Medea’s Child, has The Beehive on South Side closed as well?
If you’re in for a bit of shopping, South Side (area near Station Square) is good. Some cool stores: Groovy (retro toys, etc.) and Eye of Horus (Pagan supplies and books), provided that they are still around…
I really need to make a trip back home. Haven’t been for a few years. Sounds like a lot of my favorites are gone.
I’m a bit late to contribute anything more than some drive-by nostalgia. CMU was my alma mater, and poogas21, I can’t believe there’s actually someone else here from my hometown! (and willing to admit it :D)
Oh wait! I do have something to contribute. This article from the Washington Post talks about how Pittsburgh was the “real” beginning of Lewis & Clark’s expedition to the west and mentions some sights to see for the historically inclined.
Everything so far has been covered, so this is kind of a summary primer of what has been said so far:
Culture/History: Carnegie Science Center (My wife works on the USS Requin, a WWII submarine that is parked there. North Side). Andy Warhol Museum (North Side. I have a picture of his grave site in Castle Shannon). Carnegie Museum (on Forbes). History Center (Which is now a member of the Smithsonian. Strip District). The Fort Pitt grounds and museum (The Point).
Franchise Entertainment: The Waterfront (Homestead). Station Square (South Side).
On The Cheap: Carnegie Library (Forbes). The Point State Park (The Point). Drive around the Mexican War Streets (North Side). Riverview Park (North Side). Schenley Park and Phipps Conservatory (North, somewhere). Walk around the two new stadiums (North Side, you can’t miss them). Walk through the Strip District (Strip District). Cathedral of Learning (Oakland).
Local Restaurants Of Note: Sharp Edge Creekhouse (Crafton, 60). Mad Mex (Three locations). Primanti’s (At least three locations). Kennywood (Edgewood).
Theaters: Benedum (Downtown). Heinz (Downtown). OReilly (Downtown). They are all located in the Cultural District, blocks from each other.
Debachery and Drink: South Side (South Side). Strip District after dark (Strip District). Pitt and CMU campuses (Oakland).
Pittsburgh Facts:
George Washington fell out of his boat, and into freezing water, at The Point.
The garden that George Washington’s troops planted and fed from is still intact and alive, in the basement of the Hilton.
The Official World’s Most Haunted House existed in Pittsburgh, on Ridge Avenue. It was visited by Edison on several occasions, until it exploded in 1939. (Google: Doctor Brunrichter)
At one time, Pittsburgh had twelve fully operational Inclines transporting coal, wood, steel, and passengers up and down Mount Washington.
Most of the landmarks of Pittsburgh are named after notable figures and events from the French and Indian War.
In Conclusion:
Before you leave on your trip, go to www.pittsburgh.com and download a local map and check traffic patterns.
When you first arrive, pick up a copy of the Post Gazette and pull out the entertainment section, or find a copy of the free Pittsburgh magazine Pulp. Scan through them for the different shows and events that are going on that weekend.
Right now it is raining, but looks like you are going to have a beautiful weekend.
Sorry. Kennywood is not a restaurant. I meant to put that under attractions.
And, the Beehive on the South Side is still open.
I forgot about the Lewis and Clark expedition. That is big right now, because this is some anniversary year of Lewis launching from his boat in August from Pittsburgh. It was in St. Louis that he picked up Clark. Lewis was Bipolar, and was delayed six weeks while his alchoholic boat builder finished his boat. On the first day, on showing off his new rifle to some locals, he nearly killed a woman bystander when the rifle misfired.
The Lewis and Clark Expedition is an interest of mine. After I watched the Ken Burns special, I read every book I could get my hands on about the journey. That’s great news for me! Haunted houses are also an interest, so if anyone can offer some other suggestions on haunted places please do.
We are leaving tomorrow morning, so many thanks to all who posted suggestions.
I will fill you in on all the details when we return and post some photos.
Everyone have a safe and enjoyable holiday weekend.
P.S. Hey Airman let me know if you want to meet for a drink or two (or three or ten) - or anyone else for that matter.
What I actually meant was
Hey Airman
Folks, there’s also going to be a good party going on at the Crowne Plaza Hotel out by the airport that weekend. If you go there, look for one of the attendees, and ask for “Siege” or “CJ”, they’ll probably at least know who I am, if not where to find me. It’s one of these infamous RG’s I’ve mentioned now and again. I’d also be willing to slip away for a few hours for another microDope somewhere.
CJ
::sniff:: I miss Pittsburgh.
If it’s history you want…
You must go to Kennywood. Then go have a drink and a mystery meat sandwich at Chiodo’s. http://www.pubnetwork.com/chiodos.htm
Fallingwater is about 1.5 hours outside of Pittsburgh. In fact, I’m going to be there this weekend. It’s wonderful, but you’ve got plenty do to in the city. Make a separate trip out of the Laurel Highlands. There’s tons to do there as well. And if you’re really a Frank Lloyd Wright fan, there’s another house in the area called Kentuck Knob. I’m hoping to have time to check it out this weekend.
av8rmike: What years were you at CMU? I’m class of '93.
im2evil4u, “Panther Hollow” is bloody well haunted, if you’re looking for that sort of thing. It is an area in Oakland, behind Forbes Avenue. There is a valley there, with wooden steps leading down from the neighborhood above to a flat area just above the valley. There are three little houses there. You have to walk through the neighborhood to get to the steps, and they’re kind of tough to find if you don’t know where to look.
If you choose to drive down there though, you’d turn right off Forbes (heading away from downtown) and turn down any side street. There is one in particular (I’m sorry, I’ve forgotten the name.) that is a brick road.
If you follow the brick road all the way to the bottom, there will be a small park-like area, with the road curving around it. Following that curve to the right, you will come to Juno Street. It is a crappy, steep “trail” leading back up the hill. At the top are the above-mentioned three houses. I imagine that college students live there. The houses get “passed down,” from year to year. (Or they did when I lived there, anyway.)
The houses overlook a valley, with a bridge crossing over it and train tracks below. I lived in the middle house for a year- very interesting, very creepy. When I was there (and for many years before), it was the official party house of A.I.P. students, mostly due to it’s scary reputation. Actually living there was a bit less fun, and quite a bit more…unsettling.
If you make the trip after dusk, you’ll probably get the general ambience.
If memory serves, the brick road is Joncaire St, off of South Bouquet. You can get there from the other end by turning down the hill onto S Neville from Forbes.
Your memory is correct. Joncaire takes you up to the post office on Bouquet near the end of Schenley Drive, and Neville takes you past the backside of CMU (you can see the tower on top of Hamerschlag if you crane your neck a bit) and up to 5th Ave near the corner of Craig St.
(CMU class of '98 here. Lotsa Pittsburghers on this board from what I’ve seen.)
(Whoops, meant to say your memory’s right about Joncaire… Neville crosses underneath Forbes (the bridge near the Panther Hollow Inn. It crosses a couple of the side streets off Craig then crosses 5th into North Oakland like I mentioned.)
(I figured it would be nice to fill you all in on our trip. Again I thank you for your help and we plan to return to make up for what we missed.)
We have returned from Pittsburgh, we really had a great time and met some strange/cool characters along the way. I really tried to use all of the suggestions you guys/gals offered, but hangovers and extremely hot wings got in our way. The following is a basic chronicle of our trip; however, I have some questions that I have posted below.
We arrived at our hotel around 6ish, so we quickly checked in and drove over to the south side for some beer and food. Fat Head’s was our first stop, I started off with few Delerium Tremens, then realized $6.00 for 12oz was pretty darn pricey then let Coors light (read: cheap) take me the rest of the way towards intoxication. We had some food, (me: pierogies; him: wings) and then took a short walk across the street to the Blue Note Café.
This is where we met a woman whom upon discovering we were visiting Pittsburgh for the first time, she became our self-proclaimed “Disgusting Tour Guide”. For a solid two hours she told us what to see what to do and where to go. Of course, the husband tuned her out (mostly because he couldn’t hear her) and left me to fend for myself. She had lived in Pittsburgh most of her life so she was chock full of information for us. We made a quick escape while our “Disgusting Tour Guide” went to the bathroom. I left her a note thanking her for her help, as the bartender thanked us for taking her off his hands for a while.
Friday morning, I had big plans for the day, but the “Caribbean Killers” at Fat Head’s had taken a toll on my husband’s stomach so we were a bit delayed. The words “ass” and “fire” were mentioned a few times during breakfast, I just giggled. We went to the Zoo & Aquarium and that was all. The heat of the day and the “Caribbean Killers Incident” had knocked us both out, so we went back to the hotel to take a nap. That evening we were going to walk up Carson Street and check some other bars out, but the Blue Note Café had live music and was pretty packed so we stopped by. It was pretty cool. A two man band, a singer/guitarist and the second guy on bongos. I didn’t catch the name but they were great. The singer was standing on the bar performing Led Zep tunes, Elvis, etc. After the show we stopped by the Pipers Pub for a round and then went to Mario’s Saloon. We started to double back and go further up Carson Street but a thunder storm was-a brewin’ and it started pouring, so we ran into Fat Head’s. (On Sunday, during breakfast at Tom’s Diner, I realized my Friday night plans on Carson Street ended up within only two blocks). We hung out there until the rain stopped, played some music, got the locals rocking to “Iron Man” and “Fairies Wear Boots”; then went back to Mario’s for a wheel of fried provolone and pierogies.
Saturday we did as much as we could, the Warhol Museum, the Mattress Factory, the Cathedral of Learning and the Science Center. Stopped by Primanti Brothers for a late lunch then took a ride on the Duquesne Incline. That evening we went to the Church Brew Works on Liberty, for some pierogies and pizza. I wanted to get up bright and early Sunday so that we could go to Kennywood in the morning before we left so we headed back to the hotel to have a drink or two at the hotel bar. That is when we met the next group of interesting characters.
Lidia and Lou from Cleveland, OH were sitting on the opposite side of the U-shaped bar and Chris and his father from Winston-Salem, NC were sitting next to us. We were all having hushed conversations when Lidia blurts out “Keep your paws off me you T-shirt salesman!” Conversations started and we all became pals (Lou indicated numerous times he was “not a t-shirt salesman”, since that came up in conversation many times that evening, we still can figure out why she yelled that out in public). Chris’ father was quite toasted and proceeded to ask a couple from West Virginia if they were related since everyone in West Virginia was related. Lidia proclaimed her love to us and we proceeded to spend the rest of the evening drinking and talking and when the hotel bar closed at 12:00. I talked everyone into going somewhere else and we headed over to the “Tap Room” across the street. We caused a ruckus there, met a local chick named Tina and we all exchanged phone numbers and email addresses. At 2:00 in the morning we called it quits (we ran out of cigarettes, and the nearest place to buy them was eleven blocks away).
The morning hangover prevented us from visiting Kennywood; but during breakfast at Tom’s Diner, a little man dressed as a Leprechaun wished me a happy birthday, so that made the hangover worth it.
Now for my questions:
1 – Gourmet Ice - We stopped in a few CoGo’s along the way and noted they carried had two types of ice. For example, just plain ice was $1.49 and gourmet ice was $2.99. What is the difference? I didn’t want to seem like a tourist, so I kept my mouth shut. Is the gourmet made with spring water?
2 – “Live Bait-in-a-Can” - How does it live in a can?
3 – Targeted Enforcement Area – What goes on in these areas and why does it seem that the “targeted areas” encompass the entire state?
4 – Multi-colored Dinosaurs – What do they represent?
5 – Eat & Park – Why is the “dinner” section of the menu first? (that irked the crap out of me for some reason)
I can explain items 2, 3, 4 and take a stab at 5.
2: Live Bait in a Can lives because the can has airholes. It’s literally just a can full o’squirmy worms and is, as you might imagine, disgusting.
3: Targeted Enforcement Areas are just places with a higher-than-typical police presence, especially for speeding, drunken driving or recklessness. These are usually areas where there has been a higher than normal accidental rate.
4: The Dinosaurs are Pittsburgh’s project like Chicago’s cows, they’re a joint project of the county and the Carnegie Museums, IIRC. They’re all over Allegheny County, I hope you saw the Mr. Rogers tribute dino. My friend sent me photos, I’m sorry I probably won’t see it in person.
5: Your menu (now that they’re spiral bound, they didn’t used to be) was given to you opened to the dinner pages because it was dinner time. That’s just my WAG.
I’m totally missing Pittsburgh now. I can’t wait until we’re able to visit in the spring!
I graduated in '99, so I guess I was there from '95 to '99. Many fond memories…