Pittsburgh's Little Italy

After a long wait for the bus we finally made it to Bloomfield. Arriving in Bloomfield was quite obvious thanks to the Welcome to Bloomfield sign. After walking in and out of many stores we met the owners of a cannoli shop. They were very sweet and loved their line of work.

I wish I had gone on a warm Saturday instead of a gloomy Sunday. I am definitely planning on going back to see the night life and taste the Polish pierogi's. All in all this is a hidden gem in Pittsburgh that is a popular site for the "townies".

Not to compete with other groups, but if you are looking for outdoor markets or a great pasta shop, Bloomfield is where you will find it.

Exploring Pittsburgh Fall 2011: Downtown

Exploring Pittsburgh Fall 2011: Downtown

A Short History of Pittsburgh.

The first records of European visitors to the Pittsburgh were fur traders in 1717. The region, for a time, was claimed by France. As time pasted, military interest in the area grew, as George Washington observed, the Golden Triangle was “extremely well suited for a Fort; as it has absolute Command of both Rivers.” In 1754 Great Britain started to build a fort, however the French took control of the area, in 1758, after some years of fighting, Great Britain regained control of the area. By 1760, Pittsburgh had 149, non soldier residents. In 1794 Pittsburgh became a town. At the beginning of 1800, the city had a population of 1565. Seventy years later the population had grown to 86,076. Between the years 1890 to 1911, the last H in Pittsburg was dropped, because of a decision of the United States Board on Geographic Names. In 1900 the city had a population of 321,616. In 1901, United States Steel was incorporated, with a net capitalization of 1.4 billion dollars.

Currently, the City of Pittsburgh is home to five Fortune 500 companies. Including United States Steel, PNC Financial Services Group, and PPG Industries. A London Based group has recently ranked Pittsburgh as the “Most Livable City” in the U.S. and number 29 in the world.

Works Referenced

CNN Money. CNN. May 3 2010. Web. 16 Oct. 2011. <http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/2010/cities/

Julie Percha. Pittsburgh Post Gazette.com. Pittsburgh Post Gazette. 22 Feb. 2011. Web. 16 Oct. 2011 <http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11053/1127102-53.stm>

Pennsylvania Department of Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. Web. 16 Oct. 2011. <http://www.clpgh.org/exhibit/hname.html>

Stefan Lorant. Historic Pittsburgh. University of Pittsburgh's Digital Research Library. 1999. Web. 16 Oct. 2011. <http://digital.library.pitt.edu/chronology/>

Map from The University of Pittsburgh’s Digital Research Library. Historic Pittsburgh Map Collection. <http://digital.library.pitt.edu/maps/>

Downtown Gotham

Pittsburghese Exists.  Really it does.

Earlier this August, Christopher Nolan and his crew made their way to the Steel City for the third installment of the Batman series, The Dark Knight Rises.  Much to my dismay, I was not present for the filming.  However, I quickly discovered the reason of choosing such a unique area.


Officially deemed the Central Business District (according to Wikipedia), Dahntahn Pittsburgh is home to dozens of major of corporations, namely PNC Bank, Heinz, UPMC, PPG and much more.


Keep in mind that Downtown Pittsburgh is home to Pittsburgh's
sports teams: Steelers, Pens, and Pirates!  Just a short taxi cab ride away (or the 71 A-D or 61 A-D for Port Authority fans), Heinz Field, the Consol Energy Center, and PNC Park provide as amazing entertainment and breathtaking views of the city.  (Heinz Field and PNC Park both overlook the Downtown skyline over the Monongahela and Ohio Rivers).


Sports aren't your thing?  No worries.  Downtown can please any crowd.  Hipsters, art junkies, and music lovers check out the Cultural District of Downtown!  The Cultural District includes numerous theaters, galleries, and concert halls including Heinz Hall, Byham Theater, O'Reilly Theater, Benedum Center, and Wood Street Galleries as well as restaurants and housing.  *See Joseph's Post about Heinz Hall!!*  If I could, I would rattle off all of the little funky shops; however, my group and I went downtown at 8pm on a Sunday night.  Subsequently, many places were closed at that hour.

              

Benedum Center

Candid of some Theater-Goers!

For the shop-a-holics, Fifth and Forbes Corridor contains the majority of the commercial shops like Macy's, Burlington's Coat Factory, and Saks Fifth Avenue.  Moreover, the corner of Fifth and Market leads you to Market Square:
Head down to the Square before or after a show in Downtown's vibrant Cultural District and enjoy dinner and cocktails. Indulge in a little retail therapy at lunch, meet friends and co-workers for lunch meetings or to browse the summer Farmers Market, spend your happy hour at one of the many watering holes, or grab a coffee, relax and take advantage of the free Wifi. Or, come in the evening to see the tribute to Pittsburgh’s antislavery activities in the lighting feature in the ground and look up to see the North Star and dippers in the sky. So what are you waiting for—GET INTO THE SQUARE!   -www.downtownpittsburgh.com/market-square

The Rink at PPG

Most importantly,the PPG Place (formely known as the  Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company) celebrates wintertime better than NYC's Rockefeller's Plaza.  Every year, the PPG Plaza dons a massive ice-skating rink in place of its typical fountain.  Two-thousand feet larger than Rockefeller Rink, Pittsburgh's winter wonderland incorporates a gorgeous 60-foot tree in the center.  In addition, Christmastime in the Burgh features an extravagant window display at Macy's, Gingerbread house contests, various light displays, an annual Trans-Siberian Orchestra concert, and much more.

Although Downtown was a little deserted at 8 pm on a Sunday night, it was expected.  Overall, I could still sense an aura of a excitement.  I could tell that this place definitely attracts a great night life (especially for that 21+ crowd).  Within the next four years at Pitt, I will certainly make Downtown a regular destination for fun!

Spend a Little Time and Money in Lawrenceville

Because I'm an expert in spending money, the first thing I do when visiting a new place is look for opportunities to shop. While many stores were closed, due to us visiting on the ever abhorred Monday, I was not left wanting; the shopping scene is certainly present in Lawrenceville. This patchwork neighborhood holds some unique and remarkable stores, which I plan on revisiting in the future.

Pavement is a very cool boutique for the fashionable coll

ege student or twenty-something. The store has a variety of unique and trendy clothing items and accessories. The merchandise is quite striking, resembling what you might see in a fashion magazine or photos hoot. The style of the clothing is that of an Urban Outfitters, Forever 21, or H&M, but more genuine and original.

There was also a dog running about the store, which I found quite charming, but if you have fears or allergies, this is your warning.

The clothes were fairly pricey, but not unreasonable for a special occasion or an upper-middle class shopper. I am: A) sort of cheap and B) a college student, so this isn't a place I would shop regularly, but they had a lot of nice clothing, and I would definitely purchase a couple pieces for my wardrobe.

By far, the most interesting place to go in Lawrenceville is an eclectic store called Wild Card. The store feature a variety of fun, wacky, creative, intriguing, and humorous items for any shopper.

The thing that would probably bring me back to Wild Card is their selection of greeting cards. The store has a wall stocked with a plethora of hilarious, clever, and peculiar cards for every occasion. If you want to surprise someone with a card that shows you put in some effort, this is the first place you should check out.

They have some sweet retro pinball machines and fancy, artistic wrapping paper.

There is also a section of the store in which they sell some rad art. And if you're looking to get arts 'n' crafty, the store has a ton of books will all sorts of DIY activities, like making felt animals and designing paper dolls.

Basically, if you're looking to spend a decent amount of money on some cool stuff that will impress your friends, make an awesome gift, or an outfit to wear on your date, Lawrenceville is a good bet. But I still wouldn't suggest you go there on a Monday..

Mount Washington

Mount Washington was a pretty cool place. USA Weekend ranked it the #2 most beautiful place in the United States, for its nightime view of the city. Our group wasn't there at night, but the view was nonetheless spectacular. The funiculars were pretty interesting as well. Previously, I didn't even think anything like that existed around here. Sadly, none of us were rich enough to eat in any of the restaurants.

Downtown

Downtown offers many opportunities to experience to preforming arts. Several venues include Heinz Hall, Benedum Center, O'Reilly Theater, and Byham Theater (all of which are managed by The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, www.pgharts.org.) Which host productions from groups that include the Pittsburgh CLO and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. (www.pittsburghclo.org and www.pittsburghsymphony.org, respectively)

Both the Benedum and Heinz Hall have nice interiors, however Heinz is particularly exquisite.

PITTARTS (www.pittarts.pitt.edu) often has highly discounted tickets available (for example $33 student tickets that would normally be $100.75), so I believe it would be advantageous to consult their website before buying tickets from the box office.

Also, the many restaurants are close to Theater Square facilitate a wide variety of atmospheres and price ranges. Many of the restaurants under the downtown section of this Pittsburgh Post Gazette list are with in walking distance of the theaters. www.post-gazette.com/pg/03001/700028-209.stm

A Trip to the Strip

After arriving at the Strip District in Pittsburgh you are overcome with a sense of pride that the people in this area have for their various shops and restaurants that they dedicate their time and effort into. After hopping of the bus at 17^th street I started to make my way to Penn Ave where the Strip runs through. It didn’t take long

for me to see a beautiful and historical part of the Strip. I passed Saint Patrick’s Church. It had a beautiful garden in front of it and was preserved so nicely it gave me a good feeling about this area right from the beginning.

As we made our way down the street I could smell all the different aromas from the different restaurants. The Strip is home to all sorts of ethnic foods such as Italian, Mexican, Asian,

Greek and I’m sure many more. You wouldn’t have any trouble finding a place to try something new and tasty and the delicious smells will pull you in! When passing these places and seeing the people you realize that they pride themselves in preserving their culture. Also located in the Strip are some popular landmarks to Pittsburgh such as Pennsylvania Macaroni Company, and the famous Primanti Brother’s Restaurant.

Not only are there restaurants, but there are so many little markets and shops that you can explore. Myself being a shopaholic, I found the shops to be my favorite part and could not get enough of perusing through the unique and crafty items they carried, or the great amount of jewelry lining the walls. From the colorful scarves and crazy hats to the handcrafted knick knacks, there was bound to be something to catch your eye. There were also stores bursting with Pittsburgh Steeler’s gear just proving how much the people love their city's football team.

By the end of my trip I had come to the conclusion that the Strip District is a wonderful area filled with food, culture, and tradition. The people there could not have been friendlier and I cannot wait to make another trip there. If you plan on stopping by I suggest you go on a Saturday when it is most lively and it feels like you are at festival. The Strip District is a must-see in Pittsburgh!