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!).