Trip Report: November 27 - December 21, 2001
by Ted & Sylvia Blishak
28 DAYS ON THE RAILS
PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA 2nd Day
Friday, December 7, 2001, Pearl Harbor Day, 60 Years
Today we meet Jack Miller, of Pittsburgh Historic Buildings, for lunch at the Grand Concourse Restaurant, which is located in what was formerly the main waiting room of the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad, a subsidiary of the New York Central System. During the time that I lived in the Pittsburgh area, this station served commuter trains, long distance service to the west with connections to the New York Central main line, and Baltimore & Ohio Railroad passenger trains, such as the Capitol Limited, on the Washington to Chicago route. Historic Buildings was instrumental in the rescue and restoration of this century old classic railroad terminal. It is now the focal point of the Station Square commercial and shopping area.
Jack has kindly arranged for us to have a tour of three theaters in the downtown area. Heinz Hall, now home of the Pittsburgh Symphony, was formerly a fabulous movie palace of the twenties, the Loew's Penn Theater. The Byam Theater, now presenting stage productions, was formerly the Fulton Theater, originally opened around the turn of the 20th century as a vaudeville house. Benedum Center, where we attended the Nutcracker, was opened as the Stanley Theater, a movie palace the 1920's. Ground is being broken for a new theater and parking garage in the same area, and all are within easy walking distance of each other. There is a renaissance of the arts in downtown Pittsburgh.
This afternoon, we have a tour of the Heinz Memorial Chapel, on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh. This is a non-denominational chapel built as a memorial to H. J. Heinz, of the Pittsburgh food company know for its 57 Varieties. Built in the 1930s, the chapel is known for its stained class, which includes the tallest windows in the world, at 73 feet. Its spire reaches 253 feet, reaching nearly to the 24th floor of the neighboring 40 story Cathedral of Learning, which was constructed by the university in the same time period as the Chapel. Our tour includes a sampling of organ music by Bach, played by a CD powered automaton on the magnificent pipe organ.
We complete our building tour by strolling through the Great Hall of the Cathedral of Learning, then take an elevator to the 36th floor for an expansive view of the city of Pittsburgh.
Dinner this evening is at Little Athens in Sewickley, where we have excellent Greek cuisine, but we unfortunately are too early for the belly dancing which is presented one Friday per month at 8pm.
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