Titled “Mc Keesport,” this 1904 United States Geological Survey topographical map captures Pittsburgh and its southeastern industrial hinterland at a pivotal moment in the city’s rise. Drawn at a scale of 1:62,500, it presents a detailed portrait of the terrain, waterways, settlements, and transport corridors that shaped one of America’s great manufacturing regions. Pittsburgh appears not as an isolated city, but as the commanding center of a dense river landscape, linked to McKeesport, Homestead, Braddock, Elizabeth, Versailles, Wilkinsburg, and numerous smaller communities. The map’s earthy tones and fine contour work evoke the visual language of early twentieth-century government cartography, combining scientific precision with a restrained, elegant style.

The United States Geological Survey, founded in 1879, was created to bring order, measurement, and systematic knowledge to the American landscape. By the time this map was produced, the USGS had become indispensable to engineers, planners, industrialists, and public officials seeking reliable information about terrain, water, roads, and settlement. In a region like greater Pittsburgh, such knowledge was especially valuable. The area’s steep hills, river valleys, and rapidly expanding industrial towns demanded careful understanding of elevation and access. The map reflects the Survey’s broader mission: to document the nation not merely as geography, but as a practical working environment, where natural form and human enterprise were intimately connected.

The map’s topographic character is particularly revealing. Contours and subtle shading trace the folded, hilly landscape around the Monongahela, Allegheny, and Ohio Rivers, while the Youghiogheny River and Turtle Creek carve their own important corridors through the region. These waterways were not decorative features; they were the structural bones of Pittsburgh’s industrial geography. Mills, rail lines, towns, and roads clustered along the valleys, where movement was easiest and water access most valuable. Places such as Homestead, Braddock, McKeesport, and Elizabeth gained significance precisely because of their positions along these river systems. The map makes visible the powerful relationship between terrain and industrial growth.

The towns and neighborhoods shown here form a remarkable snapshot of metropolitan Pittsburgh before the full force of twentieth-century urban transformation. Squirrel Hill, Forest Hill, Millvale, West Mifflin, White Oak, North Versailles, South Versailles, Wall, Jefferson, and Minersville appear within a landscape still legible as a collection of distinct settlements, valleys, farms, roads, and rail links. McKeesport stands out near the meeting of the Monongahela and Youghiogheny, an advantageous position that helped it flourish as a steel and tube-making center. Nearby Braddock and Homestead evoke the immense industrial power of the Monongahela Valley, where furnaces, mills, and rail yards were reshaping both economy and environment.

Seen today, the map is compelling not only for what it records, but for what it foreshadows. In 1904, Pittsburgh was already synonymous with steel, coal, railroads, and river commerce, yet much of the surrounding terrain retained the open, contoured texture of an earlier landscape. Roads and railways thread through valleys that would later be altered by highways, dense suburbs, expanded industry, and environmental remediation. The map preserves a moment before many modern infrastructural changes redefined the region’s movement and settlement patterns. Its careful rendering of hills, rivers, towns, and transport routes offers a richly layered view of Pittsburgh at the height of its industrial ascent.

Cities, towns and places on this map

• Pittsburgh
• McKeesport
• Elizabeth
• Versailles
• Homestead
• Braddock
• White Oak
• North Versailles
• South Versailles
• Alquippa
• Jefferson
• Minersville
• Wall
• Monongahela River
• Allegheny River
• Ohio River
• Turtle Creek
• Youghiogheny River
• Wilkinsburg
• West Mifflin
• Squirrel Hill
• Forest Hill
• Millvale
• Turtle Creek Valley
• Numerous roads and railways, including primary highways and local transport routes

Historical context & cartographic details

• Produced by the US Geological Survey
• Historical 1:62,500 topographical map dated 1904
• Shows Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and the surrounding area
• The US Geological Survey was established in 1879 and played a crucial role in mapping the United States
• Created as a practical mapping resource for sectors including urban planning and environmental management
• Features Pittsburgh and adjacent towns, rivers, valleys, and roads
• Uses earthy tones to represent elevation changes and terrain, characteristic of early 20th-century topographic maps
• Displays contours and shading to show hilly terrain and waterways
• Reflects the early industrial development of Pittsburgh
• Documents a landscape later transformed by urbanization, infrastructure changes, and environmental shifts

Looking for a particular place? Review the detailed images to confirm that the town, landmark or feature you have in mind appears on the map. If you are unsure, ask our workshop to check before you order.

Detailed maps are especially rewarding at larger sizes, where names, boundaries and decorative features have more room to be appreciated. Use the close-up preview and size guide to choose the right scale for your wall.

This map looks amazing at sizes all the way up to 50in (125cm). If you are looking for a larger map, please get in touch.

The model in the listing images is holding the 16x20in (40x50cm) version of this map.

Where personalisation is available, you can add a short title or dedication, mark one meaningful place, or request one considered visual detail. See personalised map examples.

Every piece is printed to museum-grade archival standards using fade-resistant pigment inks on acid-free matte paper. Choose an unframed map print, framed map or canvas using the finish options above. Framed maps use crystal-clear optical acrylic and arrive ready to hang.

With its rich detail and strong sense of place, this map makes a considered gift for a new home, anniversary, retirement or anyone with a personal connection to the area shown. Still deciding? Explore our collection of rare old and vintage maps to discover another place, period or style.

This map is also available as a float framed canvas, sometimes known as a shadow gap framed canvas or canvas floater. The map is printed on artist's cotton canvas and then stretched over a handmade box frame. We then "float" the canvas inside a wooden frame, which is available in a range of colours (black, dark brown, oak, antique gold and white). This is a wonderful way to present a map without glazing in front. See some examples of float framed canvas maps and explore the differences between my different finishes.

For something truly unique, this map is also available in "Unique 3D", our trademarked process that dramatically transforms the map so that it has a wonderful sense of depth. We combine the original map with detailed topography and elevation data, so that mountains and the terrain really "pop". For more info and examples of 3D maps, check my Unique 3D page.