The Farmers Bank Building stood at 500 Wood St in Pittsburgh from 1902 - 1997. This is now the site of the McCormick & Schmick's restaurant.
When it was completed in 1902, it was the talllest building in the city.

Anybody have any idea of the purpose of the cylinder on the roof of the building in the foreground? Looks like a stiff wind and its on the street.

Looks like it's taken from the corner of Forbes & Wood, looking North towards Liberty Ave. The view of the Keenan is now blocked by the K&L Gates building.

We're not talking Billy Conn here. Snuggled in on the left side of the Farmer's Bank is the Westinghouse headquarters building. George Westinghouse, the founder of the company back in the 1880s, was a developer of alternating current, the competition to Tom Edison's DC. It was cheaper, easier to deliver and required fewer distribution points.He also invented the air brake, which provided railroad and later, truck safety. The year of this picture, 1910, was the year he retired; he died in 1914. His residual companies are still major tech players in solar, nuclear, electronics and broadcasting (think Group W and CBS).

I just remembered this NY Times piece from a previous post:

Submitted by Mr Mel on Tue, 04/21/2009 - 5:27pm.
NY Times article on DC current in NYC:
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/11/14/off-goes-the-power-current-...