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Showing posts with label Pittsburgh. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pittsburgh. Show all posts

December 19, 2016

Vintage Travel Posters - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

redrobotcreative


Sharing the illustrated art of vintage travel posters!
This time I'm featuring the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
I spent a terrific weekend there this past year
and I'm already looking forward to going back!


squadronposters


andersondesigngroup


ebay


redrobotcreative


art.com


lanternpress


lanternpress

July 5, 2016

Our Riverboat Tour of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania



All aboard the Gateway Clipper's River Cruise
for a fantastic tour of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania!
Since 1958, the Gateway Clipper fleet has hosted 
sightseeing cruises for over 25 million passengers.
What a perfect addition to our weekend! 






The city of Pittsburgh is situated at the 
juncture of the Monongahela and Allegheny Rivers; 
they meet to form the Ohio River.

We saw spectacular views of the city from different angles as we 
traveled down the Monongahela, or "The Mon," as it's nicknamed,
then turned up the Allegheny and back again.




Here's the beautiful fountain of the 36-acre Point State Park,
its water shooting 150 feet into the air.
North across the Allegheny River is Heinz Park.



To the left of Heinz Park is the Carnegie Science Center,
with the USS Requin submarine in front.



Heinz Park is the hometown football stadium of
the Pitt Panthers and the Pittsburgh Steelers.
To the right, notice the stone wall with the oval center...



It's the Mr. Rogers Memorial, paying tribute to Fred Rogers,
of nearby WQED Studio's popular children's TV show, Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood.



And a close-up of the bronze statue of Mr. Rogers
in his famous shoe-tying pose. He passed away in 2003.

francineinretirement


Farther up, we saw PNC Park, home of the Pittsburgh Pirates.



More city views-



Passing under the identical Three Sisters Bridges on the Allegheny:
The Roberto Clemente, The Andy Warhol, and The Rachel Carson.
Why the yellow paint? It's called "aztec yellow," 
chosen for the gold (& black) of Pittsburgh's sports teams.



Heading back toward The Point, we can see
The Duquesne Incline across the Monongahela,
with Mount Washington at the top of the hill.



A closer view of the Incline, which we rode and loved!
(A link to that blog post is listed below.)



Here's a photo of something that I'd found so fascinating:
the waters of both rivers coming together at the confluence.
You can see the different colors of each river's water,
soon blending to become the Ohio River.



A terrific front-on shot of Pittsburgh!



More views of the city, and soon our one-hour cruise came to an end.



Our captain and tour guide told us so many interesting details!
I'd absolutely recommend the Gateway Clipper 
river tours to anyone visiting Pittsburgh!



Some links for more information:


Links to more of my Pittsburgh blog posts:




June 27, 2016

Wowed by the Nationality Rooms at Pitt's Cathedral of Learning



The centerpiece of the University of Pittsburgh is no doubt The Cathedral of Learning.
A well-known landmark, it's listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
It stands 535 feet tall and was built during the late 20s and early 30s
in the Late Gothic Revival style of architecture.
This colossal room was given to the university by Andrew Mellon.

On the first floor, students can study in the impressive Commons Room,
which covers a half acre and whose ceilings soar to 4 stories.
(Definitely reminiscent of the Main Hall in Harry's Hogwarts Castle.)



On the Cathedral's first and third floors are 30 Nationality Rooms.
Since Pittsburgh had a large population of immigrant families, 
the rooms were designed to pay homage to the various heritages 
that the students brought from their home countries.
Classes are still held in these rooms today.

My photos show just a handful of the rooms and their spectacular features.
They give only a taste of the fascinating details and craftsmanship in each one.



The chair backs in the Swiss Room represent Switzerland's 26 cantons or states.
There's a beautifully carved wood frieze all around this room.



The ceiling of the Hungarian Room features a folk motif and is the color of paprika.




A 16th century tapestry is in the French Room.



The English Room features stained glass windows with coats of arms 
honoring an English city, famous person or historic subject.



In the Turkish Room, a mural of Istanbul behind glass windows gives the impression
of an outside view, a common practice in Turkish architecture.
Notice, too, the fold-down desks that flip back seamlessly into the room's decor.




In the Czechoslovak room, an artist from Prague created this fresco
of a miracle tree having branches with a variety of leaves, fruit & flowers.



Architecture of 5th century Athens is represented as a temple in the Greek Room.



A beautiful mosaic in the Romanian Room commemorates the 
martyrdom of Prince Constantin Brancoveanu and his 4 sons, 
who refused to renounce their Christian faith and convert to Islam.



"When a guest enters the house, God enters the home." 
This proverb reflects the importance of hospitality to Ukrainians, 
and is represented in the Ukrainian Room as a home of an 18th century nobleman. 



Beautiful windows in the Polish Room feature coats of arms of Polish universities.



The formal Austrian Room highlights Austrian musical compositions such as 
Franz Gruber's "Silent Night" and Joseph Haydn's "Emperor's Song," which was 
both Austria's and Germany's national anthem for a period of time, 
and currently serves as the University of Pittsburgh's alma mater.



Wood carvings of Irish wolfhounds adorn the chairs in the Irish Room.




A beautiful floor mosaic graces the Israel Heritage Room, 
which was modeled after a Galilean home from the 1st century.



The most recently added Nationality Room is the Korean Heritage Room.
Its design was inspired by Seoul's Hall of Enlightenment in the Royal Academy.



An immense amount of information can be found
at the Nationality Rooms website.

If you're heading to Pittsburgh, I encourage you
to add this to your list of places to visit!




Would you like to read more of my Pittsburgh posts?


June 18, 2016

Vegetarian Brunch at The Zenith in Pittsburgh



Located in Pittsburgh's South Side, The Zenith is a trendy cafe 
serving yummy food that leaves smiles on the faces of vegetarians and vegans.
Aside from the menu, we were blown away by the crazy-cool interior!
An explosion of vintage lamps, furniture, clothing, jewelry, 
kitchenware, wall art and tchotchkes!
A true browser's paradise!







A vingette saluting the Netherlands.



Did I mention jewelry? I simply couldn't pass up this initial pin.
A girl's just gotta buy herself a souvenir sometimes.
(Look in the upper left corner of the photo above. There's my pin before I spotted it!)






We decided to go for their Sunday brunch.
Each table was set with a different combination of vintage linens and glassware.
Along with one of their brunch entrees, a fantastic buffet of salads was included...



...as well as this great selection of bundt cakes for dessert!
(Am I the only one who thought of My Big Fat Greek Wedding?)


The Zenith is located at
86 S. 26th St. in Pittsburgh.

More info here: