24 Hours in Pittsburgh

The beginning of a ten day road trip…

I met my daughter at the airport after she finished her summer internship at Nemacolin Resort in southern Pennsylvania. We were looking forward to reconnecting, and taking the lonnng road home through West Virginia, Kentucky, and dipping into Tennessee. But first, we had 24 hours in Pittsburgh, a city I’d hadn’t visited since I was seven years old.

Highlights during our 24 Hours in Pittsburgh included a quick visit to Phipps Botanical Gardens, Cathedral of Learning and the Carnegie Museum of Natural History & Art. We chose to stay downtown in the midst of skyscrapers–close to sights we wanted to see, plus Point Park and the Three Rivers Heritage walking trail.

24 Hours in Pittsburgh: 1st stop Carnegie Museums

Pittsburgh boasts an astounding 43 different museums! They highlight Heinz, bikes, Pirates legend Roberto Clemente, tattooing, early photography, the Living Dead, music machines, coal mining, and even a Mattress Factory. (Which actually features contemporary, installation immersive art.)

Philanthropist Andrew Carnegie has 4 separate museums here: the Carnegie Museums of Natural History, Art, Science and Andy Warhol.

And they’re not just for kids. Adults can visit the art galleries on Thurdays 5-8pm (wine and hors d’oeuvres) or dance and drink to DJ tunes at the Warhol museum on Friday evenings. There’s also After Dark parties, sleepovers, laser shows, live music and educational presentations at the various Carnegie museums. An impressive set of events that I wish we had in my city!

If you’re short on time, like we were, it’s hard to know which museums warrant a visit. Of course it depends on your interests, but also logistics.

Two Carnegie museums sit side-by-side on Forbes Avenue east of downtown. Making it easy and convenient to visit both the Natural History & adjacent Art Museum. The $20 admission ticket drops to half price at 3pm. Which worked out perfectly for us, as we arrived around 2pm after a 30 minute drive from the airport. We even had time to grab a late lunch in the Art museum’s Carnegie Cafe–the salmon salad was delicious.

Carnegie Art Museum

Paintings, sculpture, architectural casts, modern art, fine art, and historical photographs fill two floors in the Carnegie Art Museum. Perhaps most unique is their Hall of Architecture. This premiere collection, first showcased in 1907, contains 140 plaster casts of architectural masterpieces from around the globe, rivaled only by collections in Paris and London. I was so excited to see this, but renovations closed off access. The grand arched facades were sadly under plastic. Aww, bummer!

After climbing the grand marble staircase to reach the art galleries, we were surprised to find original paintings by several masters. Renoir, Matisse, Monet…

And several Van Goghs.

The classic paintings provided a striking juxtaposition to the modern art, sculptures, quirky mirrors and nod to native son, Andy Warhol…

Carnegie’s Art Museum strives to be the “Old Masters of Tomorrow.” As such, they focus on contemporary art with their annual Carnegie International exhibit, on par with Venice Biennale. Their 58th exhibit begins Sept 24 and runs through early April of next year.

 

Carnegie Natural History Museum

If you like dinosaurs, you’re in for a treat. This is the best exhibit I’ve seen in a museum. Large atriums feature massive skeletons of real dinosaur fossils. Reconstructed habitats show where they would’ve lived, and what other dinosaurs they would’ve come in contact with during the Mesozoic Era.

Cenozoic Hall & Cretaceous Seaway rooms feature dinosaurs less known.  The museum has over 250 specimens, and a working Paleolab where tourists can watch scientists uncover even more fossils.

A very informative young male employee wandered around the atrium eager to engage with both children and adults alike. We tried, but couldn’t stump him! This university student clearly enjoys studying dinosaurs and sharing facts about the various species. The Gem Room is a big hit with tourists too, but we found the dinosaurs most fascinating.

Two hours was a bit rushed to absorb both museums. But at least we did have time to see most exhibits, and linger at those that interested us most. Gated parking ($5) was conveniently located behind the Art Museum. At closing, we left our car parked and walked across the street to peek inside the towering Cathedral of Learning on the University of Pittsburgh campus.

 

24 Hours in Pittsburgh: 2nd stop Cathedral of Learning

This Gothic Revival skyscraper, built in 1921, is 42 stories high!

A dramatic hallway leads to the 4 story Commons Room.

Located on the ground floor, this Commons Room is a place to hang out with friends or study. How ironic that it resembled Hogwarts… Jordan was leaving in less than a month to spend a semester studying abroad in Scotland. The Cathdral of Learning was built to honor different cultures. There are 30 nationality decorated classrooms. The most elaborate rooms cost half a million bucks! But access is restricted to university students, or the public by private tour reserved in advance. So we didn’t get to see any.

Highly recommend making arrangements to see these themed Nationality Classrooms. Pictures online look amazing! And hopefully the elevator to the 36th floor for panoramic views of the city will reopen soon again.

 

24 Hours in Pittsburgh: Lodging

Etage Executive Living was our lodging choice downtown during our short 24 Hours in Pittsburgh. Location, location, location. We wanted to be smack dab in the middle of all those skyscrapers! What better place to see all that iconic glass and steel than out those gorgeous floor-to-ceiling windows?

Sure it was a splurge. But the rates went down significantly 2 weeks before we arrived, and that’s when we snagged a 2 BR. (Not all rooms have these windows—best to call and inquire.)

We could see the pedestrian market from our bedroom window. Outdoor yoga was taking place in the central square below. A bit later, we walked over looking for perogis among all the restaurant and tavern choices. But alas, they had none. Apparently perogis are only served at lunch.

Etage also has a rooftop basketball court, dog park, sundeck, a game floor, business center and a parking garage onsite. The location was ideally central. We could see Pittsburgh’s Pirate’s ballpark, PNC stadium, across the bridge from here. But Point Park, supposedly a 5 minute walk away, was elusive. We never found the park fountain marking the spot where the 3 rivers meet. Or the Heritage walking trails.

We thought we’d surely find Point Park later that night driving to or from Mt. Washington. But our GPS kept taking us elsewhere, leading us across the river where we got stuck in heavy traffic and had to reenter the long tunnel back toward downtown.

 

24 Hours in Pittsburgh: 3rd stop Mt Washington

The most popular vantage point of the city skyline is from Mt. Washington, on a hill across the Ohio River. I wanted to get here at sunset and catch the blue hour. But…dinner interrupted those plans. So by the time we got here, it was late. Parking was a nightmare. The skies were inky black and the walkways crowded with people. Some quite intoxicated, playing loud music with small children and dogs and trash scattered everywhere. Didn’t exactly feel like the safest place to haul out a tripod and long expensive lens…

So I just took a couple shots with the intent of heading over to West End, a quieter, less known vantage point.

Mt. Washington viewpoint includes the yellow Clemente bridge (1 of 8 city bridges) and PNC stadium in the upper left. The fountain behind the bridge is Point Park (hey, there it is!) where the three rivers meet.

After only ten minutes we got back in the car, and drove to West End Overlook. This park sits on a bluff directly across from Point Park fountain. From pictures I’d seen, this view promised an even better view. The fifteen minute drive took us through some sketchy neighborhoods, now after 10pm. Carefully I manuevered the car up the steep, narrow roads tight with parked cars.

Reaching the dark isolated parking lot–with only 2 other cars present–increased the sketchy feeling. Both cars, sitting side-by-side, had their engines running. The city view wasn’t visible from the parking lot. A sidewalk led up to the top of the bluff. No waaaay was I taking out my long lens here. I popped out momentarily to see if I could at least appreciate the view with my eyeballs, but quickly decided against it, skipped the view and drove back to our lodging. Risk to reward, right? Maybe a better option in the day.

Overnight at Etage Executive Living

Night view from my bedroom. A quiet night.

And at dawn.

Yes, there are blinds if you want them. But heck no! Where else can you sleep with the windows wide open to spy on the world, and watch Pittsburgh wake up?

 

24 Hours in Pittsburgh: 4th stop Phipps Botanical Garden

Phipps Botanical Garden sits close to Carnegie’s Art & Natural History museums in Oakland district, about 12 minutes east of downtown. Tickets ($20) must be bought online for specific time slots. We bought 10am tickets so we wouldn’t have to rush.

Plants bloom in 14 different themed rooms inside the glasshouse. Henry Phipps, a philanthropist like Carnegie, gifted his gardens to the public in 1893!

The distinctive glass art of Dale Chihuly is evident all around the conservatory, from the captivating chandelier to pieces nestled in greenery. This Celadon and Royal Purple Gilded Fion piece adds a whimsical touch to the plants in the Tropical Fruit & Spice Room.

Chihuly created Desert Gold Star glass for the Desert Room. First hung for the Chihuly at Phipps: Gardens & Glass exhibit in 2007, it’s been here ever since. Striking mirrored shapes!

Seasonal exhibits change throughout the year. Fun to look back at the pictures of prevous exhibits under Historical Shows that go back all the way to 1897! This coming winter the Holiday Magic! exhibit will feature glowing lights in the gardens around an Arctic Adventure theme.

During our visit in August, the exhibit was Monet Bloom.

Scenes from Monet paintings sprang to life in the various rooms.

And look, there he is painting his water lilies!

We visited on a weekday when it was quiet. Some of the rooms have narrow paths that loop around a tight humid space, so those could feel confining if impatient people are breathing down your neck. Walking around for a couple hours, we thought we saw everything. But somehow missed the Aquatic Gardens. It’s a big place and a bit of a maze. One chap kept asking people where the Butterfly Garden was. We had no idea until we were inside it!

Our time in Pittsburgh had come to an end. I know we barely scratched the surface of things to see…but it was time to travel to West Virginia.

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