Westin Convention Center Pittsburgh


The Westin Convention Center Pittsburgh is a 26-story, hotel in Downtown Pittsburgh, with a prominent position in the area adjacent to the David L. Lawrence Convention Center and the Cultural District. The hotel is connected via an enclosed walkway to the convention center.
The building is part of Liberty Center, a two building complex which also includes the Federated Tower. Liberty Center was developed and built by Liberty Center Ventures, a partnership of Forest City Enterprises and Jos. L. Muscarelle, Inc. and opened in December 1986. In August 2013, Liberty Center was sold by Forest City to Starwood Capital Group for $135 million.

History

Liberty Center was developed and built by Liberty Center Ventures, a partnership of Forest City Enterprises and Jos. L. Muscarelle, Inc. and opened in December 1986. The $137 million mixed-use complex was the first major development following the Renaissance II burst of construction in downtown Pittsburgh. The hotel broke ground on December 6, 1984, construction "topped off" on September 26, 1985 and the entire Liberty Center complex opened in December 1986. The complex was financed from three sources: a $99 million loan from Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, a $21 million from the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh, and the remainder from Jos. L. Muscarelle, Inc. and Forest City Enterprises.
The hotel opened as the Vista International and was managed by Hilton International. From 1995 to 2001, the hotel was managed by DT Management Inc., a subsidiary of Hilton Hotel Corporation and was known as the DoubleTree Pittsburgh Hotel at Liberty Center. In 2001, Starwood Hotels & Resorts took over management of the hotel, rebranding it as The Westin Convention Center.
In the 1980s it hosted the annual regional ad agency awards & banquet.

Notable guests

Several notable figures have chosen the hotel:
In 2016 as part of a partnership with Anthrocon, the hotel was given an anthropomorphic mascot named "Westie", a West Highland White Terrier.