Archive for November 28th, 2023
Monumental Pittsburgh
Tuesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As mentioned in earlier posts, a particular walking path was recently followed in Pittsburgh’s Oakland section which was landmarks based, and topical in nature – rather than granular. This was a ‘short walk’ for me, just a couple of hours in length, and it was more about developing a geospatial knowledge of this zone, which is an area I’d mainly driven through in the past to individual destinations like the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, or the Rodef Shalom and Poale Zedek Synagogues.
That’s the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall and Museum, dedicated to honoring all branches of these United States’ Military Veterans. It was completed in 1910, and designed by architect Henry Hornbostel.
Hornbostel, of course, is the fellow who dressed the Manhattan Bridge, back in NYC, in its Beaux-Arts finery. He also designed the nearby Rodef Shalom synagogue here in Pittsburgh, mentioned above.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Charles Klauder, on the other hand, was the architect of the centerpiece of the University of Pittsburgh (aka PITT) campus, a 42 story tower building called the Cathedral of Learning.
One was heading for two particular churches, other than Bellefield Presbyterian which was mentioned yesterday, on my landmarks list. The Cathedral of Learning was a just ‘on my way’ sort of thing. My understanding of the place is that are sections of the tower that are public, but most of the space inside is used for PITT’s classroom instruction purposes.
As a note, one great thing about Oakland is that it’s the flattest section of Pittsburgh I’ve so far encountered, and is thereby ‘easy walking.’
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Where I was heading to next, and the subject of tomorrow’s post, is the St. Paul Cathedral. That’s the seat of the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh.
Future exploration in Oakland, as a side note, will definitely occur during the winter months. Lots and lots of monumental architecture here. Giant buildings built in Greek and Roman styles abound. I’m concocting a grid based search pattern for future walks in the area.
Back tomorrow, with more, at your Newtown Pentacle.
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