March 27, 2024 11:00 am
Wednesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Pictured above is the Cathedral of Learning, which is the centerpiece of the University of Pittsburgh’s campus. The locals and students refer to this university as ‘PITT,’ so there you go – I’ve learned something. Mission accomplished, you 42 story tall gothic skyscraper you.
A particularly abundant band of rain had appeared, the minute we left the Heinz Memorial Chapel, which sits directly opposite and across a planted plaza from the Cathedral of Learning, so it seemed logical that we should scuttle quickly over to its entrance and check out one of the public spaces within.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
My companion, an accomplished fellow who has published photo books about Pittsburgh and has resided in this city since the time of the Reagan Presidential Administration, informed me that this ground floor section is a PITT student center. There were dozens of kids scattered all over the place. They were doing what modern kids do – ignoring everybody around them and staring into computer screens with their headphones on.
Y’know… I’ve got a pet peeve about that sort of thing, and believe that when you’re in ‘meatspace’ the goal should be to interact with the fleshy eidelons of your fellows, rather than isolating into the abject loneliness and curatorial space of an online world. I also advocate that you shouldn’t turn on a television at a party, as the point of such gatherings is interaction rather than consumption of entertainment products. Online interaction tends to reinforce bias, whereas disagreements and arguments with real people in the real world are often an eye opener, and forces one into considering points of view and opinions from outside your daily round or experience. Talk, not type, say I. If you can’t get punched, you’re not really committed to defending an argumentative point of view.
One makes an allowance for sportsball related gatherings, as a note, as far as turning a TV on at gatherings.
Personally, I don’t back off the possibility of enduring physical violence in return for the advocacy of my own ugly points of view in the meatspace, and confrontation with others on my opinions has grown me as a person and forced me into becoming nearly empathetic. It’s a good thing to find out you’re wrong about something.
Kids these days, huh?
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Eventually, the overly moist atmospheric conditions outside subsided, and my companion and I resumed our walking about. I’m told there’s other public areas at the Cathedral of Learning which are found ‘upstairs.’ Looking forward to someday conjuring up a situation, one where I might be able to see those spaces sometime in the future. We had miles and miles of rainy day walking ahead of us still, to get back to where I I had parked the car.
On the plus side: Hey, I say it all the time – cities always look their best when it’s raining.
Back tomorrow.
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Posted by Mitch Waxman
Categories: Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh
Tags: Cathedral of Learning, Oakland, photowalk, PITT, Pittsburgh
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Who’s behind all those windows? Administrators? Professors? Is there an observation deck at the top?
By georgetheatheist . . . up there on March 27, 2024 at 12:26 pm
I’m told there are classrooms up there, as well as several public facing spaces including ‘international rooms,’ which are World’s Fair style dedicated to the various ethnicities that were dominant in Pittsburgh at the time of construction – Polish, Italian, etc. I’ll let y’all know when I eventually find myself within, but there’s always Google if you can’t wait.
By Mitch Waxman on March 27, 2024 at 12:29 pm
I was going to suggest the Nationality rooms. I recall they offer holiday tours of the decorated rooms. We had many a field trip to Oakland that ended in the food court under the Cathedral of Learning.
By Jon H on March 27, 2024 at 1:27 pm
Next up on my list of monuments to visit is the Soldiers and Sailors museum.
When it warms a bit, the Trolley Museum is also on the list.
By Mitch Waxman on March 27, 2024 at 1:35 pm
The PITT student center you’ve photo’d is, according to Wikipedia, known as the Commons Room, and “is kept quiet by the use of Guastavino acoustical tiles as the stones between the ribs of vaulting.” Did you see them?
I regret never getting to that restaurant under the Manhattan approach to the Queensboro bridge to see the Guastavino tiles in the great ceiling arches.
I’m sad to see a great University saddled with a monstrosity like “The Cathedral of Learning”. So costly to maintain and update. Did they not have enough space to expand on Henry Hornbostel’s existing layout and buildings for the school? (again, from Wikipedia).
By dbarms8878 on March 27, 2024 at 8:29 pm