George Washington looked out over French built Fort Duquesne from a high bluff known as Coal Hill in western Pennsylvania in 1753. Virginia had sent the young surveyor to demand the French abandon their newly constructed forts along the Allegheny River. With a French refusal, Washington built a fort 60 miles to the southeast, Fort Necessity. After a brief skirmish, French reinforcements arrived and wiped out a quarter of Washington's men, forcing Colonial and British soldiers to surrender. The brief action was the beginning of seven years war in America.
     Today's Mount Washington still offers this bird's-eye-view of the fort (Fort Pitt) at the confluence of the Monongahela and Allegheny Rivers. Saint Mary of the Mount Church, a historic landmark, overlooks the city where young Washington caught his first glimpse of the Three Rivers area.
      This fine example of Gothic architecture was completed in 1897. The hundred and ten year old church features a set of stained glass windows depicting a pictorial progression of the life of Christ. The extraordinary glass renovation took place over the period of ten years. St. Mary Church was originally designed for a bell tower and finally received the addition in 1999.