Culture of Pittsburgh

Main article: Pittsburgh

The Culture of Pittsburgh stems from the city's long history as a center for cultural philanthropy, as well as its rich ethnic traditions. In the 19th and 20th centuries, wealthy businessmen such as Andrew Carnegie, Henry J. Heinz, Henry Clay Frick, and nonprofit organizations such as the Carnegie Foundation donated millions of dollars to create educational and cultural institutions.

Architecture

Cathedral of Learning, Pittsburgh, May 14, 2005.

The Frank Lloyd Wright masterpiece Fallingwater is about an hour's drive from Downtown Pittsburgh. The North Shore has an 1895 neogothic church, Calvary Methodist, with an interior designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany. The church's stained glass windows are some of the largest and most elaborate work Tiffany ever created. The Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Pittsburgh, an opulently decorated edifice with elaborate Old World flourishes is one of the finest examples of the so-called Polish Cathedral style,^[1] dominating the skyline over Polish Hill. The Allegheny County Courthouse (1886), designed by H.H. Richardson, is a unique and influential building. At 42 stories, the University of Pittsburgh's Cathedral of Learning (1937) is the second tallest collegiate building in the world. The tallest skyscraper in Pittsburgh is the triangular U.S. Steel Tower. Both Heinz Field (2001) and PNC Park (2001) are designed to give fans a view of the city skyline.

Conventions

David L. Lawrence Convention Center, as viewed from I-579 bridge.

The David L. Lawrence Convention Center, located on the south bank of the Allegheny River, is quickly becoming some of the most sought after convention space in the country, as it is able to accommodate all sizes of conventions, exhibitions and conferences. Certified with a Gold rating by the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design initiative, the building is considered the first ever "green" convention center and world's largest "green" building.

Film

The Pittsburgh Film Office markets the greater southwestern Pennsylvania region as a great location for movie, television and commercial productions. Since its inception in 1990, the PFO has assisted more than 102 feature films and television productions to southwestern Pennsylvania to generate an economic impact of more than $575 million for the region.^[2]

Pittsburgh Filmmakers teaches media arts and runs three "arthouse" movie theaters.

Theatre

Main article: Theatre in Pittsburgh

The Pittsburgh Playhouse at Point Park University has four resident theatre companies. Other theater companies include barebones productions, Bricolage Production Company, City Theatre, Quantum Theatre, Prime Stage Theatre, Pittsburgh Public Theater, Attack Theater, Unseam'd Shakespeare Company, Terra Nova Theatre Group, Cup-A-Jo Productions, Hiawatha Project, 12 Peers Theater, Organic Theater Pittsburgh, Three Rivers Theatre Company, No Name Players, Pittsburgh Musical Theater, Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera, Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Company,and Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre. The Pittsburgh New Works Festival utilizes local theatre companies to stage productions of original one-act plays by playwrights from all parts of the country. St. Vincent Summer Theatre, Off the Wall Productions, Mountain Playhouse, and Stage Right! in nearby Latrobe, Washington, Jennerstown, and Greensburg, respectively, employ Pittsburgh actors and contribute to the culture of the region.

Friday Nite Improvs, an improv show at the University of Pittsburgh's Cathedral of Learning, is Pittsburgh's longest-running theatre show. It has produced a number of professional writers and actors.

Foods and drinks

Traditional Pittsburgh foods reflect the city's multicultural heritage, especially that of the European immigrants of the early 20th century. While these immigrant populations introduced dishes such as pierogis to the city, they are now enjoyed by Pittsburghers in general. Other Pittsburgh food specialties were developed in the city. In general, these dishes are still popular because for many years, they satisfied the hearty appetite of the archetypal Pittsburgher: the hard-working, blue-collar steelworker.

The Slavic-American communities introduced the pierogi to Pittsburgh

• Cabbage rolls –(aka Halupki)– Beef, pork, rice, green pepper, wrapped in cabbage and baked with sauerkraut and tomato soup or juice
• Chipped Ham – (aka Chipped Chopped Ham) thinly-sliced processed ham, from Isaly's since 1933
• City chicken – cubes of pork and/or veal baked or fried on a wooden skewer
• Clark Bar – chocolate candy bar; developed in the city in 1886
• Duquesne Brewing Company – Duquesne Pilsener beer; the “Prince of Pilsener” has returned after a 40 year absence from the Steel City. Have a Duke!
• Halušky – noodles with fried cabbage (Polish), or cottage cheese (Slovak)
• Iron City Beer – native brew; with a shot of whiskey, a boilermaker; with a shot of Imperial, an imp-n-arn.
• Italian sausage – with grilled peppers and onions
• Kielbasa – eastern European sausages
• Klondike bar – an ice cream treat made famous by Isaly's
• Pierogies – Polish dish, pasta dough filled with potato and cheese, onion or sauerkraut
• Primanti Brothers – sandwich with fries and coleslaw in it

Gardens and parks

See also: ArtGardens of Pittsburgh

Main entrance to Phipps Conservatory & Botanical Gardens

In addition to numerous large and small neighborhood parks, Pittsburgh has five large city parks covering hundreds of acres:

• Schenley Park in the Oakland and Squirrel Hill neighborhoods. This park contains Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens.
• Frick Park in the Squirrel Hill and Regent Square neighborhoods
• Highland Park in the neighborhood of the same name. This park contains the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium.
• Riverview Park on the Northside, home to the historic Allegheny Observatory.
• Grand View Scenic Byway Park circling the Mt. Washington and Duquesne Heights neighborhoods.

Several other parks and gardens are in Pittsburgh:

• The National Aviary
• Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens
• Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium

Libraries

The city has an extensive library system, both public and university. Most notable are the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh and the University of Pittsburgh's University Library System.

Many local history materials are available on-line at Historic Pittsburgh, a collection that includes materials from the University of Pittsburgh's University Library System, the Library & Archives of the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania at the Senator John Heinz Pittsburgh Regional History Center, and the Carnegie Museum of Art. Pittsburgh History is an on-line service maintained by the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh.

Literature

See List of fiction set in Pittsburgh

Music

Lobby of Heinz Hall.

The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra performs in Heinz Hall, which also plays host to other events throughout the year. The Benedum Center and Heinz Hall provide venues for numerous musicals, lectures, speeches, and other performances, including Pittsburgh Opera. Pittsburgh is also home to one of the few professional brass bands in the world, the River City Brass Band. Other musical arts groups include the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra (PYSO) and the River City Youth Brass Band. The Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh is an acclaimed semi-professional choir, with performances that are usually free to the public.

The Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble (PNME) is an American ensemble dedicated to the performance of contemporary classical music. And the Renaissance and Baroque Society of Pittsburgh hosts early music concerts of artists from across the country.

Jazz

Pittsburgh became an important gateway between the north, south, east and west of the U.S., playing a strong role in the development of jazz. Jazz came to the city's African American neighborhoods after 1925. The Hill District became known as "Little Harlem" in the 1930s and 1940s. There were hundreds of jazz venues in the community, which later helped to promote the emergence of bebop.^[3]

A number of influential musicians emerged from the city. Mary Lou Williams, Ahmad Jamal, Erroll Garner, and Billy Strayhorn, who was Duke Ellington's primary musical collaborator for 28 years, came from the city's East End regions of Homewood and East Liberty. A number of musicians came from communities outside the city, including: Maxine Sullivan (Homestead), Sonny Clark (Herminie) and Earl "Fatha" Hines (Duquesne). Vocalist and bandleader Billy Eckstine was one of the first musicians to be paid a $1 million recording contract.^[3]

Trumpeter Roy Eldridge, drummer Kenneth Spearman "Klook" Clarke, and influential bassist Ray Brown were born in the city; singer Lena Horne was raised in Pittsburgh. Bassist Paul Chambers, also born in Pittsburgh, played on two of the most important albums in jazz history: Miles Davis' Kind of Blue (1959) and John Coltrane's Giant Steps (1960).^[3]

Other noted jazz musicians include: Dodo Marmarosa, Walt Harper, Tommy and Stanley Turrentine, Horace Parlan, pianist, Nathan Davis, guitarist George Benson, and drummers Art Blakey, Roger Humphries and Jeff "Tain" Watts.

Popular music

Several notable bands emerged from Pittsburgh in the 1990s, including Rusted Root, The Clarks, Don Caballero, and the punk rock bands Anti-Flag and Aus-Rotten. Rusted Root and The Clarks appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman. Formed in 1999, the garage rock group Modey Lemon toured the U.S. and internationally, gaining favorable reviews. Singer Christina Aguilera, a student at North Allegheny Intermediate High School, debuted locally at the 1999 Lilith Fair, before going on to sell over 43 million albums worldwide.^[4]

In the 2000s, Anti-Flag produced five albums, signed to RCA Records and appeared several times on the Vans Warped Tour. Rapper Wiz Khalifa, who signed to Warner Bros. Records but left without releasing an album, topped the iTunes singles chart by the end of the decade. Mashup/laptop music artist Girl Talk (Gregg Gillis) found mainstream success. His 2006 album Night Ripper gained favorable reviews and Feed the Animals (2008) topped year end album lists in national media.^[4]

Dance

Pittsburgh Dance Council and the Pittsburgh Ballet Theater host a variety of dance events. Polka, folk, square and round dancing have a long history in the city and are celebrated by the internationally famous Duquesne University Tamburitzans, a multicultural academy dedicated to the preservation and presentation of folk songs and dance.

Museums and art

Tyrannosaurus rex skull, Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

Pittsburgh has several visual arts museums, including the Andy Warhol Museum, dedicated to the works of Pittsburgh native Andy Warhol. The Carnegie Museum of Art is home to works by such luminaries as Edgar Degas, Vincent van Gogh, Claude Monet, Robert Adam and many others, along with galleries of sculpture, modern art, the Heinz Architectural Center, a large film and video collection, and various traveling exhibits. Installation art is featured outdoors at ArtGardens of Pittsburgh. The Pittsburgh Center for the Arts shows contemporary art and provides resources for Western Pennsylvania artists.

The town's history museum is the Heinz History Center with an annual attendance of 130,000.

The Carnegie Museum of Natural History, located in Oakland, has extensive dinosaur collections on display, including the most complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton ever discovered, and an Egyptian wing. The building may be distinguished by a life-size statue known as, "Dippy the Diplodocus" to the right of the main entrance. Other dinosaur statues are visible around the Pittsburgh area, these decorated by artists nationwide and sold as a benefit to the Carnegie Museums. The Carnegie Science Center, located in the North Side near PNC Park and Heinz Field, is more technology oriented.

The Children's Museum of Pittsburgh, located on Pittsburgh's Northside, has a variety of interactive exhibits and programs for children and families including a multimedia art studio, Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, water area and theater for performances.

Recreation

See also: Sports in Pittsburgh

Close-by the Phipp's Conservatory is the Schenley Park Golf Course, a public golf links. Kennywood Park is widely regarded by rollercoaster enthusiasts to have some of the best rollercoasters in the world, including several early 20th century wooden coasters: the Racer, the Thunderbolt, and the Jackrabbit. A water park owned by Kennywood, Sandcastle, is another local amusement park.

Counter-Culture

Pittsburgh has recently gained attention as a burgeoning center for counter-culture.^[5] The annual Pennsic War, the Society for Creative Anachronism's largest re-enactment of pre-17th-century Europe, is hosted nearby. Anthrocon, the world's largest anthropomorphics convention, returns every summer to the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. The Pittsburgh Cacophony Society is also very active^[6], and in 2008, the Pittsburgh Burning Man community launched a winter regional burn event called Frostburn.

See also

• Cultural District, Pittsburgh
• Pittsburgh Film Office
• Pittsburgh Cultural Trust
• Three Rivers Arts Festival
• Pittsburgh Three Rivers Regatta
• Pittsburgh Center for the Arts
• Pittsburgh Newspapers
• Media in Pittsburgh
• List of radio stations in Pittsburgh
• Sports in Pittsburgh
• Immaculate Heart of Mary in Pittsburgh
• Pittsburgh Parking Chair

References

1. ^ No Author Listed. "A History of Polish Hill and the PHCA". http://phca.pghfree.net/history.html. Retrieved 2006-12-22. 
2. ^ http://www.pghfilm.org/about.jsp
3. ^ ^{a b c} Brewer, John M. (2007). Pittsburgh Jazz. Arcadia Publishing. pp. 7–32. ISBN 9178-0-7385-4980-4. 
4. ^ ^{a b} Mervis, Scott (December 27, 2009). "Pop Music: Radiohead tops a fractious music scene". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09361/1023477-388.stm. Retrieved January 16, 2009. 
5. ^ I Heart Pgh (blog) article
6. ^ Pittsburgh Cacophony Society blog

• Toker, Franklin (1994) [1986]. Pittsburgh: An Urban Portrait. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press. ISBN 0-8229-5434-6. 

External links

• Tim McNulty (2006-08-07). "Exhibit A: Local museums experience ups and downs attracting crowds". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06219/711637-42.stm. 
• Pittsburgh Cultural Guide
• The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust
• Pittsburgh Music History