Re: [Leica] PITTSBURGH

[Mark Walberg <Walberg@simmons.swmed.edu>]

>Hi,
>Stan and I will be in the Pittsburgh area July 25-27.  Any tips on what to
>shoot?--what to see?--who to meet (LUGgers)?
>MJK

Pittsburgh is a pretty city.  Take a walk throught Point State Park, where
the three rivers meet.  Take a walk along the edge of Mount Washington,
across the Monongahela from downtown-the view from there is great, day or
night.  You can see all the bridges from Mount Washington.  The area called
Oakland, where the U. of Pittsburgh is, has a lot of interesting places.
The Carnegie Museum there is full of fascinating stuff.  They've got great
dinosaurs.  The art museum nearby is also good.  Take a look in the Heinz
Chapel (a very pretty chapel), next to the U of Pitt Cathedral of Learning,
if it is open.
   If you can, take a look at Gene Smith's Pittsburgh pictures.  A lot of
them, along with many other historical pictures can be found in Stephan
Lorant's "Pittsburgh, The Story of an American City".   The history of the
place is very interesting.  Lorant's book has some remarkable photographs
of downtown at mid day that look almost dark - stores and cars have their
lights on - due to the coal burned to make steel.  That is, of course, all
gone now.
There are also some good Pittsburgh pictures by Gene Smith here (look at
the link marked View Photographs).
http://www.doubletakemagazine.org/issues/12/smith/index.html
    The Carnegie Library main branch in Oakland (next to U.Pitt and the
museum) has a photographic library that I plan to see the next time I'm
there.  Here is a description -   http://www.clpgh.org/exhibit/photog13.html
    THe steel mills were neat, but they are gone.  You can find a lot of
interesting old houses all over Pittsburgh - except where all the new
developments are being built.  Manchester, on the North side, is a good
place to see the old houses.  A drive through the huge Uniondale Cemetery,
also on the North Side is interesting, with some great views of downtown in
some spots.  A visit to the locks on the river is kind of interesting.
There are locks here and there along the rivers that the barges and boats
must go through.  The one I know well is the one in Emsworth, out the Ohio
River Blvd.  If you have the time, it is fun to take a river boat ride from
downtown.
  If you really have some time, you can drive out of Pittsburgh to Falling
water - which is a remarkable house that Frank Lloyd Wright built (for
Edgar Kauffman, I think).   It is it in the country in a beautiful area.
The house has a stream going through it with a waterfall.
   The area called the strip had some neat shops, including a teriffic
seafood shop (called Wolley's, I think).  I don't know what the strip is
like now, but it is worth asking a Pittsburgher about it.
     Yeah, I kind of miss Pittsburgh.    Have fun.
- -Mark Walberg