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The staff at Otels hope you enjoy the following Travel Ideas
from travel writer (and enthusiastic naturalist) Mark Kolakowski
Best wishes on your next trip!
Come Discover Pittsburgh & Western
Pennsylvania
By Mark
Kolakowski
Copyright © 2004-2005 by the author
Pittsburgh may not immediately come to mind when tourist
destinations are listed, but it has a number of interesting
attractions to discover.
Pittsburgh is also remarkably uncrowded and easy to navigate, even on
business days. The main traffic choke point is I-676 westbound (“The
Parkway”) approaching the Squirrel Hill Tunnel during evening rush
hour. Seek alternate routes at that time.
 The Carnegie Museum of Natural History has a world-class
dinosaur exhibit. Indeed, this museum was a pioneer in the fieldwork
that has unearthed dinosaur remains across the globe. It also has a
world-class collection of gems and minerals. Of particular note is the
architectural hall, with casts of outstanding facades from Europe. At
one time, the Carnegie advanced the idea of plaster copies of the best
architecture, rather than obtaining second-rate fragments. The
adjoining Carnegie Museum of Art is excellent, if not of the first rank
nationwide.
The
Senator John Heinz Pittsburgh Regional History Center offers
fascinating exhibits, such as "The Clash of Empires,"
which marked the 250th anniversary in 2006 of the start of The
French and Indian War (known as the Seven Years’ War in Europe). See
www.pghhistory.org for more
details. This was an outstanding effort to explain the war and its
impact.
“The Clash of Empires” moved to the Canadian War Museum (May 18 to
November 12, 2006) and then to the Smithsonian Institution (early
2007).
[PBS aired a related two-part series titled “The War That Made
America” in January 2006. The December 2005 issue of American Heritage
magazine had a major article on the war, with lengthy sidebars on both
the exhibit and the PBS program.]
[To Winston Churchill, this was the true First World War, with fighting
not only in the Americas, but also in Europe, Africa and Asia. It put
France’s colonial empire in decline, and led to Britain’s emergence as
the dominant world power. A byproduct was the independence of the
United States. Since the earliest conflicts were in present-day
Pittsburgh and its vicinity (with a young Virginia militia officer
named George Washington as a key combatant), the initial placement of
this exhibit is highly appropriate. See also
www.frenchandindianwar250.org for more information
on other war-related sites in the Pittsburgh area and elsewhere.]
For golfers, Schenley Park Golf Course is an oddity that must
be tried. Set in an urban park with a street running through it,
Schenley has the most unusual obstacles and ground rules. Expect to
play over or around numerous fences, for example, or up mountainous
hills. It is cheap, a lot of fun, generally uncrowded (especially on
weekdays) and very welcoming to beginners or golfers of modest skills.
The South Side, formerly a center of steelmaking, now is
Pittsburgh’s SoHo, with a mixture of avant-garde galleries and
eateries spanning the world’s cuisines.
The nationality rooms in the University of Pittsburgh’s Cathedral
of Learning are unique. They are decorated to represent the art,
architecture and history of many ethnic groups that have settled in
Pittsburgh.
While in Pittsburgh, I was very impressed with the quality of acting
from the Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre. Their main
performance venue is the Stephen Foster Memorial on the campus of the
University of Pittsburgh. However, they are a professional troupe that
does not have a connection to the university.
[I saw an excellent production of “Stones in His Pockets,” which
has had successful runs in recent years in London and New York, among
other places. My experience was a reminder that you need not travel to
all the way to major centers of theater such as New York or London to
enjoy outstanding performances. It is a shame that fine regional
theater groups are often overlooked, even by people who live nearby.]
A local artist by the name of Steve Hankin has a studio (or
Atelier, as he prefers to call it) on Reynolds Avenue near the Frick
Art Museum in the Point Breeze section of Pittsburgh. It’s a treat to
drop in and see him at work, especially since he is very cordial and
eager to chat. Hankin works in a number of genres: landscapes
(especially views of Pittsburgh), portraits and still lives.
A rotating exhibit of original prints from Audubon’s Birds of
America are shown just inside the main entrance to the University
of Pittsburgh’s Hillman Library.
The Pittsburgh Symphony is a remarkably adept ensemble, which
deserves to be on the short list of the best orchestras in the nation.
Music lovers should take in a concert while in town. The acoustics of
its home, Heinz Hall, are superb. The cheap seats in the upper
balcony are a tremendous bargain, given the quality of sound even that
far from the stage.
The Strip District, just east of downtown on the southern bank
of the Allegheny River, is a must-see experience in no-frills food
shopping. Parking here is an adventure, to say the least.
The National Aviary in Pittsburgh is another worthwhile
destination. Formerly municipally run, it was taken over by the
Smithsonian Institution several years ago. They have several very
interesting live bird demonstrations every day. An outstanding
addition for the summer of 2004 was a show that features several very
rare birds of prey from around the world, which are released and fly
over the audience in the aviary’s garden.
The Pittsburgh Zoo achieved the rare feat of having
two African
elephants born there in the last few years. African elephants have a
notorious low breeding success rate in captivity, so this is quite an
achievement. The youngsters, though growing, are still among the zoo’s
major attractions.
Sample the Arts at Colleges in Pittsburgh: On a
recent fall trip,
I was
reminded that colleges and other educational
institutions often house unexpected treasures. For example, the
Pittsburgh Theological Seminary (affiliated with the Presbyterian
Church, U.S.A.) is home to the James L. Kelso Bible Lands Museum
(www.pts.edu/museum.html).
Since 1908, the seminary has managed archaeological digs in
present-day Israel, and this museum is an extremely well-organized and
informative collection of their finds.
On the same trip, I acquainted myself with the music department at
Carnegie Mellon University, enjoying several outstanding free
student concerts and recitals on campus. A rousing performance by the
student orchestra off-campus in Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Music Hall
was a steal at $10 per ticket. The moral of the story: when traveling,
take advantage of the artistic resources at educational institutions
along the way. These include museums, art galleries, concerts, and
plays.
For directories of departments of music
at colleges and universities, see:
www.music.indiana.edu/music_resources/som.html
www.music.ua.edu/resources/addresses.html
For theater programs at
colleges and universities, see:
www.univsource.com/thea.htm
(Once you are into the respective schools’ own websites, you can
search for calendars of events in music or drama.)
SOUTH OF PITTSBURGH
About a two-hour drive southeast of Pittsburgh are two masterpieces
of architect Frank Lloyd Wright: Fallingwater (officially
known as the Edgar J. Kaufmann Sr. house and recently restored)
and Kentuck Knob (also known as the I.N.
Hagan House). One of Wright’s final
finished projects (completed in 1956), Kentuck Knob was opened for
tours in 1996
by its new owner, British real estate magnate Lord Palumbo.
It makes an ideal addition to a visit to
Wright's acclaimed
Fallingwater,
which is nearby. (For more information:
www.kentuckknob.com/html/history.htm.)
Tour reservations for both locations are handled by the same
service.
Railroad enthusiasts should consider visiting sites in the
region, including:
• The trolley museum in Washington, PA.
• The horseshoe curve in Altoona, a dramatic engineering feat that
brings the old Pennsylvania RR main line over the Allegheny Mountains.
• The Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site outside
Altoona. Here canal boats were loaded on rail cars and move up or down
a steep hill that bisected a major canal.
• The incline planes in Pittsburgh and Johnstown. These are large
funicular-type railways used to transport people up steep hillsides.
The one in Johnstown is especially large, and carries cars as well as
pedestrians.
For
model railroading enthusiasts, this should be a prime destination
during the Christmas season. Both in the city of Pittsburgh and in
several outlying communities, model-railroading clubs set up elaborate
displays. The best, probably, is in Greensburg. Travelers should check
listings in the two major daily newspapers, the Tribune-Review
and the Post-Gazette. No other region I know seems to have so
many dedicated model railroaders.
The Westmoreland County Museum of Art in Greensburg has a very
attractive collection for a small museum. During the Christmas season,
it also has an especially worthwhile exhibit on toys from decades gone
by.
NORTH OF PITTSBURGH
The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) in State
College, PA began as an agricultural school. It still has its own
dairy, at which you can purchase some of the best ice cream available
anywhere. They also take pains to pack your purchases in dry ice if
you are traveling a distance.
Those traversing Pennsylvania’s northern tier should be aware
of two outstanding natural areas:
Northwest of Williamsport, along U.S. Route 6 and 11 miles west of
Wellsboro, is the “Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania.” Pine Creek has cut a
deep gorge here that is indeed very impressive, and worth a detour.
Southeast of Wilkes-Barre and northeast of Hazleton, where Interstate
80 intersects with the Pocono extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike,
is Hickory Run State Park. The outstanding feature here is a vast
field of boulders deposited by glacial action. It is an astonishing
sight that is worthy of a visit.
To make
hotel reservations
for Pittsburgh, please visit
PennsylvaniaHotels.com.
We welcome your comments or suggestions about the above
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