The Sixth Street or Roberto Clemente bridge, one of the famous Three Sisters that span the Allegheny, glows in the late-afternoon sun. Beyond it, the increasingly cluttered skyline of the North Side.
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Bonsai Azalea at Phipps
Though miniaturized through the use of advanced transistor technology, this azalea still manages to put on a good display for the Spring Flower Show.
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The Three Sisters
Supposedly Pittsburgh is the only place in the world where you can see three identical suspension bridges in a row: the Sixth, Seventh, and Ninth Street Bridges over the Allegheny, now named for Roberto Clemente (because the Sixth Street Bridge leads to the ball park), Andy Warhol (because the Seventh Street Bridge leads to the Andy Warhol Museum), and Rachel Carson (because we’re really proud of Rachel Carson).
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Hebe in the South Conservatory at Phipps
Hebe, the Greek goddess of youth and the cupbearer of Olympus, stands in the middle of a riotously colorful Victorian patchwork garden in Phipps Conservatory.
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Spring Flowers at Phipps
The Spring Flower Show is going on right now at Phipps Conservatory, and here are some of the stars.
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“Pittsburgh,” by E. M. Sidney
From Graham’s American Monthly Magazine of Literature and Art, Vol. XXX (1847), p. 249.
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Water over the Dam in North Park
Water tumbles down a dam in North Park. Damp weather left the lake full, and the return of snow and cold has not stopped the rushing waters. Below is a still picture of the same scene, for those who prefer their still pictures to be absolutely still.
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A Ride on the PRT in Morgantown
Just an hour and a half south of Pittsburgh is the city of Morgantown, just inside West Virginia. It’s the home of an enormous university whose two campuses, and the constant shuffling back and forth of thirty thousand students between them, created big-city gridlock problems until the unique PRT (for “Personal Rapid Transit”) began service in the middle 1970s.
PRT cars are about the size of a minivan. Each one has eight seats; there is no driver, because the system is entirely automatic. At the turnstile, you pay your 50¢ and push a button for your destination. A car rolls up shortly after that. You get in, and it goes straight where you want to go, with no intermediate stops.
This little movie will give you some idea of what a ride on the PRT is like. There is no sound; you may wish to hum a jaunty newsreel march to yourself as you watch. The movie is explicitly released into the public domain, so if you want to make a music video out of it, go right ahead.
