Pittsburgh is not exactly a tourist mecca.  

It’s not on the “overtouristed”  lists and it’s not on those lists of places to go before you die. 

But…..having spent a few days there in October, I must say it is worth a visit.  

Why?  

Let me share four places I enjoyed.  

1. The Cathedral of Learning and the Nationality Rooms, University of Pittsburgh. 

Who would have thought the huge cathedral on the University of Pittsburgh is a building filled with classrooms and offices?  Rivaling any cathedral in Europe, the massive 42 floor gothic structure is well worth a visit. 

You want to see the  31 nationality class rooms, designed to represent the culture of various ethnic groups that settled in the area, making it possible to take a trip around the world without leaving the Steel City. 

The classrooms aren’t museums. They are working classrooms, but open for touring through out the day.  Here are some scenes from what we saw on our tour and a picture of our tour guide. 

For more about the Cathedral of Learning and the Nationality  Rooms, click below.   

https://www.tour.pitt.edu/tour/cathedral-learning

https://www.nationalityrooms.pitt.edu

2.  The Frick Complex

I didn’t get photos of the house or outside of the museums, but the complex is a fascinating spot to visit.  The Victorian house known as the Clayton House is well worth a tour, since the youngest daughter  o f Henry Clay Frick, wealthy industrialist, lived in it until she died and arranged for it to be preserved and enjoyed by the public.  

I did find the Katherine Hepburn exhibit at the Frick Art Museum to be fun and interesting.  It was cool to see a collection of her trousers. She was known for not wearing skirts, but had a wardrobe of beautifully constructed pants in great fabrics.  

Known as one of the best actresses of all time, Hepburn wore costumes of all styles in the many movies and theater productions.  Many are preserved and maintained at Kent State University. 

For more about the Frick House and Museums this link.  

 https://www.thefrickpittsburgh.org

3. Frank Lloyd Wright homes 

You can’t go to Pittsburgh without visiting the Frank Lloyd Wright homes.  No one is allowed to take photos inside, but exterior shots of the famous Falling water and the smaller Kentucky Knob capture the well known and revered architect’s work.  

For more about these two houses and their tours, go to 

fallingwater.org

or 

kentuckknob.com 

4. Unique to Pittsburg are the Inclines. 

We rode the Duquesne Incline up to a wonderful lookout point on Mount Washington  to get a great view of Pittsburgh.  An incline is a trolley like car that rides right up the side of the mountain. 

There are two working Inclines in Pittsburgh, dating back to 1870s.  They take riders up approximately 400 feet at a speed of six miles an hour.  Approximately 25 people can fit in each car. 

At one point Pittsburgh had nearly 20 active funiculars or inclines as they are called here.  

From the Duquesne Incline you get a great view of some of the 446 bridges within the city limits.  

We ended the evening at a lovely restaurant with great view within walking distance of the Incline.  On a random Thursday night, we were surprised and delighted with fireworks on the waterfront.  

Trivia: Why does the city’s name end in h?   

The city was originally named to honor William Pitt the Elder, but it was General John Forbes who did the naming. His Scottish background is the reason for that extra “h”—think Edinburgh. To edit the spelling to the German “burg” was akin to editing the city’s founding.

For more about Pittsburgh, scroll back to last week’s blog post on DesignDestinations.  Read about and see photos of the wonderful Botanical Garden and an iconic sandwich, residents and tourists will wait in line to order.