Rust Belt Arts Diaspora

Via Pop City, AmericanStyle Magazine once again rates Pittsburgh as a top "arts destination" for US mid-sized cities. In fact, it is an urban Rust Belt sweep in that category:

1. Buffalo, N.Y.

2. Chattanooga, Tenn.

3. Pittsburgh, Pa.

Chattanooga is interesting because of how it shot up into the rankings. Not typically thought of as Rust Belt, the city is a lot like Pittsburgh. There's even a Westinghouse connection:

Westinghouse Electric Company celebrated the grand opening of its first United States Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) Training Center and its second WEC Welding Institute on August 20, 2009 in Chattanooga, Tenn. The grand opening celebration, attended by 225 Westinghouse employees, BWR customers and invited guests, included a ribbon-cutting ceremony, followed by site tours which featured 18 BWR tooling exhibits and welding demonstrations.

Nick Liparulo, senior vice president, Nuclear Services, cut the ribbon on the refueling bridge over the training center's full scale BWR mockup with the assistance of Shigenori Shiga, senior vice president and chief coordination officer, Westinghouse Coordination Office; David Howell, vice president, Field Services; Wayne Bentley, vice president, BWR Operations & Growth; and Bruce Phares, director, BWR Reactor Services.

In commenting on the new facility, Mr. Liparulo said: "Our investment here in Chattanooga is reflective of both the scope of the nuclear renaissance and our ongoing commitment to meet the diverse needs of our growing customer base. We see an exciting and long-term future for our industry, our company and this state-of-the-art facility."

Some time soon I'll have to visit Chattanooga a see the renaissance with my own eyes.