I am a huge fan of coincidences and meant-to-be's. How we met our hosts for our full day in Pittsburgh is pretty amazing. It goes back to Fargo (September 15th). I had called to make a reservation at a campground in town. When I arrived, the receptionist said, "Oh, I see you added an extra night!" We hadn't. A guy named Michael HOERR had booked the next night in our same spot. No dang way! We knew he had to be related so I left my card at the front desk, and Mike responded with an informative e-mail. Turns out he's one of the Pittsburgh Hoerrs vs the Illinois Hoerrs that Steve's family hails from but there is no way, somewhere in Germany, that these guys aren't related.
About the spelling difference. It turns out that when Steve's mom moved to California, people there didn't understand that the German OE combination made the long A sound. She was constantly being called Mrs. Whore and didn't like it. She very unofficially changed the spelling before Steve was born.
Mike and Kim were wonderful communicators and invited us to come stay at their place when we got close. Mike promised a tour of Pittsburgh that wound up being incredibly thorough and one that I couldn't have planned better. Wow.Since Mike and Kim had just recently returned from their 8 month-long RV Across America trip, they had some grocery shopping to do. I was giddy to be included. We were brought to The Strip District, a vibrant, historic ½-square-mile shopping and dining neighborhood.
My first excitable moment happened at the Pennsylvania Macaroni Co., a massive specialty Italian grocery and cheese emporium packed with imported goods.Here I could pretend I was in Italy. Italian immigration to Pittsburgh peaked in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, transforming the city into a major hub for southern and central Italian laborers. Beginning in the 1880s and 1890s, young Italian men arrived via New York and railway lines to work in Western Pennsylvania's booming heavy industries, including steel mills, coal mines, and railroads. Newcomers settled alongside paesani (countrymen from specific Italian towns or regions like Abruzzi, and Calabria) through chain migration. By 1930, more immigrants in Pittsburgh came from Italy than any other nation, with one out of every six city residents being foreign-born.I was a kid-in-a-candy-shore when we entered Wholey's Fish Market, legendary landmark fishmonger and market operating with its iconic neon sign and bustling counter service. It had EVERYTHING (including ground camel, which I passed on).I don't know how Mike knew me so well with the short amount of time we've been communicating, but one of our destination had "Denise" written all over it... The Pittsburgh Walk of Fame.The first ten stars are embedded in the sidewalk which includes George Benson, Nellie Bly, Andrew Carnegie, Rachel Carson, Roberto Clemente, Michael Keaton, Fred Rogers, Jonas Salk, Andy Warhol, and August Wilson—all luminaries with ties to southwestern Pennsylvania who have made notable contributions to our nation’s culture. We're just going to have to come back when these new ones appear.
David and Kim wanted to take us to lunch here but it just didn't work out. Primanti Brothers, in its original location, is famous for pioneering the iconic Pittsburgh piled high sandwich stacked with coleslaw and French fries directly inside the bread.
Primanti Bros. started in 1933 during the Great Depression when Joe Primanti opened a small sandwich cart in Pittsburgh's Strip District. The cart originally catered to overnight produce workers, truck drivers, and shift laborers who needed a fast, hearty, and cheap meal. The iconic addition of French fries and vinegar-based coleslaw directly inside the sandwich was born out of utility. It allowed drivers and workers to hold an entire meal in one hand while working or driving. I do appreciate clever!Steve gave his approval (I had the chili).Visible from everywhere is this interesting building. It is the current home for the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company. Founded in 1883 by Captain John B. Ford and John Pitcairn it is known today as PPG Industries, Inc. It was established as the first successful U.S. plate glass factory using poured-and-rolled methods rather than blowing.
I had to share this because I absolutely love tie-ins and coincidences. This building is on 395 in the Eastern Sierra on the shores of Owens Lake. We have driven by it dozens and dozens of times. This is the remains of the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Factory. In 1944, Columbia-Southern Chemical, a subsidiary of Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company, purchased the plant. It was used by PPG Industries as a salt extraction facility, soda ash manufacturing, and chemical recovery and reprocessing facility until it ceased operation in 1958. Cool coincidence.
Mike hit all the historic spots on his tour. We popped in the Original Oyster House (1870) to admire Pittsburgh's oldest continuously operating bar and restaurant.We then strolled along one of the three rivers.Point State Park sits at the confluence of Pittsburgh's Three Rivers. The triangular plot of land at the tip of "The Golden Triangle" is a significant place Pittsburgh's story and the birthplace of our community.It isn't often one can enter a building 262 years older than our Country. The Fort Pitt Block House was constructed in 1764 as a way to reinforce the defense of Fort Pitt. It is Pittsburgh's oldest standing structure. The fort itself was one of the largest fortifications in North America, and it consisted mainly of earthen construction with the majority of its ramparts and walls made up of dirt with sod bricks laid over them. The Block House has survived fires, floods, and at one point was a private residence. It is owned by the Daughters of the American Revolution and opened for all to see.
posted under |
0 comments:
Post a Comment