Modern Pittsburgh Is a Showcase for History, Culture and Sports by Various Travel Authors on Creators.com

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Modern Pittsburgh Is a Showcase for History, Culture and Sports

By Robert Selwitz

Pittsburgh is major league in ways that go far beyond its sports teams. Though best known for the legendary NFL Steelers, scrappy NHL Penguins and beloved baseball Pirates, this compact city is also home to superior art and music offerings, major museums and a burgeoning food scene. Add in a quarter-millennia of fascinating history and an economic and environmental revolution that has transformed the city from sooty black to progressive green, and you have a destination well worth exploring.

During the summer it is hard to top a night game at PNC Park, home of the Pirates. The skyline view from moderately priced, close-in seats is unsurpassed.

When fall approaches and nights turn chilly, however, the cultural season blossoms. Then, right in the heart of downtown, the renowned Pittsburgh Symphony makes glorious music in Heinz Hall. A converted opulent movie palace that was saved from demolition and given a second life in 1971, it is regarded as one of the best examples of architectural adaptive reuse in the country. Here the grandeur of the setting and the orchestra's sounds make a perfect blend.

Nearby are also several major theatrical venues that include the Pittsburgh Public Theater. The coming season — in the company's multitier, three-quarter thrust stage playhouse with excellent sightlines — includes "The Royal Family" by George S. Kaufman, "Talley's Folly" by Lanford Wilson, Lerner and Loew's musical "Camelot" and "Superior Donuts" by Tracy Letts.

Pittsburgh's cultural scene also extends well past the performing arts. In fact, it has evolved into a showcase for contemporary art, with dozens of galleries that complement the city's prime art museums, the Carnegie in suburban Oakland, the Andy Warhol Museum lauding Pittsburgh's most famous native-born artist, and the clever and vital Mattress Factory on Pittsburgh's North Side. Within the 14-block downtown Cultural District many sites specialize in evocative contemporary work. Among the most trafficked are the Space Gallery and Wood Street galleries

The North Side is home to the Warhol museum, which depicts his flamboyant life and art. The Mattress Factory is a unique facility that displays oversized and thought-provoking installations and also houses and supports the artists who create them. Both permanent and temporary exhibits fill what was once actually a factory. Among the most compelling are captivating light enclosures by James Turrell, brightly lit rooms with life-sized soft sculptures by Yayoi Kusama and a memorial room containing dolls and other favored objects from the troubled life of artist Greer Lankton.

The Oakland district is home to the University of Pittsburgh's mighty Tower of Learning, where visitors can contemplate what attending a major university contained within a Gothic-cathedral-like skyscraper might be like. They'll also enjoy visiting some of the 27 international rooms, each incorporating the handicrafts and cultures of a specific nation within a classroom setting.

Across the street, some 115 years ago, Andrew Carnegie erected his precedent-setting museums that today are home to major natural history and art collections. Natural history highlights include the bones of a dinosaur discovered in Wyoming during a Carnegie-funded expedition and a gorgeously lit and displayed gems and gemstone collection.

Carnegie's art collection, with examples from many eras, is particularly strong in American works from the mid-19th century to the present, plus French Impressionist and Post-impressionist paintings, and major late 20th century works.

Another noteworthy draw is the family-friendly Heinz History Museum. Ground-floor exhibits include a cutaway of a working Pittsburgh trolley showing a film depicting the days when this was the prime way to get around the city as well as a survey of the innovations and cultural contributions made by Pittsburghians to the world. These include the life stories of famous sons who range from Fred Rogers (of "Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood") to Jonas Salk, who, with his University of Pittsburgh colleagues, developed the landmark Salk anti-polio vaccine. There are also re-creations of famous Pittsburgh structures and domestic scenes such as a 1950s-era kitchen and an entire floor dedicated to Pittsburgh's most important sports heroes.

At the "Strip District," a former industrial site that extends for eight blocks along Penn and Liberty avenues north of downtown, a short stroll leads to a wide range of goods ranging from Ecuadorian baby sweaters to tamarind paste from Thailand. And there are plenty of comfortable eating options to visit along the way.

Visitors will also want to get as close as possible to the point where the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers meld to form the Ohio. While ongoing construction currently blocks access to the tip itself, it's possible to get a real feel by walking close to the barrier and sensing the two rivers coming together. Nearby Fort Pitt Museum details the complex fighting and politicking that lead to and through the French and Indian War. Control of the site of present-day Pittsburgh was a critical issue in that tussle, and the story of how what once was French-founded Fort Duquesne became the city named for William Pitt, the mid-18th century British parliamentarian, is fascinating.

Finally, no trip to Pittsburgh is complete without an overview of the rivers' coming together. The best way to experience that is to ride to the top of the Duquesne Incline. Incline cabs are essentially funiculars set atop triangular wheeled platforms that are moved via two steel wire cables.

Pittsburgh used to be known for its heavy industries and the pollution they produced. Today, however, tourists are coming in ever-greater numbers to experience a city that has impressively cleaned itself up and successfully re-invented itself as a prototype for 21st century urban America.

IF YOU GO

The Omni William Penn Hotel provides elegant, Old World hotel style with first-rate amenities. It boasts a central location that's walking distance from virtually all downtown attractions: www.omnihotels.com/pittsburgh.

Nine on Nine offers sophisticated fine dining in a most stylish setting. The menu is contemporary and innovative: 412-338-6463; www.nineonnine.com.

Pamela's is a chain of six breakfast-focused eateries particularly favored for their fruit-filled pancakes and terrific omelets: www.pamelasdiner.com.

For user-friendly information about Pittsburgh: www.visitpittsburgh.com.

Robert Selwitz is a freelance travel writer. To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.