The Pittsburgh Traverse

This weekend Cory and I "traversed" 16 miles around the city by foot. Our little trek helped me to appreciate the city more and to understand its culture and history. Some of you have never seen Pittsburgh and I want to show you some of the pictures to give you some sort of a framework for understanding our beautiful city. You'll notice that bridges are a major theme.

Our neighborhood, Squirrel Hill, is mostly inhabited by people of Jewish ancestry, including many Orthodox Jews.

 Chatham University, a small all-girls school with a beautiful campus.

The water tower on the upper hill.  The Hill District is a sad story of segregation. The neighborhood continues to decline and we passed many vacant lots on our way to the top of the hill. Remaining residents are very friendly and cling to what little community is left. 

One of the views from the Hill.

 Descending down through Polish Hill. We stopped for coffee at a shop that Cory's bakery delivers to.

 Pretty church in Polish Hill.

Walked along the river through the Strip District (a market area). The sloped roof in this picture is the convention center.

 Artistic underpass walkway.

Crossed over the river into the North Side, formerly the city of Allegheny, until it got swallowed up by the city of Pittsburgh. This is a Civil War Memorial in a park. Found a homeless man sleeping nearby.

 Not the most photogenic couple on this particular day. I was starting to get tired. Downtown in the background.

Awesome secluded house. Notice the central glass room where there was a spiral staircase.

 Walking up our biggest hill to the neighborhood of Mt. Washington.

More bridges.

Downtown. Many people have asked me if Pittsburgh is "still dirty." Here's your answer.

 A goofy statue on top of Mt. Washington. Below is the description.

 More bridges.

 East Carson Street on the South Side, home of shopping and more bars than a city could ever need.

"Paper streets." Exist on paper only, not driveable.