Tucked away on a side street in the heart of Pittsburgh’s Strip District is St. Patrick Catholic Church. From the outside the church is rather unassuming. It has a small, narrow tower and a simple brick exterior. A statue of St. Patrick stands out front. The building’s simple exterior belies the unique treasure that lies …
Nowadays the house doesn’t look like much. In fact, the building has been condemned and there are missing walls and broken windows. It will take millions of dollars to restore the house to its former glory, but former glory it once had. This house was once home to the National Negro Opera Company and saw …
**Update: Sadly, I have to update this post to say that in the summer of 2021 Conneaut Lake Park lost their Tumble Bug when its mechanism was scrapped. The cars, however, were saved and apparently sold to a collector who has aspirations to rebuild the ride. I would love to again update this post to …
If you frequent Route 30 between Ligonier and Latrobe, you are probably familiar with the old stone quarry tipple which was serviced by the Ligonier Valley Railroad. The stone tipple was part of a quarry which sat on the north wall of the Loyalhanna Gorge. It was used to load hopper cars full of gravel …
*Note: Special thanks to Fedele Musso, who took most of the vintage photos from the 1980s when the park closed. I was able to come across Mr. Musso’s photos on Ebay and purchased them for use in my own collection. While they are watermarked with the blog’s name so they cannot be stolen, they were …
Tucked along a back road in Butler County is a cemetery that time has almost all but forgotten. In fact, if you didn’t know it was there you would probably drive right past it. This cemetery is known as Black Cross Cemetery or Wooden Cross Cemetery, this wooded area is actually the unmarked final resting …
Overall, I haven’t been hugely impressed with some of the “improvements” that have been made on Pittsburgh’s North Side (ahem, Allegheny Center, gag). Anyway, thankfully someone had the foresight to save some of that area’s true treasures including the Carnegie Library of Allegheny, the Allegheny Post Office, and Buhl Planetarium. Buhl Planetarium is one that …
Linn Run State Park is absolutely one of Westmoreland County’s best places for hiking and spending time outdoors in nature. Whether you are at the park to see Adams Falls, Flat Rock swimming area, or just to have a picnic, there is one thing most visitors are familiar with — the remains of the McGinnis …
Note: Storyland is located on posted, private property and trespassing is strictly forbidden. Enjoy the trumpeter and statues that can be seen from the road from exactly that — the road. I’ve visited a lot of amusement parks over the years. While I love the historic value and unique rides that can be found at …
If you are a first-time visitor to Hershey it’s my guess you are probably making the trip in order to experience the town’s one-of-a-kind connection to chocolate. There are tons of fascinating things to do in the Harrisburg and Hershey area, but if it is your first time in the area the chocolate attractions are …
My boys have always been fans of railroads (If we are being honest, so have I). Maybe it’s genetic since my father is also a railfan and I grew up making model railroads and learning about steam engines with him. Naturally, when we had the opportunity to visit the Everett Railroad in Hollidaysburg, we all …
There is a lot of excitement in the air these days with the upcoming Mr. Rogers movie. Fred Rogers was such an iconic figure here in Pittsburgh that you can find tributes to his legacy in many different places around the area. One of my favorites is the Mister Rogers Neighborhood exhibit at the Heinz …
