Difference between revisions of "Pittsburgh/Oakland"

Revision as of 05:16, 12 February 2008

Cathedral of Learning on an overcast day

Oakland is a district in Pittsburgh east of Downtown. In it are many of the hospitals that serve Pittsburgh and most of the colleges and universities.

Get in

From downtown one takes Forbes Avenue east which is a one-way street that leads directly to Oakland. There are frequent PAT buses as well as this is a heavily travelled route.

Get Around

See

Although Oakland is essentially a location for schools and hospitals, there are many things to see and do there. Perhaps the most interesting for visitors is The Carnegie Library and Museums. There are three major sections in a single large building along Forbes Avenue:

• The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. This is the major Carnegie library in Pittsburgh. Andrew Carnegie funded 2,507 libraries all over the world between 1881 and 1917. Most (1,681) are in the United States, but there are Carnegie libraries from Fiji to United Kingdom. This library is very large with an entire floor for fiction, another for non-fiction and a third devoted to works on technology. http://www.clpgh.org/

• The Carnegie Museum of Natural History. This museum has a number of interesting collections from ancient armor, to gems and minerals, furniture and, especially dinosaurs which through funding by Carnegie were removed from tarpits in the western United States. http://www.carnegiemuseums.org/cmnh/

• The Carnegie Museum of Art. A world-class exhibit space with a permanent collection of paintings that include Rembrandts, Van Goghs, Cezannes, Picassos and many more. In addition it hosts temporary exhibits from other museums all over the world and funds the Carnegie International, a biennial staging of "the most important and prestigious international survey of contemporary art in North America." http://www.cmoa.org/

• The Cathedral of Learning. A 42 story building of the University of Pittsburgh. It is gothic in style and the anchor of the university's campus. Construction was begun in 1926 and took ten years to complete. It is the tallest school building in the western hemisphere and is visible almost anywhere in Pittsburgh. Surrounding its immense commons room are the unique "nationality rooms" designed by 17 different architects and constructed and decorated in the characteristic style of the 17 different nations which at the time made up the diverse population of Pittsburgh. Above this level are classrooms accessed, of course, by elevators.

Do

Learn

There is a concentration of different colleges and universities in Oakland that is perhaps only rivalled in Cambridge, Massachusetts. These include, most notably, Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh, but there are many others, large and small, public and private.

Buy

Eat

Put some twenty thousand college students in a small urban area and you can be sure you won't go hungry. Or thirsty. If you've outgrown college food and college bars there are also a number of very good restaurants in the area.

There is always The O. The place for some of the best fries in Pittsbugh. All along Craig St. are restaurants ranging from Chinese and middle eastern to Subway.

Hemingway's - Forbes = Excellent food. $1 Beers, and food is half off from 9pm to 1 a.m. A good variety of items. Around $10 for a meal. The crowd is mostly frat boys.

Mad Mex - Atwood Street = Great food. Food is half off from 11pm-1am. Mexican food. www.madmex.com The employees are mostly punk types while the crowd is usually yuppie.

Small order of fries at the "O"

The O - Forbes = Cheap food. Extremely greasy. You can get giant piles of greasy french fries for cheap. It is a good place to go after drinking. Late hours. The place is filthy. You don't want to use the bathroom. It has a reputation for being dangerous, but there is always at least one cop there at all times. Most people go for the hot dogs, french fries, or pizza. If you are in Oakland, you should at least try the fries to say you have been there.

Fuel & Fuddle- Oakland Avenue = http://www.fuelandfuddle.com/ Good food. Vegetarian friendly. It has a hipster crowd. The prices are about $10 for a meal.

Drink

Hemingways - Forbes Avenue = $1 Miller Lites, microbrew selection, combined with the food, great place to drink. A lot of girls.

Gene's Place - Louisa Street = Really cheep drinks ($1.50 mixed, $2-3 22oz beers). No food. Small drink slection though they do have some microbrews. Mostly guys looking to drink. If you are looking to drink cheap, here is the place.

Mad Mex - Atwood & Bates = Excellent beer selection (9 or so microbrews on tap, extensive bottle selection). The frozen margarita's are great. Expensive unless you come during a drink special (430-630 for happy hour, 9-11 for evening special). Great food if you like to eat while you drink.

Fuel & Fuddle - Oakland Avenue = http://www.fuelandfuddle.com/ The crowd is hipster. They have a large microbrew draft selection (12 or so) and an extremely extensive bottle selection.

Sleep

Since this is a "college town", as well as a center of research and technology, there are numerous accommodations including most of the bigname chain hotels. In addition the area has very frequent bus connections to Downtown which is only a ten or fifteen minute ride to all the large downtown hotels.

Sleep

Get out