UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH
by VeronicaG
First known as the Pittsburgh Academy in 1787, then as the Western University of Pittsburgh in 1819 and finally as The University of Pittsburgh in 1908 is noted for being one of the top public research universities in the nation.
The School of Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy, Engineering, Arts and Sciences, Health and Rehabilitation Sciences and Informational Sciences are an example of the programs the University of Pittsburgh offers.
The 132 acre campus has approximately 100 residence halls, academic, research and administration buildings. It serves 27,000 students with a faculty of 4100. It is located in the rich cultural district of Oakland, an area of Pittsburgh accented by museums and art galleries. For more information call 412-624-4141.
Pittsburghese
by mikelisaanna
Longtime residents of Pittsburgh speak English with a unique accent called Pittsburghese. As a result, a Pittsburgh native can usually tell if someone else is from Pittsburgh within the first few sentences of a conversation.
In Pittsburghese, ee is pronounced i (creek becomes crick, steel becomes still, and the two professional football teams in Pennsylvania are the "Stillers" and the "Iggles"). Ow and ou are prounounced like ah (flower becomes flar, downtown becomes donton, shower becomes shar, hour becomes ar, etc.).
Another highlight of Pittsburghese is the word "yins", which is substituted for "you" ("Yins goin' dawn the crick ta go fishin'?", "Yins gonna watch the Stillers game?"). An exception to this rule is when the word "you is used after the words "would" or "could" - one then would say "woodja or coudja" instead of using the word "yins".
A key part of Pittsburghese grammar is that the phrase "needs to be" is always shortened to just "needs". Examples are "The hoss needs painted," instead of "The house needs to be painted", and "The grass needs cut", instead of "The grass needs to be cut".
And, for some reason, Pittsburghers pronounce the capitol city of the USA as "Warshington". They also warsh their hands.
PIRATES
by mtncorg
The Pittsburgh Pirates are one of the oldest major league baseball franchises dating back to 1882 when as the Alleghenys, they were a founding member of the American Association - known as the ‘Beer and Whiskey League’ as opposed to the puritan-minded National League. The team then jumped to the older National League as the Pittsburgh Alleghenys in 1887. The ‘Pirate’ moniker was earned when the team successfully stole a star player away from the now-rival American Association in 1890. Their former league denounced the move as ‘piratical’, something that the ball club made fun of by renaming themselves as the Pirates, for the 1891 season.
The Pirates have five titles to their history - 1909, 1925, 1960, 1971, 1979 - winning the National League pennant four additional times. Not the strongest National League franchise, for sure, but then the Chicago Cubs, which has been in the National League 17 years longer than the Pirates, have only two World Series titles to their credit. On the other side of the State, the Philadelphia Phillies, dating to 1883 as the Quakers, have one lone World Series title and six National League pennants to their credit, though it appears their second World Series is very close at hand. That said, the pirates are not a very competitive team presently. They single-handedly were responsible for this year’s Milwaukee Brewers reaching into the post-season playoffs by winning only one of 14 games against the Brewers and getting outscored 94 to 41 - I had the privilege of watching the Pirates go down in one of those 13 games, 11-2. Pittsburghers were heard to say that they get tired of out-of-towners tell them about what a nice ballpark PNC is, because they know they are not talking about the exciting play of the Pirates but the view of downtown. And they are right. Sit in the upper deck of the park along the left field line and watch out over the skyline and the river, bringing you attention back occasionally as the Pirates attempt another belated rally.
Falling Water, a house of a different kind!
by cleomedes
Fallingwater, also known as the Edgar J. Kaufmann Sr. Residence, is a house designed by American architect Frank Lloyd Wright in 1935. The house was built partly over a waterfall.
50 miles southeast of Pittsburgh (1.5 hours), located on PA Route 381 between the villages of Mill Run and Ohiopyle.
From Pittsburgh area take I-80 (Ohio Turnpike) east to I-76 (Pennsylvania Turnpike). Continue east to Exit 91 (Donegal). Turn left on to Route 31 east, go 2 miles, turn right on to Route 381 south. Follow Route 381 south for approximately 19 miles to Fallingwater.
Price: Adults $16.00, youth 6-12 $10.00
plus a $2.00 per ticket service fee
Fun museums
by flora1
Philanthropist Andrew Carnegie endowed four wonderful museums in Pittsburgh: the Carnegie Museum of Art, Carnegie Museum of Natural History (recently named "One of the Best Dinosaur Collections" in the United States by Forbes.com), Carnegie Science Center, and The Andy Warhol Museum.
The museum of Natural History features 15 actual dinosaur skeletons - not casts - of 14 different species from the Jurassic period.,
The museum of Art contains one of the world's most prestigious permanent collections of traditional and contemporary art, featuring French impressionist and post-impressionist paintings from Van Gogh, Monet and Degas.
And for you pop culture fans, the Andy Warhol is on the North Shore. It is the most comprehensive single-artist museum in the world.
The Science Center presents science in an entertaining way. It is recognized as the foremost science education facility for students, teachers and the general public in southwestern Pennsylvania.
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Rain affected the back-benchers
Glass stained ceiling
National Aviary
An extremely popular bar in Southside.
