The Gulf Tower is a 44-story,

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

skyscraper in

downtown Pittsburgh Downtown Pittsburgh, colloquially referred to as the Golden Triangle, and officially the Central Business District, is the urban downtown center of Pittsburgh. It is located at the confluence of the Allegheny River and the Monongahela River who ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. The tower is one of the major distinctive and recognizable features of the city and is named for the Gulf Oil Corporation, one of the leading multinational oil companies of its time, and one of the Seven Sisters of the Anglo-American oil industry prior to its merger with fellow oil giant Chevron. Built as the headquarters for the Gulf Oil Company, the structure was designed by the firm of Trowbridge & Livingston and completed in 1932 at a cost of $10.05 million ($ million today). As late as 1981 Gulf Oil employed 3,100 within the building. Now called Gulf Tower, it has 44 floors and rises above Downtown Pittsburgh. The crown of the skyscraper is modeled after the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus in the style of a step pyramid. The building was listed as a Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation Historic Landmark in 1973. On June 13, 1974, a bomb was detonated on the 29th floor of the Gulf Tower. The

Weather Underground Organization The Weather Underground was a far-left militant organization first active in 1969, founded on the Ann Arbor campus of the University of Michigan. Originally known as the Weathermen, the group was organized as a faction of Students for a Democr ...

took credit for the attack, claiming it was in protest to Gulf Oil's involvement in the oil rich regions affected by the

Angolan War of Independence The Angolan War of Independence (; 1961–1974), called in Angola the ("Armed Struggle of National Liberation"), began as an uprising against forced cultivation of cotton, and it became a multi-faction struggle for the control of Portugal ...

. The building was condemned following a fire on May 19, 2021 and required repairs. The Gulf Tower reopened to tenants and visitors six months later.

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Prior to the late 1970s, the entire multistory "step-pyramid/mausoleum" structure at the top of the building was neon-illuminated, changing colors to provide a

weather forecast Weather forecasting is the application of science and technology to predict the conditions of the atmosphere for a given location and time. People have attempted to predict the weather informally for millennia and formally since the 19th cent ...

that could be seen for many miles. This concept was developed by the building manager Edward H. Heath. He used the Gulf Oil colors to create a simplified forecast: steady blue meant colder and fair; flashing blue meant colder with precipitation; steady orange meant warmer and fair; flashing orange meant warmer with precipitation. Subsequently, in an effort to conserve energy, the weather forecasting role had been limited to the weather beacon at the pinnacle of the pyramid, which would glow blue for precipitation and red for fair weather. Although the terraced sides were once again illuminated at night (by means of spotlights), the entire pyramid structure no longer changed color with the weather (the pinnacle beacon still had that function). Since 2001, the opening of

PNC Park PNC Park is a baseball stadium on the North Shore of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is the fifth home of the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball (MLB). It was opened during the 2001 MLB season, after the controlled implosion of the Pira ...

across the Allegheny River, fans have noticed that after Pittsburgh Pirates home-runs, the "beam" light flashes in celebration. Recently it was revealed that the afternoon and evening receptionist at the lobby desk was the one responsible for this fan favorite, following the games on her cabinet radio. The slogan "Flash the beam, Regina – that one's out of here!" has gained popularity among Pirates fans recently. The KDKA Weather Beacon, the most recent weather beacon to adorn the pyramid atop the tower, was officially dedicated on July 4, 2012. In partnership with

KDKA-TV KDKA-TV (channel 2) is a television station in Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, airing programming from the CBS network. It is owned-and-operated station, owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division a ...

, the Gulf Tower has been retrofit with a modern, automated LED weather beacon that will tell a more complete forecast than ever before. The Design concepts were created & implemented by the Design Team of Cindy Limauro and Christopher Popowich of C & C Lighting, LLC. A Pittsburgh based company. It will also feature holiday displays. Hearkening back to the original 1950's beacon, the entire pyramid will once again change colors at night depending on the current weather conditions. The new color-coded, tiered system works as such: Floor By Floor Breakdown * 44th floor – temperature * 43rd floor – temperature * 42nd floor – temperature * 41st floor – precipitation * 40th floor – humidity * 39th floor – wind speed

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{{Pittsburgh Skyscraper office buildings in Pittsburgh Oil company headquarters in the United States Office buildings completed in 1932 Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation Historic Landmarks Art Deco architecture in Pennsylvania 1932 establishments in Pennsylvania Gulf Oil

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