David L. Lawrence Convention Center
David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh
Address	1000 Ft. Duquesne Blvd., Pittsburgh, PA 15222
Location	Downtown Pittsburgh
Coordinates	40°26′45″N 79°59′47″W / 40.44583°N 79.99639°W / 40.44583; -79.99639
Owner	Sports & Exhibition Authority of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County
Built	1979–1981
Opened	February 7, 1981
Renovated	2000–2003
Expanded	2000–2003
Construction cost	$373 million ($607 million today)
Enclosed space
• Total space	1,450,000 sq ft (134,700 m2)
• Exhibit hall floor	330,000 sq ft (30,700 m2)
• Breakout/meeting	77,952 sq ft (7,200 m2)
• Ballroom	31,610 sq ft (2,900 m2)
Parking	700-car parking garage[1]
Public transit access	Wood Street
Website
www.pittsburghcc.com

The exhibit halls, seen from the Veterans Bridge.

The David L. Lawrence Convention Center (DLLCC) is a 1,500,000-square-foot (140,000 m²) convention, conference and exhibition building in downtown Pittsburgh in the U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is served by two exits on Interstate 579. The initial David L. Lawrence Convention Center was completed on the site on February 7, 1981, but as part of a renewal plan the new, completely redesigned center was opened in 2003 and funded in conjunction with nearby Acrisure Stadium and PNC Park. It sits on the southern shoreline of the Allegheny River. It is the first LEED-certified convention center in North America and one of the first in the world.^[2] It is owned by the Sports & Exhibition Authority of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County.^[3]

History

In the early 1970s a site on the opposite side of Downtown Pittsburgh was considered for a modern convention center, on the shores of the Monongahela River. On September 20, 1971, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania failed to approve that location, and site work slowly began on the present site as the city and county submitted it to the commonwealth on December 10, 1974. There was a proposal in mid-1974 to locate the center at the then transitioning Penn Station.^[4] The center had its ceremonial groundbreaking on June 8, 1977.^[5][6][7]

On February 7, 1981, the original $35 million ($124 million today) structure opened with a ribbon cutting ceremony by Mayor Richard Caliguiri, County Commissioner Tom Foerster and Governor Dick Thornburgh.^[8] The old convention center was 131,000 sq ft (12,000 m²) and lacked a ballroom.

The 1981 building was demolished to make way for the current structure, built on the same site. After the Commonwealth approved funding for the redesigned center on February 3, 1999 Rafael Viñoly Architects, P.C. was chosen as the designer for the modern center on February 28, 1999. Viñoly along with Dewhurst MacFarlane & Partners and Goldreich Engineering P.C. constructed the $354 million ($621.9 million today) riverfront landmark to contain 313,400 sq ft (29,100 m²) of exhibit space (236,900 sq ft (22,000 m²) of which is column-free), 76,500 sq ft (7,100 m²) of additional exhibit space, a 31,610 sq ft (2,940 m²) ballroom, 51 meeting rooms, two 250-seat lecture halls, teleconference and telecommunications capabilities and 4,500 sq ft (420 m²) of retail space (currently in development). The architect, Viñoly, began the design with a goal in mind of achieving the status of a "green" building. In 2003, the building was awarded Gold Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification by the U.S. Green Building Council, making it the first such convention center in the U.S. and the largest "green" building in the world.^[2]

The newly rebuilt building won the 2004 Supreme Award for structural engineering excellence from the Institution of Structural Engineers.

The convention center is home to prominent conventions, such as Anthrocon, the Pittsburgh RV Show, Pittsburgh Boat Show, Pittsburgh Home and Garden Show, Piratefest, and the acclaimed Pittsburgh International Auto Show.

Naming

The center—though completely a structure of 2003 construction—chose to retain the name of the earlier convention center on the site completed in 1981 in honor of David Leo Lawrence (June 18, 1889 – November 21, 1966). Lawrence was an American politician who served as the Democratic Governor of Pennsylvania from 1959 to 1963, only retiring because of the state's then term limit of 1 per governor. He is to date the only mayor of Pittsburgh to be elected Governor of Pennsylvania. Previously, he had been the longest tenured mayor of Pittsburgh (1946–1959) and the primary force behind Pittsburgh's urban renewal projects including the Mellon Arena, Gateway Center, Fort Pitt Tunnel and Point State Park. He was Pennsylvania's first Catholic Governor (at the time a major breakthrough for an Irish Catholic), and a major force in the national Democratic Party from the 1930s to the 1960s. Historians credit him with among other behind-the-scenes labors, leading a compromise at the 1944 National Democratic Convention that eventually made Harry Truman president. As well as healing a divided national convention of 1960 that resulted in the John F. Kennedy/Lyndon B. Johnson ticket, it is for these reasons as well as his work in the state and the city that he was dubbed "kingmaker" by party leaders.

Incidents

On February 13, 1982, a Car Expo Mercury display featuring a 130-pound cougar named Tom Tom mauled a 9-year-old Upper St. Clair boy before Pittsburgh Police officers shot the animal dead. The boy survived after being treated at Allegheny General Hospital for several days.^[9][10]

On February 12, 2002, less than two weeks before the scheduled opening of the new center,^[11] a 165-ton truss that was under construction collapsed, killing one and injuring two workers.^[12] The truss was part of the second phase of construction, scheduled for opening in 2003, and did not delay the February 23 opening of phase one.

On February 5, 2007, a section of concrete floor from the second floor loading dock collapsed under the weight of a tractor-trailer and fell onto the water feature area below.^[13] There were no injuries. The building remained closed until investigations by the contractors were completed on March 9, the fault was repaired, and the convention center reopened.

Notable events

2000s

• October 11, 2000: President Clinton is the featured speaker during a campaign rally.
• July 1, 2001: The old convention center is imploded.^[27]
• July 26–30, 2003: Urban League National Convention with President Bush speaking.
• December 2, 2003: President Bush conducts a townhall meeting.
• April 15–18, 2004: National Rifle Association Convention^[28] with Vice President Dick Cheney and Ted Nugent as speakers.
• April 19, 2004: President Bush delivers a major address at the center.
• July 31, 2004: Election Rally with President Bush as speaker.
• April 27 – May 7, 2004: United Methodist Church National Conference.
• November 6–12, 2004: SC, The International Conference for High Performance Computing Networking, Storage, and Analysis.^[29]
• 2004:
• July 25, 2005: Vice President Cheney delivers a major address.
• June 15–18, 2006: Anthrocon has its first year in Pittsburgh and at the center.
• July 7–11, 2006: Major League Baseball All-Star Game Fanfest^[30]
• April 20, 2007: National Women's Health & the Environment Conference with Fran Drescher and Teresa Heinz Kerry as speakers.
• November 4, 2007: Steve Sabol hosts the Pittsburgh Steelers 75th anniversary gala, Chuck Noll's last public appearance.^[31][32]
• Spring 2008: The Dapper Dan Awards Banquet
• April 14, 2008: Alliance for American Manufacturing National convention with Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama as speakers.
• May 8–15, 2008: U.S. Chess Federation National Championships.
• August 9, 2008: Democratic National Platform Convention with Janet Napolitano, Howard Dean and Deval Patrick among others.
• September 21–24, 2008: 27th annual National Recycling Coalition conference.

2009 G-20 Pittsburgh summit (September 24–25, 2009)

• March 16–20, 2009: Annual March National Meeting for the American Physical Society.
• April 3–5, 2009: Tekkoshocon
• June 28–29, 2009: 8th Annual International Society for Bipolar Disorders Conference.
• July 30 – August 2, 2009: Forrest Wood Cup National Family Fun Zone & Awards Ceremony.
• August 6–9, 2009: American Philatelic Society's StampShow.
• August 13–16, 2009: Netroots Nation National convention with Bill Clinton and Howard Dean speaking.
• Pittsburgh Golf Show.
• August 21, 2009: National Truck Driving Championships.
• September 13–17, 2009: AFL-CIO National Convention,^[33] with President Obama and Caroline Kennedy as featured speakers.
• September 24–25, 2009: Global20 summit with President Obama and dozens of other world leaders.
• October 19, 2009: 1st Annual DUG East is held.^[34][35]
• 2009: Biomedical Engineering Society National Conference.

Transportation access

The Convention Center is served by exits on Interstate 579, Interstate 279 and Interstate 376 as well as its location within five blocks of both the Wood Street and Penn Station transit stops on the Pittsburgh subway system.

Penn Station also serves Amtrak, providing regular direct inter-city rail links.

Both the Megabus intercity service and the local Port Authority of Allegheny County buses also stop at the center.

National television

• Three Rivers, the CBS medical drama, used the convention center for some scenes depicting the hospital.^[46]
• Justified, the FX Network drama, used the center for interior shots of the "airport".^[47]
• Smith, a CBS crime drama that showcases the convention center's interior waterway during Ray Liotta's and Amy Smart's escape chase scene with the Pittsburgh Police. The exterior riverside of the center is shown prominently as the gang transfers to a speed boat on the Allegheny River.
• The Colbert Report 2012 from the National Rifle Association convention held at the center.^[48]
• The Rachel Maddow Show 2011 with Meghan McCain and Ricky Burgess.^[49]

References

Book

• Toker, Franklin (2007). Buildings of Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh: Chicago: Society of Architectural Historians; Santa Fe: Center for American Places ; Charlottesville: In association with the University of Virginia Press. ISBN 978-0-8139-2650-6.

Web

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to David L. Lawrence Convention Center.

• Official website
• U.S. Green Building Council
• G-20 to Meet at David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh, PA – Dexigner
• Newspaper article on the opening ceremonies