Things to do / Travel Guide
Pittsburgh possesses a very unique urban skyline. Walk up and down Grant Street to see the city's most impressive historic and contemporary architecture. Gothic skyscrapers with pointed turrets and tall, thin obelisk office buildings stand next to historic structures with intricate embellishments. If you are a fan of the structural beauty or the metaphoric significance of bridges, Pittsburgh's more than 700 arches will certainly provide endless inspiration.
Frank Lloyd Wright Architecture
Two of world-renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright's modern masterpieces are located in the Ohiopyle area of southwestern Pennsylvania and are well worth a visit. Fallingwater (1939), located at the Bear Run Nature Reserve, is a magnificent organic building actually cantilevered over a waterfall. The exterior and interior designs of the home represent what the New York Times once called the “most sublime integration of man and nature.” Kentucky Knob, located about 2½ miles southwest of Ohiopyle, was built by an octogenarian Wright in 1953. Kentucky Knob's hexagonal grid construction showcases state-of-the-art red cypress woodworking and more than 800 tons of fieldstone. These magnificent examples of Wright's work are located about 1½ hours (70 miles) southeast of Pittsburgh. Tours are available daily.
Late 19th and Early 20th Century Architecture in Pittsburgh
There are many fine examples of historical architecture in Pittsburgh. The Romanesque Revival-style Allegheny County Courthouse and Jail on Forbes Avenue near Grant Street was designed by architect Henry Hobson Richardson in 1888, and is considered one of the United States' best examples of 19th century architecture. If this building sends chills down your spine, there is a good reason for it: the jail scenes from “Silence of the Lambs” were filmed here.
At the turn of the 20th century, Chicago architect Daniel Burnham designed the Pennsylvania Union Train Station, an ornate marble and terra cotta train station with a Beaux Arts entry rotunda and stunning skylight. Now beautifully restored, the Pennsylvania Union Train Station at Grant Street and Liberty Avenue houses the Amtrak depot in the building's basement.
Considered by Architectural Digest to be a “triumph of restoration,” Clayton is a sight to behold. The 23-room Victorian mansion once belonged to steel and coal mining industrialist Henry Clay Frick (1849-1919). The lavish home was built just after the Civil War and later transformed into a chateau-style estate by Frederick Osterling in the 1890s. Located in the neighborhood of Point Breeze, Clayton is now considered part of the Frick Art and Historical Center.
Gothic Architecture in Pittsburgh
If you're on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh, there's no better place for an architectural “schooling” than the 1937 Cathedral of Learning, designed by Charles Klauder as a tribute to education. This famous architectural landmark in Pittsburgh's Oakland neighborhood is a 42-story Gothic and Art Deco architectural marvel. It is the second-tallest education building in the world and houses offices and classrooms of the University of Pittsburgh, as well as the nationality rooms dedicated to the appreciation of over 26 cultures that helped shape Pittsburgh. Over 30,000 people have taken a tour of the Nationality Rooms since they were opened to the public in 1944.
Modern Architecture in Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh also has a wealth of eye-catching and even eccentric modern architecture. Perhaps the most controversial Pittsburgh icon (some love it, others hate it) is Philip Johnson and John Burgee's neogothic Pittsburgh Plate Glass (PPG) Place near Market Square in downtown. The dark glass towers mirror the style of London's Houses of Parliament and echo the Gothic architecture that once characterized the city. On Grant Street you'll find Harrison, Abramovitz & Abbe's triangular black USX Tower (1970), the city's tallest building (at 64 stories), and one of Pittsburgh's signature buildings.
Pittsburgh's most recent architectural claim to fame is architect Raphael Vinoly's David L. Lawrence Convention Center, just near the 10th Street Bypass. Finished in 2003, the building provides breathtaking views of Pittsburgh's Allegheny River and downtown, it is also the world's largest environmentally smart building and the first “green” convention center. Great views of the Pittsburgh cityscape and rivers can also be had at Major League Baseball's Pittsburgh Pirates' PNC Park (especially from behind home plate) and from the Pittsburgh Steelers' Heinz Field.
Bridges of Pittsburgh
Besides Venice, Pittsburgh has more bridges than any other city in the world, 720 in total. Smithfield Street Bridge, Pittsburgh's oldest bridge, was erected in 1883. Perhaps one of the most unique arches, the Allegheny County Courthouse and Jail's Bridge of Sighs (a reference to the original Bridge of Sighs in Venice, Italy), was designed by Henry Hobson Richardson and was once used to transport prisoners from the Courthouse to the Jail. You might enjoy driving over Pittsburgh's yellow “Three Sisters Bridges,” erected in the 1920s with the intention of linking Pittsburgh's North Side to the downtown. The Three Sisters Bridges are nearly identical in structure and appearance, and are located at Sixth, Seventh, and Ninth Streets. These bridges are the first in the United States to employ self-anchored suspension spans. The Bridge to Nowhere got its nickname because between 1963 and 1969 the Fort Duquesne Bridge hung in midair due to a lack of northern approach ramps. This (now completed) steel-tied arch bridge spans the Allegheny River and ends up between PNC Park and Heinz Field.
|
|
|