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Art, history and science enjoy places of honor in the ’Burgh, the land where Andy Warhol spent his formative years and Jonas Salk developed the polio vaccine, where Lewis & Clark launched their expedition west and President Washington led troops against the Whiskey Rebellion.
Thanks to the vision of arts-conscious, wealthy philanthropists with names like Carnegie, Frick, Mellon and Heinz, residents can witness the classic lines of Greco-Roman antiquity and the brazen splash of pop art, then take a journey to the center of the earth and walk among “Dinosaurs in their Time.” Then they can cap off the day with a seat among the stars.
You’ll want to spend more than just a day, though, checking out the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh — Art and Natural History in the city’s Oakland neighborhood and the Science Center and Andy Warhol Museum on the North Side. All are tied to the vision of industrialist Andrew Carnegie, who a century ago championed the creation of Dinosaur Hall as well as the Carnegie International, an exhibition that continues to showcase emerging artists from around the globe.
In that spirit, Pittsburgh native Warhol’s persistent influence was honored in 1994 with the world’s largest museum dedicated to one artist, also a haven for contemporary art and pop culture.
Another arm of the Carnegie, the Science Center that sits beside Heinz Field on the North Shore celebrates nostalgia with its Miniature Railroad & Village and looks to the stars from the Buhl Planetarium and Digital Dome. Education mixes with entertainment, too, in permanent exhibits such as the WWII-era USS Requin Submarine and the Ragos Omnimax Theater.
Over in the Strip District, one of many sites along the three rivers with roots in Pittsburgh’s industrial past, sits the Heinz History Center. The six-story building’s exhibitions and archives preserve Western Pennsylvania’s heritage and include the region’s Sports Hall of Fame. The vibrant Strip also is home to smaller arts institutions, such as the Society for Contemporary Crafts.
The names associated with these Pittsburgh institutions and others — from the Frick Art & Historical Center to the August Wilson Center for African American Culture — are a history lesson in themselves.
Besides the art museum, the Frick grounds include stately Clayton, the family’s circa-1905 home that is open for house tours, the Car & Carriage Museum, greenhouse and visitors and education centers.
Named for the Pultizer Prize-winning playwright from Pittsburgh’s Hill District, the newly minted August Wilson Center for African American Culture states its mission is to “engage regional and national audiences in preserving, presenting, interpreting, celebrating and shaping the art, culture and history of African Americans in Western Pennsylvania and people of African descent throughout the world.”
Another name closely associated with Pittsburgh, TV host and children’s advocate Fred Rogers, is remembered with a statue on the North Shore and a permanent exhibition at the award-winning Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh, whose honors include the Rudy Bruner Gold Medal Award for Urban Excellence.
Stepping away from the city and its close proximity, the Westmoreland Museum of American Art in Greensburg, 35 miles east of Pittsburgh, focuses on collecting and exhibiting American and Southwestern Pennsylvania art.
There are many smaller, focused museums and institutions throughout the region. For more, see the accompanying museums and attractions listings.
Sharon Eberson can be reached at
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