Pittsburgh? Of all places, Pittsburgh? Well, why not? Might not be the place where you can spend an entire lifetime (Is there such a place? Really?), but you can definitely spend 48 hours here. So okay, I have never heard of anyone heading to Pittsburgh for the weekend to look around but that doesn't mean you shouldn't do it. I have spent a good part of two years in this city, and some others have languished here in Steel town for over 5 years and we shall all tell you that for a city this size, Pittsburgh has a lot to offer - very cool museums like the Andy Warhol and Carnegie Museum of Art, beautiful views of the Three Rivers and downtown from top of mountains, Wright's Fallingwater not too far from the city, renowned universities like UPMC and CMU, and lovely old neighborhoods like Shadyside and Squirrel Hill. Recommended season of visit is fall but summers should be okay too.
Friday 6 PM
Getting in to the city from the airport, you will go past the Fort Pitt tunnel and through the bridge from where you shall get a pretty neat view of downtown. Allegheny and Monangahela rivers become the Ohio at downtown Pittsburgh. You will see signs of a dying city - deserted downtown as everyone's gone back home from work, shabby stores that were once hip, factories which don't look operational, McDonalds and Dunkin Donuts, lifeless skyscrapers, Point State Park deserted too unless there's some summer event, and the only crowd you are likely to see will be in front of Benedum Center for the season's musical. Once inside the city, head to the Monangahela Incline and take the funicular rail lift upto Mount Washington from where awesome views of the rivers, bridges and the city can be beheld. If you are the strolling type, promenade along the half mile walkway to the ice cream store at the other end.
Friday 8 PM
Dinner at Station Square. Its sort of a waterfront mall right where you get down on the rail lift on your way back, but it has some decent restaurants and the waterfront views are quite nice too. I would suggest the East Carson Street on the South Side for dinner and after but we need to get an early start the next day, so you decide.
Saturday 7 AM
I know, I know but we have to drive an hour and half to Fallingwater at 8.30 AM. Only at 8.30 AM do they have a special two hour tour of the house and only on this tour is photography permitted inside the house, and so needless to say, it must be taken. The most popular of all Wright homes, Fallingwater was built as a vacation home for the Kauffmans' in 1939. Perched on top of a small waterfall in the Bear Run Nature Preserve, this spectacular house is like nothing you have seen - the house is so integrated with nature that it is difficult to see where the house ends and the woods begin and yet, even when it is so organic, Fallingwater is so clearly a celebration of modern technology and architecture. Ofcourse like most Wrights, it wasn't exactly what the owners wanted and neither was it particularly livable[1], but hey, that's the engineer's problem.
If you haven't had enough of Wright, don't worry, there's another house quite close by. Kentuck Nob, lesser known but a signature Wright nevertheless. Well worth your time.
Saturday 1.30 PM
On the way back, right after you get off the PA turnpike and onto I376, by the Monroeville Exit you will see directions to the SV Temple. Trust me on this one, take it. You will go up and down through narrow, winding roads and you will be almost certain that you are utterly lost when you will see the Balaji temple. One of the oldest desi temples in the New World and definitely the most popular, there's always a wedding/naming ceremony every weekend. There's also some seven hills Tirupathi type funda about this temple which I forget now. Why are we here, you ask? Because its lunchtime, stupid. Go straight to the cafe and buy $2 puliyodharais, sambar saadhams and thayiru saadams. Peace will happen.
Saturday 4 PM
Andy Warhol museum. Don't think Pittsburgh associated itself with Warhol when he was alive, but he's hometown hero now and they have a seven-story converted warehouse building dedicated to his works. Campbell's soup cans, Marilyn Monroe, Elvis, Silver clouds and everthing else pop that Warhol touched is here. For more entertainment, make sure you take with you atleast one person who is utterly clueless about Warhol and his works. Will make your day, I promise.
Saturday 8 PM
Dinner at Church Brew Works. Or how to draw crowds inside a church. Convert it to a brewery/restaurant. Cut up the pews and make dining booths. The confessional into a merchandise store. Courtyard now an outdoor patio. Good beer and decent food. Go for the atmosphere of course. And to find out how the church can really serve humanity for a change.
Sunday 10 AM
Note to active types: Get up early and go for a run in Schenley Park. It has miles of hiking and running trails, and it borders both CMU and the U of Pittsburgh. Here and there, you will come out of the woods and see neat views of the city and the Cathedral of Learning.
Brunch at Pamela's on Squirrel Hill. Will have to wait a while but its worth it. While you are waiting, explore the stores on Forbes and Murray Avenues. Couple of second hand bookstores on Murray are quite decent. And don't get scared by men walking past reading the Torah. They don't mean any harm, really.
Sunday 12 noon
Walk from Squirrel Hill to Shadyside and check out the uber classy Walnut Street. Upscale stores and galleries all around. Beautiful houses on the side streets. [If you happen to go in August, check schedules for the Shadyside Arts Festival. It draws artists from all over the country and is great place for bargains.] Now walk to Oakland, and check out the campuses of Carnegie Mellon and the U of Pittsburgh. At CMU, look for the very good looking Hammerschlag Hall. And now, look at the nondescript Wean Hall next to it. Draw your own conclusions. At U of Pitt, do not miss the Cathedral of Learning and the Heinz chapel next to it. The chapel really has some amazing stained glass windows.
Getting There
The Pittsburgh International Airport, while not a hub anymore, still is well served by US Airways. For the price sensitive traveler though, there's always Southwest who offers some very excellent fares. For instance, Chicago to Pittsburgh and back costs about $120 if you book a couple of weeks in advance. Last minute fares and e-fares to Pittsburgh are quite common and very affordable.
If you are driving down, its a six-hour drive from NYC through the PA turnpike, and four hours from DC. A couple of hours North will put you in the Lake Erie area, and another couple of hours to the border and ofcourse, the overrated Niagara Falls. Driving in from Chicago in good weather will take you a good eight hours but if you happen to miss an evening flight and drive through the night in the middle of the winter, its more like twelve.
Accommodations
Do yourself a favor and don't get too excited by the promise of quaint, bed-and-breakfast inns all over the city. There are enough places in the world where its worth paying thrice what you usually pay but we aren't there yet. Stick to your nearest and favoritest economy chain hotel and you will be fine. If you hate that idea and absolutely have to stay in an "authentic" local place, that can be arranged. A spacious, three-bedroom mansion in the Jewish haven of Squirrel Hill, a stone's throw away from Schenley Park and the restaurants of Murray Ave awaits you. You will be sharing acco with three men known for their culinary and bartending talents among other things. Please to email me for details.
Caution
Pittsburgh, like Chicago, is a huge sports town. If you, like me, are not the sports type, stay away from the city on weekends when the Steelers or Pirates are playing. The Penguins though are worth a watch in case you can stand hockey.
[1] As the story goes, once when the Kauffmans were at Fallingwater, some roof started leaking in the middle of the night and someone called Wright to tell him about it. He's supposed to have (famously) asked the person who called him to fetch a bucket.
Friday 6 PM
Getting in to the city from the airport, you will go past the Fort Pitt tunnel and through the bridge from where you shall get a pretty neat view of downtown. Allegheny and Monangahela rivers become the Ohio at downtown Pittsburgh. You will see signs of a dying city - deserted downtown as everyone's gone back home from work, shabby stores that were once hip, factories which don't look operational, McDonalds and Dunkin Donuts, lifeless skyscrapers, Point State Park deserted too unless there's some summer event, and the only crowd you are likely to see will be in front of Benedum Center for the season's musical. Once inside the city, head to the Monangahela Incline and take the funicular rail lift upto Mount Washington from where awesome views of the rivers, bridges and the city can be beheld. If you are the strolling type, promenade along the half mile walkway to the ice cream store at the other end.
Friday 8 PM
Dinner at Station Square. Its sort of a waterfront mall right where you get down on the rail lift on your way back, but it has some decent restaurants and the waterfront views are quite nice too. I would suggest the East Carson Street on the South Side for dinner and after but we need to get an early start the next day, so you decide.
Saturday 7 AM
I know, I know but we have to drive an hour and half to Fallingwater at 8.30 AM. Only at 8.30 AM do they have a special two hour tour of the house and only on this tour is photography permitted inside the house, and so needless to say, it must be taken. The most popular of all Wright homes, Fallingwater was built as a vacation home for the Kauffmans' in 1939. Perched on top of a small waterfall in the Bear Run Nature Preserve, this spectacular house is like nothing you have seen - the house is so integrated with nature that it is difficult to see where the house ends and the woods begin and yet, even when it is so organic, Fallingwater is so clearly a celebration of modern technology and architecture. Ofcourse like most Wrights, it wasn't exactly what the owners wanted and neither was it particularly livable[1], but hey, that's the engineer's problem.
If you haven't had enough of Wright, don't worry, there's another house quite close by. Kentuck Nob, lesser known but a signature Wright nevertheless. Well worth your time.
Saturday 1.30 PM
On the way back, right after you get off the PA turnpike and onto I376, by the Monroeville Exit you will see directions to the SV Temple. Trust me on this one, take it. You will go up and down through narrow, winding roads and you will be almost certain that you are utterly lost when you will see the Balaji temple. One of the oldest desi temples in the New World and definitely the most popular, there's always a wedding/naming ceremony every weekend. There's also some seven hills Tirupathi type funda about this temple which I forget now. Why are we here, you ask? Because its lunchtime, stupid. Go straight to the cafe and buy $2 puliyodharais, sambar saadhams and thayiru saadams. Peace will happen.
Saturday 4 PM
Andy Warhol museum. Don't think Pittsburgh associated itself with Warhol when he was alive, but he's hometown hero now and they have a seven-story converted warehouse building dedicated to his works. Campbell's soup cans, Marilyn Monroe, Elvis, Silver clouds and everthing else pop that Warhol touched is here. For more entertainment, make sure you take with you atleast one person who is utterly clueless about Warhol and his works. Will make your day, I promise.
Saturday 8 PM
Dinner at Church Brew Works. Or how to draw crowds inside a church. Convert it to a brewery/restaurant. Cut up the pews and make dining booths. The confessional into a merchandise store. Courtyard now an outdoor patio. Good beer and decent food. Go for the atmosphere of course. And to find out how the church can really serve humanity for a change.
Sunday 10 AM
Note to active types: Get up early and go for a run in Schenley Park. It has miles of hiking and running trails, and it borders both CMU and the U of Pittsburgh. Here and there, you will come out of the woods and see neat views of the city and the Cathedral of Learning.
Brunch at Pamela's on Squirrel Hill. Will have to wait a while but its worth it. While you are waiting, explore the stores on Forbes and Murray Avenues. Couple of second hand bookstores on Murray are quite decent. And don't get scared by men walking past reading the Torah. They don't mean any harm, really.
Sunday 12 noon
Walk from Squirrel Hill to Shadyside and check out the uber classy Walnut Street. Upscale stores and galleries all around. Beautiful houses on the side streets. [If you happen to go in August, check schedules for the Shadyside Arts Festival. It draws artists from all over the country and is great place for bargains.] Now walk to Oakland, and check out the campuses of Carnegie Mellon and the U of Pittsburgh. At CMU, look for the very good looking Hammerschlag Hall. And now, look at the nondescript Wean Hall next to it. Draw your own conclusions. At U of Pitt, do not miss the Cathedral of Learning and the Heinz chapel next to it. The chapel really has some amazing stained glass windows.
Getting There
The Pittsburgh International Airport, while not a hub anymore, still is well served by US Airways. For the price sensitive traveler though, there's always Southwest who offers some very excellent fares. For instance, Chicago to Pittsburgh and back costs about $120 if you book a couple of weeks in advance. Last minute fares and e-fares to Pittsburgh are quite common and very affordable.
If you are driving down, its a six-hour drive from NYC through the PA turnpike, and four hours from DC. A couple of hours North will put you in the Lake Erie area, and another couple of hours to the border and ofcourse, the overrated Niagara Falls. Driving in from Chicago in good weather will take you a good eight hours but if you happen to miss an evening flight and drive through the night in the middle of the winter, its more like twelve.
Accommodations
Do yourself a favor and don't get too excited by the promise of quaint, bed-and-breakfast inns all over the city. There are enough places in the world where its worth paying thrice what you usually pay but we aren't there yet. Stick to your nearest and favoritest economy chain hotel and you will be fine. If you hate that idea and absolutely have to stay in an "authentic" local place, that can be arranged. A spacious, three-bedroom mansion in the Jewish haven of Squirrel Hill, a stone's throw away from Schenley Park and the restaurants of Murray Ave awaits you. You will be sharing acco with three men known for their culinary and bartending talents among other things. Please to email me for details.
Caution
Pittsburgh, like Chicago, is a huge sports town. If you, like me, are not the sports type, stay away from the city on weekends when the Steelers or Pirates are playing. The Penguins though are worth a watch in case you can stand hockey.
[1] As the story goes, once when the Kauffmans were at Fallingwater, some roof started leaking in the middle of the night and someone called Wright to tell him about it. He's supposed to have (famously) asked the person who called him to fetch a bucket.
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