Pittsburgh, 2008

In the Fall of 2008 I got to spend a week in Pittsburgh with my girlfriend Shelagh. The above photo isn't mine. This is from the Pittsburgh website. The city is wonderful at night. Absolutely beautiful.

Without a tripod I was stuck, but with a full moon and a wall to lean against it wasn't as tough as I thought it would be. Pittsburgh has a wonderful skyline.

In my opinion one of the most beautiful buildings in the city. The Heinze chapel. The history is awesome, along with the stonework and the interior windows and wood carvings. I love beautiful buildings no matter where I find them.

I wish I could tell you the history. There are great websites with pictures of the stained glass windows and the wood carvings.


I was so lucky to have a tour of the church. Shelagh and I lucked out when we peeked inside the open door. There was a young lady inside, going to school at the college with a vast knowledge of the church and its history. She offered to give us a tour and for the next hour or so we got a personal tour of the church, a lecture on the history and access that is rarely given. Most of the time there is a huge backlog of weddings and events that tours are only in minutes, not hours.



The wood is teak, the carvings are incredibly detailed. The altar is Egyptian marble.






The stained glass windows each tell a story and are signed by the artist. The stories reflect Galileo, Abraham Lincoln, Leonardo DaVinci, the list goes on. It would be very easy to spend the day, going from window to window with a history book in hand, understanding what is before incredible eyes.