The Johnstown Flood
The problems all started 14 miles upstream from Johnstown, Penn., at the South Fork Dam in South Fork. The dam created a man-made, two-mile-long by one-mile-wide lake at a private resort that served the steel, …
Category: Books
The Carrie Blast Furnaces
We like to learn about the places we visit, and nothing says “Pittsburgh history” like the iron and steel industry. We’d already seen the glamorous side of the city by touring The Frick Pittsburgh. Now …
Architecture / Art / Books / Museums
Clayton and the Frick Art Museum
I love interesting historic homes, so of course we stopped to tour Clayton while in Pittsburgh. Clayton was the Victorian home of coke- (relating to coal, not drugs) and steel-magnate Henry Clay Frick and his …
Duquesne Incline
Doug absolutely loves visiting viewpoints – be it riding in a tram or gondola or funicular, or walking up a tower, or hiking up a mountain. I, on the other hand, usually feel like we’ve …
Abandoned Pennsylvania Turnpike
Did you know there is a 13-mile stretch of abandoned Pennsylvania Turnpike that you can bike or walk on, and experience what the apocalypse might feel like? This section of highway near Breezewood, PA, was …
The Boss, Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen grew up in Freehold, just 40 minutes from where I grew up (Forked River); it seemed time to do some musical exploring while on a visit to my parents’ house. Springsteen (or “The …
“Walter Wick: Hidden Wonders!” Exhibit
We went to the New Britain Museum of American Art to see the Ansel Adams and Shaker exhibits, but instead were blown away by the wonderful “Walter Wick: Hidden Wonders!” exhibit, which is running March …
James A. Michener Art Museum
The James A. Michener Art Museum in Doylestown, PA is a regional museum with a focus on artists who lived and worked in Bucks County. It is named after author James A. Michener, who is …