In the nineteenth century, 400ft Mount Washington , across the Monongahela River, was the site of most of the city's coal mines. No longer dominated by belching steel mills and industry, the South Side , banked by the green "mountain," is an area of many churches, colorful houses nestled on steep hills, and old neighborhoods. These days only two survive of the twelve cable cars which, at the height of steel production, used to carry coal up the trolley inclines. The 1877 Duquesne Incline , from 1197 W Carson St to 1220 Grandview Ave, is the most interesting for its small museum of Pittsburgh history in the waiting room at the top: old photos of the city show workers struggling blindly through the streets in pitch-black midday smog (Mon-Sat 5.30am-12.45am, Sun 7.30am-12.45am; $1.60). The outdoor observation platform is a prime spot for views over the Golden Triangle to the hills on the horizon, which are especially awesome after dark. Not surprisingly, many (expensive) bars and restaurants here take advantage of the vista.

The best way to get to the South Side is across the 1883 blue-and-cream Smithfield Street Bridge , the oldest of fifteen downtown bridges and the most unusual-looking, thanks to its elliptical "fisheye" truss. Just to the west of the bridge stands redbrick Station Square , a complex of renovated railroad warehouses filled with restaurants and shops. Its showpiece is the beautiful stained glass and marble of the Grand Concourse seafood restaurant, filling the huge waiting room of the old Pittsburgh and Lake Erie train station. This is also the jetty for the enjoyable hour-long narrated Just Ducky Tours river cruises , which run every ninety minutes in summer, less frequently in the shoulder seasons (daily April-Oct, Sat & Sun only Nov 10am-6pm; $15, children $9; tel 412/402-3825).

Along the banks of the Monongahela, East Carson Street is the main drag of the lively mixed residential and commercial South Side, where a longstanding community of Polish and Ukrainian steelworkers has gradually absorbed an offbeat mix of cafés, bars and bookstores. Onion-domed churches stand alongside thrift stores and galleries, and the narrow backstreets are lined by brick rowhouses. This is also Pittsburgh's most extensive and varied nightlife center.

South Side

• South Side

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