by As is usual with my trip planning, our days were packed with adventures! Here are a few of the other interesting sites we took in on our visit to Pittsburgh, Penn.
St Paul Cathedral – the mother church of the Diocese of Pittsburgh; Gothic Revival architecture, built in 1906.
We went in and took a quick look around. Plus there were bonus tulips outside!
Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall and Museum – the largest memorial in the US dedicated solely to honoring all branches of military veterans and service personnel.
Beaux-Arts architecture, completed in 1910. We did not tour this, just admired from outside
Bellefield Presbyterian Church – I just snapped a picture as we walked by because I thought it was pretty, wasn’t even on my radar. Romanesque Style, 1898.
Forbes Field Outfield Wall –the old Pittsburgh Pirates stadium was torn down in 1971, but they left this wall standing in tribute to one of the most historic plays in baseball, when Bill Mazeroski hit a home run to end Game 7 of the 1960 World series.
The other side of the wall is supposed to have a plaque to mark the exact spot where the home run ball went over the wall, but it was missing when we visited.
Log Cabin on the University of Pittsburgh campus – just sitting there in a park with no sign. Very weird.
Google explains that it is circa 1830, and “symbolizes Pitt’s origins as a frontier academy of higher learning.”
Uh-huh.
Mellon Institute Columns – sections of the columns were intentionally left uncleaned when the building was refurbished in order to serve as a reminder of the city’s polluted past.
During the heyday of the coal and steel industry, Pittsburgh earned monikers such as “Hell with the Lid Off” and “Smoky City”.
The Immaculate Reception – memorial to one of the most famous plays in American football history, when the Pittsburgh Steelers were down one point to the Oakland Raiders with 22 seconds left in the AFC divisional playoff game of the NFL on December 23, 1972.
Per Wikipedia, “Pittsburgh quarterback Terry Bradshaw threw a pass targeting John Fuqua. The ball bounced off the helmet of Raiders safety Jack Tatum. Steelers fullback Franco Harris caught it just before it hit the ground and ran for a game-winning touchdown.”
NFL Films chose it as the greatest play of all time, though it is not without controversy – did the ball really touch Tatum? Did it hit the ground before Harris caught it? Either would have resulted in an incomplete pass under the rules at the time. Regardless, the Steelers notched their first playoff win ever, after decades of despair, and went on to win four Super Bowls by the end of the 1970s.
You can watch the play here and judge for yourself.
The ”P” in Pittsburgh stands for Pierogies – Thanks to the heavy Eastern European immigrant influx during the Industrial era, Pittsburgh is known for its pierogies today.
There are several shops around town that are dedicated to the dough filled with cheese, meats and other fillings.
We got ours from Pierogies Plus – orders of Potato & Cheddar Cheese and Cottage Cheese & Chives, topped with their Sauteed Onion Sauce – oh, and a piece of baklava, thank you very much – and it was delicious!
