Washington's Landing

Also has been called Herr's Island.
==Background==
Washington's Landing, a massive commercial housing development that helped rehabilitate perceptions of the rivers and the waterfront, serves as a starting point for the renaissance of recreational boating in Pittsburgh.
Once home to cattle stockyards, slaughterhouses and a meat-rendering plant, the 42-acre island, nestled close to the northern shore of the Allegheny at the 31st Street bridge, is now home to two key players in the local boating community -- the Three Rivers Rowing Association and Washington's Landing Marina.
==Insights==
For 190 years Washington's Landing was known as Herr’s Island. It is most remembered for the smell of its stockyards and rendering plants. It bore the name of Benjamin Herr who had purchased the island in 1797 for farming. In 1903 The Pennsylvania Railroad bought a portion of the island to use as a stop-over for livestock on the Chicago to New York route. This was in response to a federal law requiring resting, feeding, and watering after every 36 hours of travel. The presence of livestock led to meat packing and rendering plants eventually covering the island.
Herr’s Island was officially named Washington’s Landing on October 24, 1987. George Washington is supposed to have slept on the island in 1753 when his raft capsized in the Allegheny River. In 1989 Three Rivers Rowing Association open the first new facility on the improved landing. 
The five court tennis complex was constructed in 1990 on top of the marina’s in-water storage cells. 
Town houses and a technology park followed.
==Links==
* Three Rivers Rowing Association
===Blogs===
* http://www.unspace.net/2006/11/washingtons-landing/ with some photos
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