TOURS

Aug. 27, 2010---Took a trolly tour which hauled us to the highest point in Allegheny county. Went up steep hills through the old town that used to be called "Temperance". Many retired coal miners and steel workers live in these hills. The viewing spot is called "the west end overlook". What a great place to look down into the city of Pittsburgh. The point where the three rivers come together is quite obvious from here. Allegheny comes from the left and Monongahela comes from the right flowing into the much wider Ohio River.




In this picture the hospital can be seen in the center. Lower right near the Allegheny is the new "Rivers" casino.






The tour took us to the University of Pittsburgh. The most famous building is the Cathedral of Learning. This 42 story structure is know as the "world's tallest schoolhouse". There are 27 internationally famous rooms in this Gothic place, many of which are designed by architects abroad. They create the cultural periods prior to 1787, the year the University was founded. The University is located in Oakland, PA.





Interior is so large and magnificant it is difficult to capture with our limited cameras.







Old seats in one of the rooms.






Heinz Memorial Chapel is located on campus.








What a spectacular structure!











Most amazing are the 73 foot tall stained glass windows.








Each section of the windows is dedicated to people of importance. An example is George Washington.







Breath taking to say the least.

After the trolly tour we enjoyed more history with a ride on the Ducky. It took us downtown where some of the oldest and newest structures can be seen.




These 1945 vehicles were built for military use to operate on land and water. Primary purpose was to haul personnel and goods from the ships to shore.

Enlarge this photo to see the Dream Manor at Station Square. The taller structure by the boat is an elevator. Getting from the boat to land take the elevator to access the walkway which goes above the railroads. There are many trains passing under the walkway every day. On the other end of the walkway another elevator is taken to get down to street level.




In this picture the elevator can be seen on the left. It is white with three sections of blue glass. The last cars of a train can be seen to the left of the large passenger vessel that hauls people around to see Pittsburgh from the water. Those vessels are the Clipper fleet. Some of the names are: Majestic, Duchess and Princess.

Dream Manor seen from the upper level of the elevator.