A good choice!
Looking through a different window from the 25th floor of the Oliver building, we found ourselves right there with those fine architectural details we’d so admired from street level. Amazing.
Other details were only noticeable when down there again, however, including this pierced metal church steeple. A little later, I noticed the texture of the walls, which appeared to be like draped fabric. Only when we were right opposite it on the street did we realise that’s exactly what it was: the whole church was draped in a black net of some kind, presumably as an anti-pigeon device.
We had a couple of things still on our list to see, but both were flagging a bit by now!
Our supposedly current guidebook had listed Fifth Avenue as a shopping street, but sadly that is no longer the case. This huge store, formerly Macys, lies empty and like many of its neighbours, has signs of fancy restaurants opening in 2020 and other development opportunities on offer.
This sign stands outside the Allegheny County Court building, another one on our list, but closed today, Saturday.
There’s another sign alongside it.
We could get a closer look at the Union Trust Building from here too. That stonework is remarkable, isn’t it?
Parts of this building are also up for development - the ground floor, at least - through the entrance is as grand as ever and matches that fancy stonework pretty closely too.
In contrast to the highly decorative, the rather more modern skyscraper opposite is of more brutal design. The US Steel building is, unsurprisingly, made of steel!
A temporary structure had been built in the grounds however, to accommodate a family and some visitors.
That left just one remaining place to see before we staggered back to our hotel. The Pennsylvanian was a former railroad station and we had read of the grandeur of the place. It was open until 2pm, we’d read, so we hurried along to get there in time.
Wow! That rotunda is quite something!
The central dome was spectacular, with the skylight above and the four main pillars each adorned with the principal destinations.
This is Pittsburgh; the others are Chicago, New York and Philadelphia. Stepping through the doors to view the interior, however, we were greeted with one of those peculiarly American* attitudes: “This is private property”. No question. No further discussion. And so, like a couple of naughty children, we were banished from the building. Just. Like. That.
And no, you can’t peer through the windows into the hallway.
Oh well, we’d had enough really. We’d been walking (almost) non-stop since early morning. We didn’t like to think what the time was in other parts of the world (most importantly, what time our bodies thought it should be) and perhaps it was for the best that we headed back towards where we’d started.
We passed a funny pizza restaurant sign.
A very colourful mural.
And nearing our hotel, a view of what we like most about Pittsburgh: there’s new, old, plain, fancy, big and small all right there next to one another and that mix is really fascinating. We think we made an excellent choice coming here and have had such a fun day. We’ve still not stepped inside a museum or an art gallery even though there’s Warhol just over the river and a whole collection of places for another, possibly wet, day.
We have plans - tickets, even - for tomorrow, too. Hope you’ll join us!
