Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh, steel city, three rivers:


Pittsburgh, full of history, was our first stop this year.  At the intersection of the Ohio, Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers, Pittsburgh was always a desirable area, to the Indians, to the French, to the British and to westward seeking colonists.  Not only because of their waterways, but also due to rich mineral deposits in the Allegheny mountains.  It was a center of the French and Indian War, where Washington learned a bit about generalship.  Great wealth was produced here, including Carnegie and Frick with US Steel, among others.  After WWII the city transformed itself, out of necessity, to become a center of health care, finance and high tech robotics.  The picture above is of "the Golden Triangle" downtown.  Among other things, Pittsburgh has produced many great football players, including Joe Montana, Joe Namath, Johnny Unitas, Dan Marino and Tony Dorsett; pretty impressive.  The cities suburbs are quite hilly, but with some great views.

One of our first visits was to the centerpiece of the U. of Pittsburgh's campus, the Cathedral of Learning, designed and built in the 30's, on  land obtained from Henry Frick.  It is the tallest center of learning in the Western Hemisphere, with a 52 ft. high Gothic inspired great center hall.  Of particular interest to us were the nationality rooms.  Each ethnic group in Pittsburgh was invited to create a room to educate others on their culture, and 38 groups have, so far, spent anywhere from $300,000 to $750,000 to create their showcase; we felt like we were at a World's Fair; very interesting.  Below, a picture of the building.




Next, a tour of Henry Frick's elegant home, kept within the family until the preservation foundation took it over; perfectly maintained with many original furnishings and fixtures.





Visited the Botanical Gardens, below some spectacular Chihuly glass tulips embedded with actual plantings.

 

 

Close to Pittsburgh is Falling Waters, one of Frank Lloyd Wright's masterpieces, considered by many one of the modern wonders of the world.  His ability to integrate the living with the land here revitalized his career later in his life, and led to hundreds of new contracts, including the Guggenheim Museum in NYC.  Great tour at Falling Waters.

 

 

 

 

We happened upon a very inspiring story in a place called Polymath Park, some 30 minutes from Falling Waters.  Tom and Heather Papinchak, he a small .builder, she a background in early childhood education, both with a love of Frank Lloyd Wright's history, found themselves with a 140 acre plot of land containing two former homes built by a protégé of FLW.  They then, in a leap of faith, purchased, moved and renovated a 1950 era FLW house to adjoin the other two.  Under very difficult circumstances, with great perseverance and with a very positive attitude,they have taken care of these homes, rent them out to FLW lovers, give tours, started a restaurant to service their guests, and, generally, are making the business work.  We were very impressed by their "can do" spirit.  Below, Marlene and Heather, in front of one of the homes.

 

 

 

Finally, we spent a few days with dear friends, Lonny and Nicki Harrison, who we have not seen in a long time.  Amazing, after all the years, we just fell back into an easy enjoyment of each other's company, almost as if no time had passed.  Below, on their back deck; wonderful visit.