Mount Washington Visit

Brendan, George, and Andrew

Sunday, October 9th

On Sunday evening our group headed to Mount Washington to take in the breathtaking view. Arguably the most beautiful view you can find in Pittsburgh, the many overlooks sit on the ridge of Mount Washington, which was formerly known as Coal Hill. Given the name, it makes sense that at one point the annual coal production was 13 million tons. Hundreds of years before this, the view you see from Mount Washington was a view of Fort Duquesne, and then Fort Pitt. Both the French and the British realized that Mount Washington provided great barricade and protection for their forts. We took some pics of the view, and of a few other sights from the area, and were pretty impressed with the area and how interesting it was.

 This plaque was on the railing of the Gallagher Overlook.

 This stand talked about how Pittsburgh was greatly affected from the 19th century and industrialization as well as the efforts after World War II towards "The Greening of Pittsburgh".

This is just a cool ice cream shop we passed when we were walking around.

The best part about Mount Washington were the stunning views.

Perhaps Mount Washington’s most wonderful view is at night, where the city illuminates to provide a starry canvas including sights from the Carnegie Museum next to Heinz field, to the Point, over to the Cathedral in the distance. This picture was taken from one of the inclines called the Duquesne Incline. This nighttime view a must-see, whether it is seen alone, with family, or with a loved one.

MtWash Library: There are a number of small attractions on Mount Washington, including small coffee and ice cream shops, the inclines, and this small public library. I did not explore the book selection, but I did go inside to use the bathroom. The ladies working there were very sweet. The building seemed a bit dated. 

 This is the LeMont Restaurant, which is a Five Star Diamond Award restaurant in Mount Washington. It has a great view for a high price. We learned that Mount Washington is home to many upscale restaurants.  This is not that surprising since some of the hillside condos are listed at over a million dollars.


South Side

Though we were not able to make a trip to South Side as a group, a friend and I went to check it out the first weekend we were in Pittsburgh. We walked up and down checking out the many shops and the even more numerous bars while we waited for a table at Fat Head's Saloon.

 Fat Head's is famous for its enormous burgers. This is a picture I got online, but it accurately shows how huge these burgers really are. Fat Head's is also well-known for its wide selection of craft beer. It's by far one of, if not the busiest restaurants in South Side.

The South Side Works Cinema is a movie theater in the South Side Works Complex. This "complex" refers to and area on the South Side that contains restaurants, shops, offices, apartments, the cinema, and a hotel. It's referred to as a new urbanest designed complex. Which basically just means it was designed to be environmentally friendly and create jobs and a new neighborhood with more living options.

 Perhaps one of the most interesting detail I learned while researching South Side, was the use of steps as streets in some areas. At times the terrain is so steep, steps are used instead of streets. Many houses sit alongside these steps. The steps even have names just as streets would. Special fire trucks are used in the area because your average fire truck wouldn't be able to climb the steep streets when there was an emergency.

Recently, South Side has become a popular destination for the nightlife of students from Duquesne, Carnegie Mellon, and the University of Pittsburgh. The population continues to grow thanks to the convenience of its location to the universities. So it is definitely one of the up and coming neighborhoods of Pittsburgh.

Works Cited

http://www.clevescene.com/cleveland/truce/Content?oid=1577559#

http://www.lwere.com/pages/southsideworks

https://www.coldwellbankerhomes.com/pittsburgh/addr_grandview      %20ave%20mount%20washington/?searchTerm=Grandview            %20Ave%20Mount%20Washington

http://www.brooklineconnection.com/history/Facts/CoalHill.html

http://www.lemontpittsburgh.com/