Since the foundation of the town of Pittsburgh in the eighteenth century the Golden Triangle has been a cultural hub for local citizens. However, it was not until the nineteenth century that the city of Pittsburgh designated this area the business district.

Due to the vast number of immigrants and the industrial revolution in the early twentieth century the Golden Triangle became heavily polluted.

Largely due to manufacturing goods for World War I and World War II, Pittsburgh became a financial hub while at the same time it grew older, grimier, and more unlovely than ever.

Many years of war production left a black coat of tarnish on the structures in the Golden Triangle. According to the city of the Pittsburgh the site had become an ugly jungle gym of warehouse buildings and railroad trackage.

By the mid 1940s, the citizens of Pittsburgh, through the Allegheny Conference on Community Development, desperately wanted to show the beauty and uniqueness of their city. They decided that their first project would be the rehabilitation of the Golden Triangle.

Through the public's efforts to share the charm of their prized city, the Golden Triangle has been rescued. Grand corporate offices and research buildings are protected for future usage, and Pittsburgh stopped the horrid air pollution and stream pollution that once plagued the city.

Through this restoration project, the present colleges and universities within the city have found a vast amount of public support. The city of Pittsburgh is now willing to spend public funds on a variety of public interests, including educational television, art, exhibits, symphony music, and summer musicals.

The Golden Triangle not only resumed its original usage, but the citizens of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania have preserved it for future generations.