The Golden Triangle in 1995. During the 1980s the city underwent another grand alteration. The skyline was dramatically changed with the construction of three skyscrapers: the Mellon Building on Grant Street, Oxford Centre on Smithfield and PPG Plaza, a complex of several buildings bordering Market Square. The PPG buildings were made of reflective glass, and the centerpiece is a towering skyscraper. Other buildings were constructed, like Fifth Avenue Place, but the big three really tower above the rest. Underneath it all, a subway system was installed to eliminate the cumbersome trolley tracks that were a hindrance to traffic flow.

In the early 1990s Pittsburgh gained the distinction of being the #1 city in America. Although that sort of notoriety is fleeting, it proved to the world that Pittsburgh had an undeniable charm that had earned more than just local appeal. Renaissance II, as it was called, ended in the late 1980s and the city settled down to admire the results. The next big push would occur with the dawn of the new millenium, when Plan B, or Renaissance III would bring a new wave of development.