Category Archive: Tours & Events
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The Allegheny Historic Preservation Society Holds Tiffany Concert Series
The Allegheny Historic Preservation Society, Inc. presents the sixteenth season of the Tiffany Concert Series to help raise funds for it’s preservation efforts.
Sunday, March 30, 2008 at 4pm
A Pittsburgh Jazz Retrospective
Performers: Mike Tomaro and the Duquesne University Jazz EnsembleSunday April 27, 2008 at 4 pm
World Music Medley
Performers: James & Sylvia Kalal
World Class Celebrity Acoustic GuitaristsSunday May 18, 2008 at 4 pm
South Hills Chorale in Concert
Performers: Music Director, Henry D. Monsch Jr. with the South Hills Chorale and Jazz EnsembleIndividual Ticket Price:
General $10.00
Seniors $8.00
Students $5.00Location:
Calvary United Methodist Church in The Historic Allegheny West,
971 Beech Ave. Pittsburgh, PAFor information call (412) 323-1070
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Signs of past life
By Adam Brandolph
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Tuesday, January 15, 2008Look up.
Faded advertisements flake off the sides of exposed brick buildings throughout the city. Remnants of a bygone era, these markers tell the story of our city’s rich history.
From companies like Otto Milk, formerly in the Strip District, to the German National Bank on Liberty Avenue, Downtown, and leisure activities like Penn Bowling Lanes, these reminders preserve a piece of how Pittsburghers used to live.
The ads often are pointed out to people on the public walking tours offered by the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation, executive director Louise Sturgess said. “These snapshots of history are wonderful,” Sturgess said.
But why do these signs remain after so many years? Even the Cathedral of Learning was cleaned last year.
“These signs remain because some building owners have no reason to remove them and are content to let them age along with the building,” Sturgess said. “The signs bring a layer of Pittsburgh history to life, and once you notice them, they are great conversation pieces, especially when you are with a Pittsburgher who remembers the business or product featured in the sign.”
While some signs are beaten and battered, the ones that grace the sides of Joe Mama’s, Uncle Sam’s and Fuel & Fuddle restaurants on Oakland Avenue in Oakland are comparatively new and shiny.
The sides of the stores feature three vintage-looking wall advertisements for Coca-Cola, despite none of them being more than 15 years-old, according to Michael Hanley, co-owner of all three stores.
Hanley said the themes of the restaurants are kind of old-school, so the handpainted ads make sense. “Coke adds to the timelessness,” he said, “and an older aesthetic helps convey our message.”
Adam Brandolph can be reached at abrandolph@tribweb.com or 412-320-7936
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FREE Sunday Walking Tours in September Feature Five City Parks
The Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation, and Allegheny Commons Restoration Committee are teaming up to offer Free Park Walks every Sunday in September, from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m.
The tours will focus on the natural beauty and historical significance of Schenley, Frick, Highland, and Riverview Parks and of the Allegheny Commons. Special attention will be given to recent restoration accomplishments and plans. One tour will be offered at each park:
Sunday, September 2: Schenley Park
Meet at the Schenley Park Visitor Center, 101 Panther Hollow RoadSunday, September 9: Frick Park
Meet at the Frick Environmental Center, 2005 Beechwood Boulevard,
Point BreezeSunday, September 16: Highland Park
Meet in the entry garden, near Highland Avenue and Reservoir DriveSunday, September 23: Riverview Park
Meet at the Visitor Center in Riverview Park, off Riverview Avenue, Observatory HillSunday, September 30: Allegheny Commons
Meet at the bus shelter on the corner of Cedar Avenue and East Ohio Street, North SideReservations are not required but are appreciated: 412-471-5808, x527; marylu@phlf.org
Tour Guidelines: Dress for the weather and wear comfortable walking shoes. Only the Allegheny Commons Tour is handicap accessible. At Schenley, Frick, Highland, and Riverview the walking tours will proceed at a leisurely pace, but will involve steps and uphill and downhill climbs, at times.
About the Sponsoring Organizations:
The Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, in partnership with the City of Pittsburgh, is working to restore, renew, revitalize and preserve the four great parks of Pittsburgh––Frick, Highland, Riverview and Schenley.
The Allegheny Commons Restoration Project works within the Northside Leadership Conference to raise funds to implement the master restoration plan completed by Pressley Associates of Cambridge, MA in 2002.
The Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation, founded in 1964, works to identify and protect architectural landmarks; revitalize historic neighborhoods, and instill community pride.
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Kentuck Knob Promotional Video
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Free tours showcase city’s special sites
By Brianna Horan
For the Tribune-Review
Wednesday, May 30, 2007Pittsburghers didn’t need USA Today to tell them the view from the Mt. Washington overlook is one of the best in the nation. But as they work, play and live among the modern skyscrapers and repurposed factory buildings that meld to form the city’s skyline, sometimes locals forget to look up.
“People don’t see a lot of the details and don’t realize the significance of the things we have in the city. Too often people are looking down,” says tour guide Drew Chelosky. “If you wrap a nice present, you put the bow on the top. Architecture designers work the same way.”Eight free tours of Pittsburgh neighborhoods, offered by Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation, will point out unique aspects to the city, like the first drive-through banking window at the Iron & Glass Bank on East Carson Street, South Side; the world’s second-tallest educational building in Oakland; and portraits of history makers like Mary Croghan Schenley and Andrew Carnegie on the facade of Midtown Towers at Liberty and Seventh, Downtown.
“I think the tours are very nice because they help people to appreciate how interesting a city Pittsburgh is,” says William Garrett, 78, who has been leading tours for the last decade. “They make people appreciate things they see frequently, but they may not realize the importance of.”
Like Fourth Avenue, Pittsburgh’s “Wall Street” at the turn of the 20th century that held more capital than the combined holdings of the banks of England, Scotland, Ireland, Germany and Russia. Or East Carson Street, one of only 58 “Great American Main Streets,” once travelled by John F. Kennedy.
“Our tours are of places that have a fascinating history and are a vibrant place today, or that is an area in transition — and this transition is making it into a vibrant place,” says Louise Sturgess, executive director of Pittsburgh History & Landmarks.
This is the first year the organization will lead tours through the civic center of Oakland, a neighborhood where tens of thousands of students, medical staff, business people and residents give life to the buildings, parks and institutions made possible by people like Schenley and Andrew Carnegie in the late 1800s.
“It was one of the first true civic centers of its kind in the country. It’s an area where some of the most influential people came together. You can literally stand in one spot and turn 360 degrees, without moving, and see so many important elements,” says Chelosky, who’s enthusiasm of Oakland’s treasures was the first step to creating the walking tour.
Those interested in exploring the civic center can meet him every Wednesday at noon next to Dippy, a life-sized replica of the Diplodocus carnegii that Andrew Carnegie scrambled to acquire for his Institute in 1898. The group will wind around Schenley Memorial Fountain, then walk the former baselines of Forbes Field — now site of the University of Pittsburgh’s Wesley W. Posvar Hall, home to social scientists and education students. Past Schenley Plaza, the tour will continue to the Cathedral of Learning and the William Pitt Student Union, the former Hotel Schenley where Theodore Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower and Babe Ruth were among the elite to check in.
Central Oakland’s history is a main element of the tour, but “we also talk about how it’s the core of a very vital district today,” says Sturgess. “We like to talk about this area in a very present-day way.”
It’s often residents of the region who take the History & Landmarks tours.
“We can see retired people, we can see business people from Downtown, and we can see students,” says Garrett. “They’re people who have some connection to the city and some source of information about it.”
As a child in the East End, Chelosky, 31, learned a hand-me-down history of Pittsburgh similar to that which many locals acquire.
“Growing up in Pittsburgh, people and their families have their own stories that they kind of tell,” he says.
His curiosity about local history led him to check the truth behind these stories, and as an employee at Pitt, and formerly at Carnegie Mellon University, Chelosky focused his research on Oakland. He has found plenty of historical significance to share during his hour-long tours.
“Oakland has that blend of a business area, a cultural area, learning institutions, residential areas and, of course, you have Schenley Park,” Chelosky says. “So within walking distance, you have a blend of everything.”
Free walking tours schedule
Old Allegheny County Jail Museum: 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Mondays through October
Oakland Civic Center: Noon-1 p.m. Wednesdays in JuneSouthside Strolls: 10:30-11:45 a.m. Saturdays in June
Downtown Walks: Noon-1 p.m. Fridays
June: Bridges and More
July: Penn-Liberty Cultural District
August: Fourth Avenue and PPG Place
September: Revitalizing Fifth and Forbes
Pittsburgh’s Parks: 4-5 p.m. Sundays in SeptemberSept. 2: Schenley Park
Sept. 9: Frick Park
Sept. 16: Highland Park
Sept. 23: Riverview Park
Sept. 30: Allegheny Commons
Special one-time tours:August Wilson’s Hill District (walking tour), 2-4 p.m. June 23, $5
Pittsburgh’s Bridges from the Rivers (boat tour), 1:45-4 p.m. July 15, $45
Homewood’s Historic Landmarks (bus and walking tour), 1:30-4:30 p.m. Sept. 15, $45
Vandergrift, Pa. (bus and walking tour), 1:30-5 p.m. Oct. 13, $50
Details: 412-471-5808, ext. 527, or www.phlf.org -
PHLF Walking Tours
PSA for Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation and WQED Pittsburgh. TItle: Walking Tour
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The Pittsburgh Children’s Museum
Promo spot for the Pittsburgh Children’s Museum
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Pittsburgh as a Community Promotional Video
Promotional video created for the 2006 National Preservation Conference of the National Trust for Historic Preservation