After an incredible couple of weeks in Canada it was time to return to the US. My first stop back – Pittsburgh!
Much of my limited knowledge of the “Steel City” had come from history textbooks with their gray photos of smokestacks, or friends’ complaints about the cold harsh winters. It was great to see that at least one of these was wrong 🙂
Some highlights:
- Amazing skyline view
- Bridges for days
- Coolest robotics demos
CMU Robotics Tour
I started my Thursday by meeting up with my college friend Robbie, who is finishing up his PhD at Carnegie Mellon. Before lunch he kindly gave me a tour of the robotics lab which had some amazing work going on. My favorite was the snake robot that can “crawl” through obstacles and provide assistance in tight and dangerous places. Thanks for the tour, Robbie!
Andy Warhol Museum
After some delicious Philly cheesesteak I headed to the Andy Warhol museum, the largest in North America dedicated to a single artist. Andy Warhol is a 20th century American pop and modern art icon who was born in Pittsburgh. He is famous for exploring the relationship between art and advertising, and some of his most famous works are his paintings of Campbell’s soup cans.
Mattress Factory
Feeling inspired by art I next ventured to the Mattress Factory, a museum of contemporary art. Some exhibits were quite abstract!
Mt. Washington
After catching up with my friend Arun for dinner I finished the day with a drive up Mt. Washington to catch a view of the skyline. Magnificent!
Duquesne Incline
I wanted to see the skyline during the day as well, so first thing on Friday I went up the Duquesne Incline. The Incline is a railroad that goes up the side of Mt. Washington at a 30° angle. Originally steam powered, it was built in 1877 to carry cargo (and later passengers) up and down the mountain. The incline closed in 1962, needing repairs, but the local residents organized a fundraiser that helped reopen it soon after. A very steep ride up but magnificent views from the top!
Downtown + The Point
After a delicious brunch at Pamela’s Diner (visited by the Obamas!), my next stop was downtown Pittsburgh. Colloquially known as the Golden Triangle this area was quite clean and pleasant.
From there I walked to The Point (Point State Park) at the tip of the triangle.
The “Living” Wall
A friend of mine used to live in Pittsburgh so they gave me some recommendations for things to do in the city. Of all the suggestions they were by far most excited about the PNC “living wall” – a vertical garden on the wall of the PNC Bank building.
Having never seen a living wall before I was filled with anticipation. I briskly walked from the Point to the PNC building and did a loop around, but saw nothing. I asked security about it, to which they replied: “What living wall?”
Exasperated and embarrassed I stood outside in shock. Finally I saw a professional-looking man walking out of the building who looked like he had some answers. He did: it turns out the wall was taken down a couple of years ago! Apparently it started looking “a little brown…”
Disappointed with the empty gray wall and with my friend’s misleading advice I moved on. In their defense they did leave Pittsburgh a few years ago..
Heinz History Center
Needing a pick-me-up after the Living Wall Fiasco of 2017, I headed over to the Senator John Heinz History Center. This museum had some awesome exhibits about the history of Pittsburgh. My favorite was Heinz 57, a chronicle of the H. J. Heinz company that makes tomato ketchup and other condiments. The company was started in 1869 and is headquartered in Pittsburgh.
The slogan “57 Varieties,” coined by Henry Heinz (brother of John Heinz) in 1896, had nothing to do with the actual number of products, which was then over 60. The inspiration for it came to Heinz from an ad promoting “21 styles” of shoes; he recognized that a slogan’s catchiness was more important than its factual accuracy. The number 57 came about because 5 was Heinz’s lucky number and 7 was his wife’s lucky number.
Carnegie Mellon University
My last (but not least!) stop in Pittsburgh was the CMU campus. I loved the architecture and got some awesome views of the sunset!
And that’s it for Pittsburgh! I had an awesome 2 days here and hope yinz get a chance to visit this lovely city sometime 🙂
Next stop, Amish country!
Mikhail's Travel Adventures 