With Final Pane in Place, PIT Terminal Achieves Milestone

More than 100,000 square feet of glass reflects region’s past, future

By Rocco Pacella

Published April 15, 2024

Read Time: 3 mins

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Long before it became a center of technology and advanced manufacturing, and even earlier than the steel-rich days of blast furnaces, glowing ingots and ashen skies, Pittsburgh was the nation’s epicenter of glass.

Between the late 1700s and early 1900s, well over three-quarters of glass produced in the United States came from Pittsburgh and its surrounding areas.

How fitting then, that last week construction crews placed the last of nearly 1,400 pieces of architectural glass on Pittsburgh International Airport’s new terminal, linking the city’s distinctive past to its dramatic vision of the future.

The last piece of glass signaled another landmark event on the path to the airport’s 2025 opening.

“It’s very, very rewarding,” said Chad Richter, general foreman for Pittsburgh glass installation specialists D-M Products. “I’ve only been a part of a couple other bigger projects, so for me this is a big deal; something I can tell my family about.”

The new terminal consists of nearly 103,000 square feet of architectural glass, transforming it almost entirely into an observation deck for visitors and travelers to view takeoffs, landin