Gen. John Forbes would hardly have recognized Pittsburgh's Point yesterday, save perhaps for the blustery weather.

He had arrived there 250 years earlier, on Nov. 25, 1758. That evening was, like yesterday, snowy and windy.

Accompanied by a young George Washington, Forbes was at the head of a British and Colonial army that had forced the French to abandon and burn Fort Duquesne the day before.

"It was a little colder that day," with temperatures in the teens, "and there was more snow on the ground," said educator Douglas MacGregor, who works at the Fort Pitt Museum in Point State Park.

Yesterday marked the 250th anniversary of the founding of Pittsburgh. Visitors ignored periodic snow and sleet to tour exhibits and view artifacts connected to the community's early days. The Sen. John Heinz History Center offered a special $2.50 admission to mark the occasion. The Fort Pitt Museum, normally closed on Tuesdays, was staffed with volunteers.

"Pittsburgh and I share a birthday," John Rusnak said. Mr. Rusnak, who turned 64 yesterday, and his wife, Connie, live in Leechburg.

They chose the anniversary date to make their first visit to the Fort Pitt Museum, which was built on the site of the British stronghold from which it takes its name.

The Rusnaks described themselves as history buffs who have made trips to many other places connected with the French and Indian War. Capturing Fort Duquesne, located at the strategic Forks of the Ohio, was one of the chief war aims of the British.

"We've been to Niagara, Ticonderoga, Ligonier and Necessity," Mr. Rusnak said, reeling off the names of other British fortifications. "I'm impressed by the wonderful artifacts here, and by the short movies that fill in a lot of blanks about the history of that time."

Ellen Srodes of Fox Chapel wanted to make sure her three grandchildren, Christopher, Alexa and Tommy Sellwood, were part of the city's birthday celebration. Her grandchildren also live in Fox Chapel.

Christopher, 11, said he already had done a report on the Point, the triangular piece of land where both the French and the British built forts in the 1750s.

Yesterday, he and his siblings peered out from the second-floor windows of the museum, looking at a landscape whose basic topographic forms -- mountains and rivers -- would have looked familiar to Forbes.

"Although now we also can see concrete and Porta-Potties," Alexa, 8, explained.

Mrs. Srodes said she hoped Tommy, although only 4, would remember something of the day. The youngster can recall one exhibit from a recent visit to Fort Ligonier, from which Forbes launched his final assault on the French.

"George Washington's pistols were there," he explained.

Visitors to the museum snacked on birthday cake as they listened to fiddle tunes played by Christian Wig, a musician from Mechanicsburg, Ohio. Yesterday's anniversary event was sponsored by the newly renamed Friends of the Fort Pitt Museum.

The Heinz History Center, in the city's Strip District, has a permanent French and Indian War display, which features life-size and lifelike figures. Subjects include George Washington and his Indian ally, Tanaghrisson, known as the Half King.

Linda Stanpinski of White Oak had just finished reading an illustrated history of the city's three rivers and was eager to learn more. When her husband, Stanley, suggested a trip to the history center, she agreed immediately.

About 70 students, teachers and aides from Conroy Education Center on Pittsburgh's North Side also toured the history center.

"This is a good experience for them," assistant teacher Ginny Lorenz said. Conroy serves adolescents 14 to 21 with special needs. The center's many hands-on exhibits, which require flipping panels and pushing buttons, seemed to be particular hits.

Why is Pittsburgh's birthday important?

The British, and later American, community has had a disproportionate impact on the world over the past 250 years, according to Andrew Masich, president of the history center.

"The number of firsts, biggest and bests that came out of this region is impressive ... including people like George Westinghouse, Jonas Salk and Andrew Carnegie ... and things like the Big Mac and nickelodeons and banana splits," he said.