What to do in Pittsburgh
After writing about a place I’ve never been to (the Balkan Peninsula), I thought it would be fun to write about a place I’m an expert in: my hometown of Pittsburgh, PA. I’ve lived here all my life (aside from 4 years at Penn State) and most of my extended family is here as well.
Pittsburgh’s been getting lots of attention lately that’s hopefully making more people consider visiting here. We had the G20 summit last September, in 2009 the Steelers won the Superbowl and the Penguins won the Stanley Cup, and quite a few movies have been filmed and set in Pittsburgh in the past few years. We attract major conferences and events, have world class universities, and are one of the few US regions with steady housing and job markets.
Overview
Downtown Pittsburgh is situated where the Allegheny and the Monongahela Rivers meet to form the Ohio River, in the hills of western Pennsylvania. The region is full of coal mines which helped Pittsburgh develop a huge steel mill industry earlier in the century. Pittsburgh’s population is made up of many European immigrants, including large populations of Italians, Russians, and other Eastern Europeans which afford good opportunities for ethnic food and music in the city and suburbs.
Medical and technology industries and many universities are taking over Pittsburgh’s economy since the steel industry all but disappeared during the 80s and 90s. Pittsburgh is busy turning old steel mills and other industrial buildings into shopping and entertainment complexes, as well as building new stadiums and arenas and opening a casino.
Cultural Attractions
The suburb of Oakland houses several universities including Carnegie Mellon and the University of Pittsburgh, along with several hospitals. It can be fun to wander around this urban area, visiting the college campuses, college bars, local ethnic restaurants, and chapels and cathedrals. Don’t miss the Nationality Rooms in Pitt’s Cathedral of Learning. Oakland also offers Phipps Conservancy with some great indoor and outdoor gardens, the Carnegie Library (a great old library to wander around), and the Carnegie Museums of Art and Natural History.
Pitt University’s Cathedral of Learning
Downtown you’ll find the Carnegie Science Center complete with a submarine to visit in the river, the Andy Warhol museum (he was born in Pittsburgh!) and the Mattress Factory museum of contemporary art.
Neighborhoods of Interest
The North Shore of Pittsburgh is where you’ll find the football stadium Heinz Field and PNC Park baseball park, as well as the Science Center and Rivers Casino. Across the river on the other side of the point is Station Square, an entertainment complex built around a converted train station right on the water’s edge. There are lots of touristy restaurants here like Hardrock, Hooters, and Melting Pot, as well as several big nightclubs and bars. Catch the incline from here to get an unforgettable view of Pittsburgh’s skyline from Mount Washington.
Upriver from Station Square is the Southside neighborhood, which is where the locals hang out at the hundreds of bars. There are lots of gritty dive bars and also some nice upscale restaurants. Southside works is a relatively new outdoor shopping area with some good stores and restaurants, including the super popular Hofbrauhaus, right on the riverfront, modeled after the original in Munich.
Hofbrauhaus Shot Ski on my Dad’s birthday
One of my favorite neighborhoods is the Strip District, so named cause it’s a strip of land down by the Allegheny river right downtown. This area is famous for it’s ethnic food stores and restaurants, fish market, and several great coffee shops and bakeries. It’s really busy on Saturday mornings when locals come out to get their shopping done, and you’ll find a good blend of Pittsburgh’s ethnic groups shopping there. The Strip also has lots of fun street vendors and street food stalls. My mom and her friends go down here every Saturday morning, and they are certainly not alone.
Further Afield
There are some great areas up in the mountains 1 or 2 hours away from Pittsburgh that make good day trip destinations. The town of Ohiopyle is famous for its whitewater rafting on the Youghiogheny River, as well as hiking, biking, natural waterslides, and beautiful mountain streams and waterfalls. This region is also the location of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater, as well as another design of his, Kentuck Knob. Nearby Nemacolin Woodlands is a lavish mountain resort with tons of things to do, and ski resorts Seven Springs and Hidden Valley offer good skiing in the winter.
Kayaking in Ohiopyle
Downtown Pittsburgh and the surrounding regions offer some great attractions. The city has a lot of character and there really are some fun things to do and there are great outdoors areas within an hour of the city. Pittsburgh is definitely more than an old “rust belt” city – it’s really been revitalized!
Oh yea and, Go Pens!
