Today is the Day and You Let the World Slip Through Your Fingers: More Wonders of Pittsburgh

The Cathedral of Learning, or “Cathy” to Univ. of Pittsburgh students, is not a house of worship; it is a house of learning.

For Chancellor John Gabbert Bowman, it was a “symbol of the life Pittsburgh wanted to live,” like “a cabin where one could sit by candlelight and think.”

The building was dedicated in 1937 with the words “They shall find wisdom here and faith-in steel and stone-in character and thought-they shall find beauty-adventure-and moments of high victory.” To those who built the tall building it is meant to be inspiring, showing that education is the result of aspiring to great heights, that learning is unending.

The building continues to be so treasured that people who donated to its construction still have certificates for the ten cent donation they had given as children for the building.

What those donations and much more created is a 535 foot high, 42-story building of late Gothic revival style with classrooms called Nationality Rooms because each of the twenty-nine rooms currently open present the culture of a different country. The first rooms represented groups that settled in Allegheny county; as the population grows new cultures are being included.

The theme rooms are in a style representing the “golden age” in each country’s history or tradition. The rooms have a consistent pattern in their furnishing and decor. Upon entering each room the national anthem or related song fills the air. Most rooms have what seem to be rather uncomfortable desks originally having been used in churches, meetings rooms or conference rooms. Period art adorns the walls. Paneling is made of native woods. Shelves and cases are filled with special artifacts. Concealed behind a panel in each room is the classroom chalkboard.

Russian Icon of St. George and the dragon.

Norwegian panels from a farmhouse

British House of Commons chairs

Ukrainian wood carvings and chairs

Turkish panels and chalkboard

The Israel room is like a 1st century stone dwelling in the Galilee with 2nd and 3rd cent. benches as used in Capernicum.

Scroll from the Dead Sea

Ten Commandments in Hebrew adorn the door.

Indian altar piece and murals from the University of Nalanda

Swiss chairs emphasizing the four languages of the country.

Armenian alphabet

A doll in a room from the Minka, non-ruling class of Japan

Seats from a Welsh church. Seating was close to keep the congregants warm.

This is the view from the third floor of the central area used for studying.

We decided the best way to see Heinz Hall for Performing Arts (one of many buildings named Heinz) was to attend a concert. In the afternoon we went to “The Earth: An HD Odyssey” performed by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. The hall is a magnificent venue acoustically and visually.

The concert consisted of a Pre-concert by the Assistant Conductor Francesco Lecce-Chong then pieces by Sergei Prokofiev, Aaron Copland, John Adams and Richard Strauss. The Adams and Strauss pieces were accompanied by videos accenting the music. It was a great pleasure to hear such wonderful music by this outstanding orchestra in this gorgeous hall.

A man sitting next to us at the concert recommended Squonk. We had no idea what he was talking about. Apparently a squonk is a mythical creature that is supposed to live in the Hemlock forests of northern Pennsylvania. That was not what he was talking about. The Squonk we saw and delighted in was a musical quartet riding platforms manipulated by bicycles, okay, let’s show you.