Brunot Island, River island in Marshall-Shadeland, Pittsburgh, United States
Brunot Island is a river island in the Ohio River, lying just west of downtown Pittsburgh, covered largely by industrial structures and dense vegetation. It sits in the middle of the waterway and is clearly visible from both riverbanks.
Felix Brunot, a French surgeon, bought the island in 1800 and gave it his name. Through the 1800s and 1900s it grew into a production site that played a part in the industrial rise of the Pittsburgh region.
Brunot Island takes its name from a French surgeon who owned it in the early 1800s. The remaining industrial structures on the island still reflect the working character that defined this stretch of the Ohio River for well over a century.
The island is not open to the general public, as it remains an industrial site. Good views of it can be had from the riverfront paths along the Ohio River on the Pittsburgh side.
In the early 1900s the island was the site of horse and automobile races held on a dirt track, drawing crowds from across the Pittsburgh region. This chapter of early local motorsport history is now largely forgotten.
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