Things to do / Travel Guide
Whether you're an artillery aficionado or industrial-era enthusiast, whether you've a soft spot for Stephen Foster's song “O' Susanna,” or you've simply wondered who was behind the Heinz ketchup on your hamburger - Pittsburgh's historical attractions have something to entice you. The city of Pittsburgh has dedicated significant energy and resources into preserving its unique history. Pittsburgh's large history centers, monuments, and historic forts will give you a great sense of southwestern Pennsylvania's rich historical roots.
History Centers around Pittsburgh
A storehouse of time, Senator John Heinz Pittsburgh Regional History Center on Smallman Street is a seven-story converted warehouse with over 1,000 artifacts and photos expertly displayed to make southwestern Pennyslvania's history accessible and interesting. The exhibits span from 1750, through Pittsburgh's industrial era, and on into the present.
If you're interested in experiencing first-hand the incredible wealth Pittsburgh's steel industry once generated, head to the Frick Art and Historical Center on Reynolds Street. This five-acre estate, called Clayton, is a glorious 23-room Victorian mansion that once belonged to steel and coal mining industrialist and art collector Henry Clay Frick (1849-1919). The complex also includes a car and carriage museum and the Frick Art Museum.
Pittsburgh Memorials
Bet you didn't know that it wasn't a Southerner but rather a Pittsburgher, Stephen Foster (1826-1864), who composed the well-known folk songs “O Susanna,” “Camptown Races,” and “My Old Kentucky Home.” On Forbes Avenue, across from the Cathedral of Learning, visit the Stephen Foster Memorial with Foster's original compositions, instruments, as well as other Foster-related documents and souvenirs.
It is rather fitting that the memorial of a man whose legacy was linked to bottles and jars, would comprise almost 250,000 pieces of glass. Heinz Memorial Chapel, dedicated to H.J. Heinz and his children (yes, the Heinz family of the internationally-known Heinz Ketchup) is worth a visit just to see the magnificent 73-feet high stained-glass windows. Heinz Memorial Chapel is located on 5th and S. Bellefield Avenues.
Military History around Pittsburgh
Don't miss several interesting historical sites that focus on southwestern Pennsylvania's military history.
If the legacies and lore surrounding founding father George Washington have always ruffled your patriotic feathers, Pittsburgh has a couple of historical sites you won't want to miss. Point State Park, located at the point where the Monongahela and Allegheny Rivers converge, is the site of important pre-Revolutionary history. A young George Washington once visited the area in 1753 to deliver a letter from British (Virginian) colonists “asking” the French to leave. The French ignored the letter, built Fort Duquesne and occupied the area for five years. The 1758 Forbes Expedition, led by British General John Forbes, destroyed Fort Duquesne and built the much larger Fort Pitt. Today at Point State Park you can see the 1764 Blockhouse, an original building from Fort Pitt, one of the oldest buildings in western Pennsylvania.
Fort Necessity National Battlefield, 11 miles east of Uniontown, is the site of George Washington's 1754 surrender, the only of his career, at the beginning of the French and Indian War. During the early 1750s the French intensified their military siege against British settlers for control of the Ohio Valley region. After a surprise ambush attack of 50 French soldiers about seven miles west of Fort Necessity, Washington and his men retreated to their camp and hastily built a “fort of necessity.” On July 3, 1754, 600 Frenchman and 100 Native Americans attacked Washington and his men. The ensuing eight-hour battle resulted in Washington's surrender. When Washington fled, the French burned Fort Necessity to the ground. Today at the Fort Necessity Visitor Center, you'll see a slide show and exhibits about the notorious battle, as well as a replica of Washington's troops' log storehouse.
The Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall, on 5th Avenue, showcases military artifacts from the Civil War until the present.
Historical Sites in Pittsburgh and Southwestern Pennsylvania
Historical-Sites
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