{"id":41686,"date":"2025-11-22T14:43:08","date_gmt":"2025-11-22T14:43:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/41686\/"},"modified":"2025-11-22T14:43:08","modified_gmt":"2025-11-22T14:43:08","slug":"new-welcome-center-unveiled-at-pittsburghs-heinz-history-center-wpxi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/41686\/","title":{"rendered":"New welcome center unveiled at Pittsburgh\u2019s Heinz History Center \u2013 WPXI"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 gJuxXh body-paragraph\">PITTSBURGH \u2014 VisitPITTSBURGH, in collaboration with the Senator John Heinz History Center, inaugurated a new welcome center during a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 gJuxXh body-paragraph\">The welcome center, situated on the first floor of the Smithsonian-affiliated Heinz History Center, marks a significant step in enhancing Pittsburgh\u2019s tourism appeal, bolstered by its recent recognition as one of National Geographic\u2019s \u2018Best of the World\u2019 destinations for 2026.<\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 gJuxXh body-paragraph\">\u201cThis new Welcome Center is more than a visitor hub; it\u2019s an entry point to our city,\u201d said Jerad Bachar, President &amp; CEO of VisitPITTSBURGH.<\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 gJuxXh body-paragraph\">\u201cWith its close proximity to the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, Downtown Pittsburgh, and the Strip District, I can\u2019t think of a better location for the new Welcome Center than the Heinz History Center,\u201d said Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato.<\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 gJuxXh body-paragraph\">\u201cAs one of Pittsburgh\u2019s premier attractions, the Heinz History Center is the perfect place for visitors to learn about our region and understand why Pittsburghers are so proud,\u201d said Andy Masich, President &amp; CEO of the History Center.<\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 gJuxXh body-paragraph\">Tourism is a major economic driver for Allegheny County, with over 21 million visitors annually contributing $6.9 billion in direct spending and supporting more than 42,000 jobs across various sectors.<\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 gJuxXh body-paragraph\">The opening of the welcome center coincides with the debut of the new Pittsburgh International Airport terminal, emphasizing Pittsburgh\u2019s readiness to welcome visitors.<\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 gJuxXh body-paragraph\">Pittsburgh is poised for a landmark tourism year in 2026, hosting significant events such as the NFL Draft, the Carnegie International and America\u2019s 250th anniversary celebrations, expected to draw millions of visitors.<\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 gJuxXh body-paragraph\">The Heinz History Center location will soon be complemented by another welcome center at the Pittsburgh International Airport, enhancing VisitPITTSBURGH\u2019s ability to engage visitors from their arrival.<\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 gJuxXh body-paragraph\">Download the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wpxi.com\/mobile-apps\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">FREE WPXI News app<\/a> for breaking news alerts.<\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 gJuxXh body-paragraph\">Follow Channel 11 News on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/wpxi\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Facebook<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WPXI\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Twitter<\/a>. | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wpxi.com\/video\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Watch WPXI NOW<\/a><\/p>\n<p>TOP STORIES FROM CHANNEL 11 NEWS <\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 gJuxXh body-paragraph body-copyright\">\u00a92025 Cox Media Group<\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PITTSBURGH \u2014 VisitPITTSBURGH, in collaboration with the Senator John Heinz History Center, inaugurated a new welcome center during&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":41687,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[8716,3537,73,75,74,8445,24379],"class_list":["post-41686","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pittsburgh","tag-heinz-history-center","tag-nfl-draft","tag-pittsburgh","tag-pittsburgh-headlines","tag-pittsburgh-news","tag-visitpittsburgh","tag-welcome-center"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41686","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41686"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41686\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41687"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41686"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41686"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41686"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}