Officials consider new color for iconic Sister Bridges across Allegheny

Keep them gold.

Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald and Mayor Bill Peduto on Friday asked people to weigh in on whether to paint Pittsburgh's Sister Bridges spanning the Allegheny River different colors, and Pittsburghers did not appear to take to it.

“No way. I want them gold,” Kevin Brown, 48, of West Mifflin said as he walked past PNC Park. “We're black and gold.”

The county, which owns the Roberto Clemente, Andy Warhol and Rachel Carson bridges, will repaint the yellow spans in the coming years as part of a rehabilitation program for the 90-year-old bridges. A caller to PCNC's “Night Talk” program a few months ago suggested to Fitzgerald and Peduto to paint the Warhol Bridge gray or silver and the Carson Bridge green.

“I don't like it,” Lauren Palmieri, 25, of the North Side said as she and May Wong walked Misty May, a pit bull-Labrador mix puppy across the Warhol Bridge.

“The yellow bridges are kind of iconic,” said Wong, 26, of Bethel Park.

“They make for better pictures,” Palmieri added.

A poll on the county's website indicates that many agree with Brown, Palmieri, Wong and Misty May, who barked enthusiastically when asked if the bridges should stay yellow. About three hours after the county posted the poll Friday afternoon, 75 percent of the more than 700 voters wanted to keep the bridges yellow, technically Aztec gold.

American Bridge Co. built the Sixth Street, Seventh Street and Ninth Street bridges between 1924 and 1928. The earliest photos of the spans are black-and-white, but it's widely held that the bridges have always been yellow.

The county named them in honor of Clemente, Warhol and Carson in the past 20 years.

Rehab work on the bridges will cost $22 million per span, said Amie Downs, a county spokeswoman. About 95 percent of the money will come from state and federal sources.

Katie O'Malley, a spokeswoman for the mayor, said Peduto believes the bridges can be painted different colors and still reflect the character of the city. Fitzgerald has not decided whether he wants to change the colors, Downs said.

The Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation wants the bridges to be different colors, said Karamagi Rujumba, a spokesman for the group. He thinks the Carson Bridge should be green to reflect the environmentalist's commitment to protecting the environment, and the Warhol Bridge should be “a multitude of colors” to showcase the pop artist's works. The Clemente Bridge could use a little black to go with the Pirates outfielder's gold, too, Rujumba said.

“If those bridges were named Clemente, Carson and Warhol, and the city and the county have designated those bridges as monuments to those individuals, we think they should reflect their lives,” Rujumba said.

Rujumba's foundation has no say on the colors of the bridges. The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission will advise the county on whether changing colors would “adversely affect” the spans, which are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Howard Pollman, the commission's spokesman said.

He declined to comment on the proposal until he sees the design plans.

Aaron Aupperlee is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-320-7986 or aaupperlee@tribweb.com.