July 6, 2022
With our Airbnb located about 45 minutes away from the heart of Pittsburgh, we didn’t have the opportunity to experience the town on a daily basis. So, our second trek into Pittsburgh was a midweek, after-work visit with the main goal of attending the Yankees vs Pirates baseball game. On our way into the city, we hit a massive thunderstorm that drenched the area for over an hour and I decided to get off the highway and take surface streets the rest of the way into town.
As I’ve done many times this year, I drove through the city without a destination in mind and in this case started heading toward a very tall and cool-looking church. By the time we reached the church, the rain had stopped and we found ourselves surrounded by the University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Music Hall, The Carnegie Museum of Natural History & Museum of Art, Schenley Farms Historic District, and Carnegie Mellon University.
St. Paul’s Cathedral
The church, St. Paul’s Cathedral, looked even more grand up close so we decided to enter and check it out. We were not disappointed with that decision because the impressive architecture, beautiful design, and detailed craftmanship were all stunning, and being the only ones in this massive structure, it felt calming.
University of Pittsburgh, The Cathedral of Learning
We then walked to the University of Pittsburgh’s Cathedral of Learning, a 42-story Gothic Revival building built in 1921 that houses libraries, labs, classrooms, offices, and study areas. This structure is also very impressive inside and out with the first few floors set aside as a study area among the magnificent Gothic Revival architecture. We also rode the elevator to the 36th floor, the highest floor the public is allowed to reach and took in the views of a cloudy, raining Pittsburgh.
PNC Park, Yankees vs Pirates
We walked and drove around the University of Pittsburgh area for about another hour and stopped at a nearby restaurant to pick up pierogies for dinner before heading to the ballpark. We spent much more time in that area than expected and a had a difficult time finding parking around the stadium, but luckily, the baseball game was delayed due to the rain. We ended up parking in downtown Pittsburgh and walking across the bridge to PNC Park. The game wasn’t exciting by the score, but it was exciting for us in the left field bleachers because the Yankees hit two homeruns very close to us, one of them a grand slam by Aaron Judge. The ballpark was beautiful with great views of the downtown skyline, the Roberto Clemente Bridge, and the Allegheny River.
August 29, 2022
Great photos of the waterfront and cathedrals!
August 30, 2022
Thank you, Kim. Glad you are enjoying the photos and posts!
August 30, 2022
What a spectacular cathedral!!!