The Philadelphia Society
Conservative
Tourist Guide to Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Sheraton Station Square Hotel
October 13-14, 2006
Our new Distinguished Member, Stephen Tonsor, Professor
Emeritus of History at the University of Michigan, has explained the beauty and
historical interest of Pittsburgh in a speech that he gave to The Philadelphia
Society in Cleveland in 2002.
Before giving you the full quote on Pittsburgh, let me excerpt a simple
sentence that captures the intellectual essence of the planned meeting for
Pittsburgh:
"Remember that Americans thought in the American
Revolution that they were reclaiming, reinstituting their rights and liberties
as Englishmen. But what they did
was create a New Order of the Ages."
This is precisely the balance and the tension we will be
exploring: what does America owe to Britain and what does Britain owe to
America? For a fuller statement of
the topic of the meeting and the structure of the meeting, please click on
the Intellectual Rationale.
The full quotation from Tonsor helps illuminate the many
reasons why an attendee should either come early or stay over on Sunday to see
the cultural and historical splendors that are available in the area. He elaborates: "I am very interested, for example, in
neo-Gothic architecture, the whole medieval revival of the late 18th
and 19th centuries, the great buildings produced by Augustus Welby
Pugin, Viollet le Duc, and in America by Ralph Adams Cram are buildings which
are medieval in spirit, indeed, they are even medieval in technique.
But, they are extraordinarily contemporary and extraordinary creative and
very different from the structures of the medieval past.
We just spent a day recently visiting the wonderful Gothic revival
buildings in the city of Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh
has more great gothic revival buildings than any other city in the United
States. Go to Pittsburgh and see
them. Beginning with, of course, Ralph Adams Cram’s, Liberty Street
Presbyterian Church, which is a Gothic cathedral; it’s higher than high
church. For Presbyterians this is something quite shocking.
I suppose it didn’t bother the Mellons.
The Calvary Episcopal Church, again designed by Ralph Adams Cram, is a
beautiful building, but it is not really medieval.
A Heinz Chapel at the University of Pittsburgh has the grandeur like that
of Sainte Chappelle, but it is not really medieval.
The Cathedral of Learning on
the campus of the University of Pittsburgh intends to be an adaptation of
medieval architecture to the modern skyscraper before, of course,
the Tribune Tower in Chicago. It’s
not medieval, it’s new and very different.
What I am telling you is that the spirit works in its own way in reviving
the past. It will lead to a new
creation. Remember that Americans
thought in the American Revolution that they were reclaiming, reinstituting
their rights and liberties as Englishmen. But
what they did was create a New Order of the Ages.
It is well to recognize that technological sophistication is not culture.
And, indeed, in the absence of genuine culture the hand will eventually
lose its coming; reason will lose its spiritedness, and love will lose its
ability to bind people together. At
the present time the elites are in decay, and compelling ideals, the vision
thing, or vision things I should say, do not reach beyond the grossest animal
satisfactions. Human kind wants to
believe. It is high time that
conservatives raise their sights above libertarianism and the market."
One of our Members, Dick Bishirjian, has provided me some interesting information by email:
"Having been born in Pittsburgh and lived there until
I left to go to Notre Dame in January 1965 (after the Goldwater campaign), I can
direct our members to some interesting spots.
If you’re flying in to Greater Pittsburgh Airport be
aware that this airport is managed by a private company, recently sold BAA US, a
former subsidiary of privatized (under Thatcher) British Airways.
Escalators will not be stopped for repairs during daytime hours and
prices in the Airport are guaranteed not to exceed off-airport prices.
Next, if you’re taking a cab from the airport into
downtown, be prepared to go into a tunnel and come out looking at a majestic
view of Pittsburgh, “the city of bridges.”
http://pghbridges.com/pittsburghE/0585-4476/co_rossst.htm
Once you’ve checked in to the hotel, get out of the
Sheraton, turn left and walk over to Station Square. There, Dick Scaife financed a wonderful Arcade and restaurant
area that charms those of us who take time to visit it.
The lobby of the old railroad station has been preserved and is now a
restaurant. Good food and great
architecture. But, then, walk up
and out of Station Square onto stairs leading to a bridge that connects the
South Side to downtown Pittsburgh. Barge
traffic on the river can be very interesting. Or,
across from Station Square look for the "Incline," a vertical tram
that takes residents up Mt. Washington. La
Mont Restaurant and a few others offer four star dining or deck views of one of
America's most beautiful cityscapes. When
all the PhillySocers are in bed after an exhausting evening of camaraderie, get
up to Mt. Washington anyway you can. Looking
down on Pittsburgh at night time Mt. Washington is a must.
The County of Allegheny Courthouse is a 19th century
bulldog of a building designed by Henry Hobson Richardson. http://www.greatbuildings.com/architects/Henry_Hobson_Richardson.html
My guest, former Chairman of the Allegheny County Board of
Commissioners, Larry Dunn, can explore with members interested in seeing one of
the great municipal buildings of that century.
Larry engineered the first takeover of Allegheny County government by the
Republicans in 1996. We had been
out of power for sixty years until Larry promised to resign, if he didn’t
deliver on his promise to cut property taxes, sell the County’s civil aviation
airport, and privatize services better administered by the private sector.
Steve Tonsor directs us to the Presbyterian cathedral that
Andrew Mellon built in East Liberty. “Sliberty” as it is pronounced is now a
blighted area and to my knowledge that Cathedral no longer houses a parish
church, but is used by various municipal groups and charities.
Old Forbes Field is no longer, but the new stadium for the
Pittsburgh Pirates located smack in downtown Pittsburgh has an Outback
restaurant that can be visited even when the Pirates aren't playing.
The new field is better situated than Baltimore’s Camden Yards, and in
terms of visibility is the equal of the Daimondbacks Stadium in Phoenix,
Arizona.
But, the greatest place to visit is “Clayton,” the home
of Henry Clay Frick.
http://www.superpages.com/cities/mtg/41031/
Visitors to that late 19th century estate in the middle of
suburban Pittsburgh will understand why Frick, Carnegie, and Mellon were the
Czars of their day. His daughter
Helen Clay maintained offices in the Koppers Building until she died, and
maintained his legacy and commitment to conservative causes.
Sarah Mellon Scaife should be remembered also, and the
museums named in her memory should be visited before you leave Pittsburgh,
especially the many PhillySocers who are Scaife scholars whose careers she
launched (including mine).
One last note: Pittsburgher’s speak with accents that are
easily noticed. There’s a hard
nasal accent that sounds as if words pass through the speaker’s nose before
being released through their mouths. Special
words can be heard such as “Yns,” meaning “You people,” or “Red up,”
meaning “clean up.”
Americans of German descent make up the largest ethnic
population of the County and thanks to Big Labor and sixty years of Democrat
Party government, the City of Pittsburgh is bankrupt, its children have
scattered to every part of the United States in search of employment, and they
make up a population equivalent to “Overseas Chinese.”
In every large city in the United States exiled
Pittsburghers gather to reminisce about the city they love, remember the
wonderful beers that once were brewed there, and lament that they are unable to
return ‘home.’
One person I know has a “Pittsburgh Bathroom” adorned
by photos of the city he loves. Do yourself a favor, and ask for “Penn
Pilsner,” a local microbrew that will introduce you to the king of beers, the
Pilsner, and give you a taste of what Pittsburgh once was.
I could go on, and shall, if encouraged to do so by my fellow PhillySoc members. My reminiscences about growing up to become an intellectual conservative in Pittsburgh were related in Modern Age ."
Other information that you might find helpful:
Pittsburgh Convention and
Visitors Bureau: http://www.visitpittsburgh.com/
For a great clickable map where you can visually get yourself acquainted
with Pittsburgh, pick your site or hotel, go to: http://map.mapnetwork.com/destination/pittsburgh/
Carnegie Museum of Art: http://www.cmoa.org
All the Carnegie Museums if you have children or are young-at-heart: http://www.carnegiemuseums.org/carnegie/index.htm
Pittsburgh Regional History Center: Senator
John Heinz Pittsburgh Regional History Center
Heinz Memorial Chapel at the University of Pittsburgh: http://www.umc.pitt.edu/chapel/
Cathedral of Learning at the University of Pittsburgh: http://www.umc.pitt.edu/tour/tour-080.html
Website of Sheraton Station Square Hotel: http://www.starwoodhotels.com/sheraton/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=693
If you know of others that should be listed, please email me at wcampbell14@cox.net.