John A Roebling Ballroom

Our grand ballroom offers both superior function and style. Its namesake, John A Roebling, was a brilliant inventor and bridge designer of the middle 1800s. The ballroom, which is made up of seven separate rooms, each named after prominent Pittsburgh bridges, totals 6675 square feet / 620 square meters of meeting space.

The decor is reminiscent of the exclusive clubs and boardrooms found in turn-of-the-century Pittsburgh. Striking natural woods capture the feeling of that bygone era while satisfying the needs of today's business event planners. The style and quality of the contemporary lighting, artwork, vibrant colors, and excellent service will impress upon the attendees the attention you have put into the planning of your event.

Along with superb style, the Roebling Ballroom offers a look into the history and uniqueness of Pittsburgh. As a father and son, John and Washington Roebling were the foremost American engineers of suspension bridge construction in the 19th century. In 1847 John built the First wire rope suspension bridge across the Monongahela River in Pittsburgh. John Roebling completed dozens of major works, and designed the largest bridge span of his lifetime, the Brooklyn Bridge. A prolific writer, bridge builder, and theorist, Roebling's chief published work was Long and Short Span Railway Bridges. Roebling died in New York in 1869 of injuries sustained on the site of a bridge construction.

Roebling Ballroom Breakout Rooms

Bloomfield
This bridge, originally built in 1914, was closed in 1978 and demolished in 1980. The ordinance for the bridge was passed by council 7th January 1913, and signed by former Mayor Magee the following day. The contract for the structural steel was let, in December 1913, to the Fort Pitt Bridge Works, this firm being successful over several other bidders. Bloomfield's new bridge is the longest, the highest, and one of the most expensive structures of the kind that ever has been erected by the city; it took about one year to build it.

Birmingham
Crossing the Monongahela, it was built in 1976 by the Buchart Horn Company. The main span is 607 feet and the overall length is 1662 feet. The bridge was massively overbuilt with the expectation of it connecting a major roadway that was never built.

Liberty
Crossing the Ohio River, this steel cantilever bridge was constructed between 1926 and 1928. The engineer, George S Richardson, worked for the Allegheny County Department of Public Works.

Sewickley
The Sewickley Bridge is a relatively new structure, built in 1981. The construction / design is a steel cantilever Warren through truss and the entire structure is painted "PennDOT" green.

Westinghouse
Opened in 1932 to carry the Lincoln Highway US 30 over the entrance to the Turtle Creek Valley, the bridge was a $1.75-million part of a $4.4-million Lincoln Highway re-routing project. An $11.3-million renovation in 1982-83 included a modified deck with a wider roadway and Jersey barriers. The bridge was reopened in October 1983. Below the bridge stands the former home of the now-dissolved Westinghouse Electric Corporation. The site was the company's home since 1895 and the site of the First commercial radio broadcast in 1920 (which evolved into KDKA).

Smithfield
The current bridge is actually the third version of the "Smithfield" bridge to cross the Monongahela River. The first Smithfield Bridge was a covered wooden bridge and was built in 1818 by Lewis Wernwag.

Glennwood
Originally erected in 1894, the original bridge went under a major rehabilitation, including deck replacement, in the spring of 2000. The 1894 bridge was a Pittsburgh Railways streetcar bridge, which had a wooden floor to allow motor vehicles to cross also. It was a pin-connected Pennsylvania through truss.

Boardrooms

Fort Duquesne
Gained notoriety as "The Bridge To Nowhere" due to delays in construction, which left the northern end of the span hanging in midair for many years until approach ramps were built. "The Bridge To Nowhere" went nowhere because of troubles finding a place to land its northern ramps. Extending northward from the main span of the Fort Duquesne Bridge, the ramps were designed to divide into a pair of curves linking to the then proposed North Shore Expressway. The main span was finished in 1963, and traffic was finally able to use the northwestern ramps by 1969.

Fort Pitt
Near visual twin of nearby Fort Duquesne Bridge, although the main Fort Pitt span is almost 200 feet longer. Famous as the "best way to enter an American city," motorists traveling from the west on I-279 are given no visual cues regarding their nearness to downtown Pittsburgh as they enter the Fort Pitt Tunnels. Emerging from the portal, the Golden Triangle suddenly bursts into view, framed by the yellow cross-bracing of the bridge's arch.

The George W Ferris Ballroom

Harken back to the grandeur of the ballrooms of the great hotels in Pittsburgh's golden age. The Ferris Ballroom was named for the inventor of the Ferris wheel, a Pittsburgh bridge-builder, George W Ferris. You will remember the feeling you had on your first Ferris wheel ride when you enter the room. The mural, depicting the city from high atop the wooded outskirts, crowned by a bright, sky-blue ceiling, reminds the adventurer of their first time sitting at the top of a towering Ferris wheel.

High ceilings and skylights only add to the ambience, making this locale one of Pittsburgh's most sought-after gathering spots. Any visitors to the Holiday Inn Pittsburgh are taken by the uniqueness of the Ferris Ballroom, as will you!