Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
world. It houses the elegant
Nationality Classrooms
, each representing a different style
and period; most are accessible only with a guided tour.
Squirrel Hill & Shadyside
These upscale neighborhoods feature wide streets, excellent restaurants, chain stores and
independent boutiques and bakeries (try the burnt-almond tortes, a classic Pittsburgh
dessert). Squirrel Hill is home to Pittsburgh's large Jewish community, the city's best
kosher eateries, butchers and Judaica shops. Apartment buildings, duplexes and more
modest housing are almost as common as the grand mansions the neighborhood is known
for.
In Shadyside, Walnut St is the bustling main strip. The leafy campus of
Chatham
University
, located between the two neighborhoods, is a nice place to stroll.
Greater Pittsburgh
Formerly gritty
Lawrenceville
has become the city's
Interior Design District
, compris-
ing the stretch on and around Butler St from 16th to 62nd Sts. It's a long and spotty strip
of shops, galleries, studios, bars and eateries that's on every hipster's radar, and runs into
the gentrifying
Garfield
neighborhood, a good place for cheap ethnic eats.
Bloomfield
, a really little Little Italy, is a strip of groceries, Italian eateries and, of all
things, a landmark Polish restaurant, the Bloomfield Bridge Tavern. The Pittsburgh zoo
and aquarium and a water park are nearby.
Kennywood Amusement Park
AMUSEMENT PARK
( 412-461-0500;
www.kennywood.com
;
4800 Kennywood Blvd, West Mifflin; adult/child $40/27;
10:30am-10pm Jun-Aug; )
A nationally historic landmarked amusement park 12 miles
southeast of downtown with four old wooden roller coasters.
Tours
Rivers of Steel
TOUR
( 412-464-4020;
www.riversofsteel.com
)
This organization is dedicated to preserving the
physical heritage as well as the memories and stories of the region's industrial past. It's
worth touring Carrie Furnace (Fridays & Saturdays April to end-October), the long ago
decommissioned US Steel blast furnace that now stands like a decaying post-apocalyptic
