Architect Philip Johnson and his partner Burgee designed PPG Place. While undeniably a gifted architect, he was also at one time an anti-Semite and Nazi sympathizer. Johnson was born into wealth in Cleveland on July 8, 1906, to lawyer Homer Johnson and Louisa Osborne Pope. He was educated at the prestigious Hackley School in Tarrytown, New York and studied at Harvard. With a fortune acquired
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While the design harkens back to other historic structures, the buildings at PPG Place are like no others in the world. The six-building complex combines Gothic architecture with modern materials and the urban skyscraper with a fairytale castle. PPG, founded as Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company in 1883 by Capt. John B. Ford and John Pitcairn, opened the nation’s first successful plate glass factory in the
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Festival season in the Pittsburgh area runs from early spring until late fall. There is so much fun to be had, you could spend nearly every weekend enjoying yourself at a local festival. EQT Three Rivers Regatta Three days of fun in August are the hallmark of the Three Rivers Regatta. Thousands gather in Point State Park to enjoy boating, food, and fireworks. Picklesburg Pickles
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On a spring Thursday morning we found ourselves visiting a few stores in the Strip District. It was about eleven AM when we realized we hadn’t stopped for breakfast. I suggested Pamela’s. I would not have made that suggestion on the weekends or in prime breakfast or lunch times, but at 11AM on a Thursday I was sure it was a good idea. Our two
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Festival season in the Pittsburgh area runs from early spring until late fall. There is so much fun to be had, you could spend nearly every weekend enjoying yourself at a local festival. EQT Children’s Theater Festival Held in the Cultural District each May, the Children’s Theater Festival’s mission is to continue the tradition of bringing theater to area children with live performances and free
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It was a dark and stormy night. A dog, lost, hungry and afraid, seeks refuge in an abandoned garage. He is eventually discovered and taken to a local pet shelter by a sympathetic police officer. And so begins the tale of Ducky, named by a shelter employee for his peculiar appearance, part Pit Bull, part Basset Hound, making him an “odd duck” indeed. The book
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When I began reading The Best Seven Years of My Life: The Story of an Unlikely Caregiver, co-written by George Shannon and his son Chad Patrick Shannon, it was with a sense of scepticism. It is the story of a couple from Sewickley, PA nearing retirement age whose lives are cruelly disrupted when the wife suffers several devastating strokes. Told from the viewpoint of Carol’s
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Tucked away off Woodland Drive near Chatham University, a wonderfully eclectic residence remains one of Pittsburgh’s crown jewels of unorthodox architecture. The Abrams House, as it is affectionately called, is the work of Pritzker Architecture Prize-Winner Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown. The house oozes of postmodern style and is a testament to the curated, quirky style of late owner Betty Abrams. And while this
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My husband and I were in Heidelberg visiting someone in a nursing home, and after our visit, we were looking for a good place to eat. Not from that area, we searched for restaurants, and Bubba’s Gourmet Burgers & Beer in nearby Bridgeville came up. We arrived there around 6:30 on a Saturday night. The restaurant is located in a small strip mall at 3109
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I’m an admirer of Leonardo da Vinci. I’ve read several books about him and have seen a few documentaries on his life. So I was excited to learn that the Carnegie Science Center is hosting “Da Vinci The Exhibition” through Labor Day, September 2, 2019. Recently, my husband and I took in the exhibit, and we were not disappointed. The only disappointment we came away
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