If you don’t want to go outside right now, we don’t blame you. The temperatures have hit below zero over the past few weeks, and the wind chill is not exactly enticing. But if you’re in the mood for something to do indoors, Pittsburgh has a number of interesting interiors that design buffs can make a day out of seeing. Some of these are public and others are in businesses. But while the weather outside rages, warm yourself up with Pittsburgh’s unique architectural history.
5 Interesting Interiors in Pittsburgh You Can See This Winter
The Cathedral of Learning
4200 Fifth Avenue
“Cathy,” as Pitt students call it, is a recognizable fixture in Pittsburgh’s skyline, but its interior is equally dazzling. A fun, free indoor activity or cute coffee-and-a-walk type date is to wander the building’s Gothic halls and take the elevator to the thirty-sixth floor to see a view from the city from all angles. It’s especially fun (and a little romantic) at night. You could also arrange to visit its Nationality and Heritage Rooms, each designed to reflect the history of the people and places that make up Pittsburgh’s ethnic blend.
The Frick Clayton
7227 Reynolds Street
You’ll need to sign up for the guided Gilded Not Golden tour to get into Henry Clay Frick’s historic home, but it’s well worth it. You can immerse yourself in the Gilded Age finery of the Frick family while learning about how a small number of wealthy oligarchs hoarded money and power while working-class strife boiled over…sound familiar? If it gets too real, just look at Adelaide Frick’s beautiful perfume bottles to keep your mind off of it.
The Abbey
4635 Butler Street
The Abbey’s restaurant, bar, and coffeehouse is in a Lawrenceville building that’s been a funeral home, a church, and a stone carving business. Rather than pave over and renovate, the owners embraced the building’s quirky history and have made it a home for Pittsburgh architectural ephemera. Parts of the former Pittsburgh Arcade shopping center are on the walls, along with meticulously-restored wood paneling from the demolished Mary S. Brown Methodist Church that once stood on Beechwood Boulevard. Oh, and the food and drinks are great, too.
Troy Hill Art Houses
Various addresses, starting at 1812 Rialto Street
Curator and collector Evan Mirapaul put together four full-house art installations in Troy Hill. The art houses are: Thorsten Brinkmann’s La Hütte Royal (1812 Rialto Street), Robert Kusmirowski’s Kunzhaus (1718 Rialto Street) and Lenka Clayton and Phillip Andrew Lewis’s Darkhouse Lighthouse (1913 Tours Street). And now, Mark Dion’s Mrs. Christopher’s House is also open in the neigborhood. All are open to the public by appointment.
Mansions on Fifth
5105 Fifth Avenue
Want to be a tourist in your own city? Mansions on Fifth has that old-school East End glamor in its historic Oak Room Pub, where you don’t have to be a guest at the hotel to stay for a drink. The bar is meant to bring to mind the robber barons’ oak-paneled dining rooms, where they entertained and talked money, power, and glory. Maybe Pittsburgh’s next big deals are happening inside the Oak Room Pub. The only way to find out is to go yourself.
Story by Emma Riva
Photo by Tivo Latman
Subscribe to TABLE Magazine’s print edition.
