet khanom thuai.
Recreating My Favorite Meal From Thailand
27 days ago
Inside London’s Gorgeously Curated ‘Art Restaurants’
27 days ago

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All the United States Pennsylvania Pittsburgh Mellon Institute Columns

Mellon Institute Columns

Sections of the iconic limestone columns have been left uncleaned as a reminder of the city's polluted past.

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Added By
Thomas Harper
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
Uncleaned parts of the columns.   Thomas Harper (Atlas Obscura User)
Uncleaned parts of the columns.   Thomas Harper (Atlas Obscura User)
The clean side of the iconic columns.   Thomas Harper (Atlas Obscura User)
Some sections were left uncleaned as a warning to future generations.   Thomas Harper (Atlas Obscura User)
Mellon Institute Columns…clean on the left, sooty on the right!   blimpcaptain / Atlas Obscura User
  chasepopt / Atlas Obscura User
  chasepopt / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

In the 19th and 20th centuries, Pittsburgh was notorious for its pollution and soot, earning itself monikers like “Smoky City” and "Hell with the Lid Off." The flourishing coal and steel industries caused the city’s buildings to be stained black, and the city to be dark with smoke even before noon.

Conditions were so bad, white-collar workers often had extra pairs of shirts to change into during the day. And when Frank Lloyd Wright was asked how to fix the city, he glibly said, "Raze it and start over."

In 1946, the newly elected mayor proposed a less extreme plan to clean up the city and improve the standard of living. Over the next two decades, the surfaces of buildings were cleaned, new, cleaner industries slowly came up, and the level of pollution dropped by nearly 90 percent.

But some buildings wanted to keep a reminder of the city's smoky past to warn future generations about the consequences of filthy air, and the Mellon Institute of Industrial Research was one of them.

The headquarters of the institute, built in 1937, takes up an entire city block. The building is ringed with 62 large columns, each 36 feet high. When the city was cleaning up its act, the institute left one side of some of these iconic limestone columns untouched and black, as a reminder of the smoky air of years past. 

The Institute merged with the nearby Carnegie Institute of Technology to become Carnegie Mellon University in 1967. Today the picturesque columns at the front entrance of the building are a popular spot for wedding and occasion photography, and even filming scenes for movies—black soot and all.

Related Tags

Cities Pollution Urban Planning Columns Universities Environment Architecture Industrial Coal

Community Contributors

Added By

thomasharper

Edited By

chasepopt, blimpcaptain

  • chasepopt
  • blimpcaptain

Published

June 6, 2017

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • http://www.chem.cmu.edu/cma/mi.html
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mellon_Institute_of_Industrial_Research
  • http://popularpittsburgh.com/darkhistory/
  • https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/01/aghast-over-beijings-air-pollution-this-was-pittsburgh-not-that-long-ago/267237/
Mellon Institute Columns
4400 Fifth Avenue
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
United States
40.446132, -79.95102
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Cathedral of Learning

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

miles away

Dippy the Dinosaur

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

miles away

Gene Kelly's Pittsburgh Plaque

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh

Pennsylvania

Places 61
Stories 5

Nearby Places

Cathedral of Learning

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

miles away

Dippy the Dinosaur

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

miles away

Gene Kelly's Pittsburgh Plaque

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh

Pennsylvania

Places 61
Stories 5

Related Places

  • Rosalie Sharp Centre for Design in the iconic Toronto cityscape.

    Toronto, Ontario

    Rosalie Sharp Centre for Design

    This buzzy, award-winning building hovers 85 feet above the ground on a dozen colorful stilts.

    Sponsored by Destination Toronto
  • The Katarinahissen.

    Stockholm, Sweden

    Katarina Elevator

    This gem from the industrial age helps visitors and residents alike traverse hilly Stockholm.

  • What looks like an ordinary building is actually a wall.

    Paris, France

    145 Rue Lafayette

    What looks like a normal building is really a hollow facade hiding a subway vent.

  • Prato della Valle

    Padua, Italy

    Prato della Valle

    One of the largest squares in Europe contains an entire artificial island.

  • The stacked homes of the Monster Building.

    Hong Kong

    Quarry Bay 'Monster Building'

    This hulking behemoth is actually five interconnected towers built in the 1960s.

  • Views of the Sokol Settlement in Moscow.

    Moscow, Russia

    Sokol

    An early-20th-century "dacha" village of quaint cottages curiously located in a modern part of Moscow.

  • Kingsland Wildflowers.

    Brooklyn, New York

    Kingsland Wildflowers

    Thriving meadows span a rooftop in one of Brooklyn's most heavily industrialized neighborhoods.

  • The Cairo still dwarfs its neighbors.

    Washington, D.C.

    The Cairo

    This unacceptably tall building was the real reason for Washington, D.C.'s skyscraper ban.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.