For your post this week, write a creative description of a Pittsburgh landmark. Keep in mind some of the readings and exercises we’ve done in class. As you’re writing your description, do not give us the name of the place being described. Also, avoid using proper nouns when identifying its surroundings. For example: Don’t say, “Near Point State Park…”
I had many impressions of Pittsburgh before I actually came and saw the city for myself. First off, I kind of expected the city to be an average American city, filled to the brim with things to do and bustling with activity at all hours. This, however, is not the case at all. Every night as soon as all of the white collar office workers go home for the day, downtown Pittsburgh winds down and quickly dies out. Most of the shops close and if you need to get anything done in the evening, you’re basically out of luck. This impression was purely based off of what I’ve seen in other cities that I’ve been to and New York City in particular. Although, comparing Pittsburgh and New York City probably isn’t very fair because NYC is clearly in a league of its own.
Sundays are especially creepy here in Pittsburgh because it feels like a zombie apocalypse just hit. There’s almost literally nobody around anywhere in the downtown area. Speaking of zombies, I would have to assume that a lot of people associate Pittsburgh with George Romero’s zombie movies, since they were all shot and set in this area. I, however, have not had the chance to actually watch any of his original movies so this is an association that I cannot make. However, one association with zombies that I can make about Pittsburgh is where most of the levels in the video game Left 4 Dead are set. In the first chapter of the game, No Mercy, the survivors have to make their way to the roof of Mercy Hospital to get rescued by a helicopter. It was interesting coming here and seeing a lot of the similarities of the game environment, including the actual building that the hospital in the game was designed after.
In another video game, Fallout 3, a downloadable add-on was released that was directly based off of Pittsburgh. The add-on, titled “The Pitt”, has players making the trip to a post-apocalyptic version of Pittsburgh in which the abundant steel industry is still present. The Pitt had a lot of landmarks in it that were directly modeled after their real-world counterparts here in the city. When I first started to explore the city on my own, I was excited to go and seek out the landmarks I had already discovered in the video game. Such locations included the South 10th Street Bridge, Cathedral of Learning, Mellon Bank building, and PPG Place. One interesting thing that actually came out of all this media exposure about Pittsburgh is that I still constantly refer to the city as The Pitt, and I’ll probably never stop.
Great response from Korey!
A terrific article by Michael Connors from this past Sunday’s Post Gazette.
From the article:
“Although Jack would always claim to have married Etta in Pittsburgh in January 1909, that was a lie. I found a copy of their marriage license at the City-County Building. The nuptials took place on Jan. 18, 1911 — 99 years ago tomorrow. Where the marriage license asked for occupation, Jack wrote, “Teacher of Physical Culture,” with boldness and flair, much like he lived his life. Jack autographed as much as signed the marriage license.”
Read more:http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10017/1028611-109.stm#ixzz0dJDSBhBJ
Last week many of you wrote about ways in which Pittsburgh differs from your hometown. This week I’d like you to think about how you imagined Pittsburgh before you moved here. That is, what kinds of things influenced your image of the city? Were there books, films, news stories, television representations, etc. that made you think of Pittsburgh in a certain way? How did they represent the city? How did those representations and images of the city hold up once you actually started to experience the city? (I suspect that images of Pittsburgh sports have had some influence on your perceptions, but please be sure to mention non-sports related influences as well.)
For those of you who grew up in Pittsburgh: How do you see Pittsburgh represented in different media? Film? TV? Print? Music? What discrepancies do you see between the ways the city is represented and the way that you actually see it?
“Drawing from the city’s roots in the steel industry, the park will feature steel benches and retaining walls, native plant species and incorporate shaded areas, said Christine Brill, a Lawrenceville resident and local architect.”
A super villain lives at the top of the Cathedral of Learning. Image courtesy of onlyinpgh.com
I found a site with a great collection of scans from the old Pittsburgh Railways that ran throughout Pittsburgh.
Above is a train running along Caron st. near the Terminal Building.
Below is a train going up 18th st. with Duquesne brewery’s sign Make it DUKE in the background
There’s a great user generated map on Google that marks all the spots mentioned in The Mysteries of Pittsburgh. Click on the map below to check it out.
