We were on our way to Carnegie Library.
Location: One of the busiest streets in Pittsburgh-Fifth Avenue, by the Cathedral of Learning University of Pittsburgh
Click link for 15 second video
https://youtube.com/shorts/01XLnnIl1Xk?si=SIGoPqqLJj41ta-4
“a steel frame structure overlaid with Indiana limestone …contains more than 2,000 rooms”
This page is from the January 1, 1977 New York Times Magazine.
My sister sent me the photos of the clipping today as Epiphany or Three Kings Day is January 6th. This day is the traditional day families would take down their Christmas decorations when I was growing up .
One side of the magazine page is Three Kings’ Cake recipe article by Mimi Sheraton. This recipe makes two Loaves of sweet bread with yeast and lemon and orange rind, currants and mixed fruits. Almonds are hidden in the dough to be discovered by one lucky eater .
On the reverse side of the paper is an ad to order seeds for Spring planting. Park Seed is celebrating 150 years of being in the gardening business.
(This is not the same king cake of February’s Mardi Gras.)
My friend Roberta sent me an email this evening with a video from the University of Pittsburgh French Nationality Room Galette Des Rois (click the name of cake to watch) see how to make another type of Kings’ Cake with Almond paste and puff pastry. The French version.
On the University of Pittsburgh campus you can see this sculpture of Dr. Thomas E. Starzl, “father of organ transplantation”, seated on an iron memorial bench.
Someone added the mask! You can visit the sculpture on Pitt’s campus, by the Cathedral of Learning lawn.
Dr. Starzl’s bronze likeness was created by sculptor Susan Wagner and unveiled in June 2018 . The statue, sporting a mask during the COVID 19 Pandemic, was photographed by a friend of a friend and asks to remain anonymous.
Thanks for sharing this photo documenting our collective experience and reminding us of safety measures we can all practice.
“Wagner is best known locally for her three 12-foot-tall bronze statues of Roberto Clemente, Willie Stargell and Bill Mazeroski at PNC Park and of the Gulf War Memorial at the 14th Quartermaster headquarters in Greensburg.” From article by Deb Eardley in TribLive
My friend Roberta sent me a Post-Gazette article this evening, An elegy to the ‘O’: A beloved hot dog shop closes after 60 years written by Mick Stinelli and Dan Gigler. It told about the sad and sudden closing of The Original Hot Dog Shop. A long time late night favorite in the heart of Oakland adjacent to University of Pittsburgh. Upon closing they donated “7 tons of potatoes to charity”. (They were famous for their fries)
We’d get a couple of hot dogs and share the huge order of fries, sometimes before a Poetry Reading at Hemingway’s. Or after. No matter what time you ate there, it was a familiar and reliable taste and experience.
Here’s a photo I took of the landmark from a 2010 blog post.
A good friend passed early Wednesday morning. You always ask if there is anything you can do…..
Cj and her daughter at Thanksgiving a few years ago.
She was a loving mother, a devoted sister, an excellent teacher, a strong woman, a heartfelt writer and a steadfast partner. An advocate for so many students in the Pittsburgh Public Schools. Inspiring thousands. A Madwoman writer at Carlow University.
I can picture her signing Go Tell it on the Mountain at a Christmas Choir Concert
Reading her poetry at Poe*Art, touching us with her words.
Playing music to motivate the scores of teachers who became students every summer in The Western Pennsylvania Writing Project at the University of Pittsburgh.
Another friend who taught with her for a couple of years remembers her playing Rocky’s Theme to get the students geared up for testing. The same friend said Cj always made lemonade when life handed her lemons. So true.
Here is another song she’d play for her students and sign with them.
The plea for help with medical expenses is now compounded by the additional need for Funeral/Memorial costs. If you’ve ever received a bill in the mail after someone has passed you’ll understand why I am getting this request out to the world. Cj was always supportive of my blog efforts and an avid follower.
No amount too small to help the family through this difficult time Click to donate
Thank you.
When you turn 65 in Pittsburgh you can apply for a free PAT bus pass.
Monday morning I went downtown on the 71 B. I am going to familiarize myself with schedules and routes but having a smart phone is a big help
You can pick the stop where you’re waiting it tells you how many minutes until a bus arrives. My plan is to visit all of the 88 neighborhoods in the city of Pittsburgh.
Here’s Day One of my Free Bus Pass Photography Adventure.
Me waiting at Highland and Bryant for the 71 B to go downtown.
Meet Kevin M. who accepted my medicare card until I get the pass.
His portrait will be wonderful in the People at Work show next July.
taken as I exited the bus, with his gracious permission.
The Port Authority where you fill out your application to get your bus pass.
I went to the City County Building where I was greeted by a sign and a bronze statue of Mayor Caligiuri
Mayor Caligiuri by Robert Berks 1990
Cathedral of Learning University of Pittsburgh
I rejoined the Carnegie Museum of Art in Oakland
Crabcake and Slaw lunch at the Union Grill
St. Paul Cathedral as I went to the next Bus Stop to get to Shadyside where they were setting up a Vintage Car Show on Walnut Street
Cars arriving in trailers I caught the next bus on Highland Avenue and guess who my driver was? Yep you guessed. Turns out Kevin went to the same high school as my sons but he was a class ahead of Mark.
Steve and I took a ride up to Shadyside later to see the vintage cars but it was raining
Friday afternoon I was photographing senior portraits of two young women by the Cathedral of Learning at Pitt. ( no one actually says “University of Pittsburgh”)
In between their outfit changes, I photographed the tall tower in different lights.
see how the sun changes the color of the Indiana limestone? Magic
Then a bride and groom walked by, just married!
I asked if I might photograph them and they said, sure!
I even asked the groom to move a bit so his mouth wasn’t hidden. Sweet.
Those were some killer heels (in blue)
And then a woman walked by with balloons.
There was a beautiful tree
It was fun to see some different sights. And capture them, too.
All in all it was a magical afternoon, especially with the unexpected barefoot bride and the balloon woman.
Magic is the weekly photo challenge.
A lot of excitement in the air, in addition to the tossed hats.
Looked up mortarboard and yes, it’s named after the bricklayers/plasterer’s tool – the hawk.
I was thinking it was my last official photography gig for the school as I retire this week but then I remembered that Monday night is COMMUNITY DAY. One more official gig.
On to the future. You can see the University of Pittsburgh Cathedral of Learning in the distance. A beautiful day.
Amber selling bouquets for the graduates. She doesn’t really enjoy having her photo taken but was very gracious. Thank you Amber.