South Side Views of Pittsburgh

Lots of guide books recommend riding one of the incline trains on the south bank of the Monongahela River in Pittsburgh. We went to the Monongahela Incline, starting at the lower level. The train was built by German immigrants in the 1870s to make the trek up and down the hill much easier. The ascent is 635 feet, so that's a lot of stairs to climb. The incline was put on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974 and still operates today, though it is mostly a tourist attraction now.

The train on its way down

The ride is fairly smooth, going slowly for the first and last twenty feet and then reaching a speed of six miles an hour (so, not a whole lot faster). The views of downtown Pittsburgh from the top are amazing.

Monongahela and eastern Pittsburgh

Downtown

The downtown area comes to a point at the confluence of the three rivers. The Allegheny and the Monongahela unite to form the Ohio River, which winds its way off to Ohio in the west.

Bridges at the confluence

Another view of downtown

A cruise ship on the Monongahela

The many less famous bridges of Pittsburgh

While we were on the heights, we had some ice cream at a local place. I tried the cherry vanilla, which was delicious, though it was my third choice. My kids scooped the number one and number two flavors I would have chosen.

More fun than the train ride?

Cherry vanilla

Enjoying churro-flavored scoop

Banana pie fan

Back by the station, we saw some classical-looking homes next to a much more modern home. How did that happen?

Some residences that have wonderful views

At the top station, I noticed their concrete welcome mat. 

No need to replace it

Can't quite see the car coming up

The ride down was swift and did not look as perilous as the trip up. 

View from inside the top

Station Square Shopping area

The other train coming up

The funicular has two tracks, both with trains. One goes up while the other goes down. They act as counter-weights, making the system use less power to move them up and down. This was a fun attraction and a great place to visit, with plenty of amazing views (and geocaches) at the top. 

Google Pittsburgh

While in town, we dropped in on the local Google office in Pittsburgh. As with many other Google offices, it has a lot of quirky and fun bits inside.

Just off the lobby is a "free little library" which has nothing to do with the Little Free Libraries, I am sure.

Guard is intimidating until you realize he's just an empty suit

The coffee shop in the building has a foam-decorating device. We weren't sure if it caramelized the foam or colored it with brown sugar or used some other method to put an image on your cup of caffeine. Patrons can even take a picture and have that image on their morning beverage. I decided on a local icon for my chai.

Such a handy gadget?

I drink the Pittsburgh Steelers for breakfast

One of the couches had a cute Android plushie.

The softer side of hard technology

The building also has a game room with arcade games, pinball machines, foosball tables, new and old game consoles, completed and uncompleted Lego sets, board games, jigsaw puzzles, and a ping-pong table. My son and I played a lot of ping-pong while my wife and daughter tried out some jigsaw challenges. We also played pinball, with me on a Terminator 3 machine and my family playing on an Addams Family-themed game.

Games

Electronic games

Recent Star Wars crafts

Lego variety shelf

The Android guy again!

I was shocked in one of the mini-kitchens to see that their hard boiled eggs contain egg!

Is this warning really necessary?

The rooftop deck gives a good view of the area, though the building is not near downtown.

I think downtown is in that direction

More neighbors

My wife speculated that Google has offices here specifically to recruit Carnegie Mellon and Pitt graduates. It's not too huge for a Google office but has plenty to recommend it. We saw a guy grilling on the rooftop as part of the lunches provided for Googlers. We had the regular stuff downstairs at the cafeteria (though no pictures, sorry!).

The Octopus Garden, Pittsburgh

One quirky bit of Pittsburgh (admittedly not downtown) is the Octopus Garden in the Friendship neighborhood. Founded in 2009, it provides a spot for growing vegetables and fruit. Community gatherings are hosted there too. We came on an early Wednesday morning, so no one was about. 

Street entrance to the garden

Among the many raised garden beds, my wife and my daughter found a seed library to bring a bit of the fun home. 

Searching through the garden

More of the garden

The garden features Octavia, the titular Octopus. Both sides of her mosaic head have smiling faces, greeting visitor from either the front or back entrances.

Octavia the Octopus

A chalk board lets visitors leave a message or their own art work. A little free library lets people exchange a book or two.

Give and take area

Toward the back is Doris, a cousin to the Loch Ness Monsters. She and Octavia were created by local artists Lauren Jean McLaughlin and Bob Zille. Doris provides seats on her back and a small birdhouse on her tail. The added whimsy of the sculptures makes this a fun, hidden spot.

Doris

While in the area, we walked over to Third Space Bakery to get some treats. We ate so fast, we had no time for pictures!

Anderson Playground, Shenley Park, Pittsburgh

Anderson Playground is known more commonly as "Dino Playground" for the dinosaur-themed equipment extant. It's located in Schenley Park, named after an heiress who donated most of the land. Our children had a fun time visiting and trying out the equipment.

The biggest dinosaur in the park is a stegosaurus with a slide for a tail, a climbable back, and rope nets for sides. It was very popular, even with other kids.

Stegosaurus

Even on the see-saw

He's up

She's up

One item actually got us parents involved. I don't even know what this is called, probably not a rope swing. This accommodates three riders though I have seen other ones that can have six or seven. I did ride on it but obviously didn't take a picture of myself.

Forward motion

Teamwork

The kids were a little disappointed this was not a free-standing swing. We've seen tire swings that are only attached by one point at the top that can spin and go in any direction. The two-point contact meant it just went back and forth in one direction.

Riding without enthusiasm

I saw this dinosaur head from a distance and though it was looking to the left with a grumpy expression. Then I realized it is probably looking right with a happy expression. He is at a playground, right? Was it made intentionally ambiguous? How many people mistake nostrils for ears?

Maybe he's looking both ways?

The web climber was a challenge for my kids to see who could make it to the top first. Obviously, picking the shortest route is the answer, though not an obvious one.

The competition ends

Close up of the winner

The kids did one last climb on the stegosaurus before we left.

Run to the back

University of Pittsburgh Worship Sites

The University of Pittsburgh has an odd assortment of cathedrals and churches. It's famous for the Cathedral of Learning, a building that really looks like a skyscraper and is not a cathedral at all. Built in the 1930s, it is one of the tallest educational structure in the Western Hemisphere, with forty-two stories of classrooms, auditoriums, academic departments, study labs, etc. The Late Gothic style makes it look impressive. But not like a cathedral. More like something out of Fritz Lang's Metropolis. 

Cathedral of Learning, University of Pittsburgh

Across a field from it is the Heinz Memorial Chapel was also built in the 1930 but in the French Gothic Revival style. Intended for interdenominational use, it has some standard chapel trappings along with some unique choices.

Heinz Memorial Chapel

The interior looks like any classic church built in Europe from the Middle Ages, with high vaulted ceilings and lots of stained glass.

Nave of chapel

The altar is surrounded by choir stalls that would have been used by the monks of a monastery supporting the chapel.

Altar

Above the altar

The stained glass is amazing, and not just in its beauty. The subjects were mostly secular people. Surely they are admirable people but I was expecting saints or biblical figures (most of whom are saints). 

Isaac Newton and Emily Dickinson

Abraham Lincoln

Saint Thomas More (it even admits he's a saint!)

Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross

They do have an organ at the entrance though nothing was played while we visited.

The entrance

Across campus is Bellefield Presbyterian Church, which also looks very impressive but is not part of the campus.

Bellefield Presbyterian Church

View from a side street

The story goes that the University of Pittsburgh started as a log cabin in the 1780s. On the campus is a cabin from the early 1800s that represents that first home of education in the area.

Not open for visitors

This is more of a landmark than a religious site but is on the grounds of the Cathedral of Learning, its spiritual successor.