Old Economy Village is definitely a great historical site to visit in the Pittsburgh area. Settled…read moreby the Harmonists in 1824, this village setting provides several artifacts, live demonstrations, and interesting historical facts about a group of people who settled in western Pennsylvania and became successful industrialists before perishing by their own volition.

This is somewhat of a hidden in plain view gem on the Ohio River. I drove by here for years going…read moreto the airport and finally made a trip on a Friday afternoon. The premises were quiet as we were basically the only guests there so we essentially got a private tour. The grounds are beautiful and it's always great to learn about the history of our region. And there's a strong moral to the story of this settlement... Practicing celibacy is not the answer for a thriving community.

The Depreciation Lands Museum is a nonprofit village that teaches visitors about local life in the…read more1700s to 1800s. Many people do not understand what "Depreciation Lands" means. American soldiers who had fought in the Revolutionary War had been paid with paper money called Continental Currency that had depreciated so much that is was almost worthless. As a result, in 1783, the Pennsylvanian government purchased the Depreciation Lands--720,000 acres in the counties of Allegheny, Butler, Beaver, Lawrence, and Armstrong--from Indians in order to compensate the soldiers. Currently, the Depreciation Lands Museum is open on Sundays from 1-4 PM from May through October. Some special events, such as ghost-hunting and the Hydref Fall Festival, are held at other times. The suggested donation is $5 per adult and $3 per child, and these donations can be paid with cash or check in person or with PayPal or credit card on the website. My husband and I parked our vehicle in a parking lot that was near a bank across the street. We spent one hour at the museum, although other people might want to visit for a longer time. We felt interested in seeing the church, cemetery, tavern, barn, workshop, log house, blacksmith shop, Indian wigwam, herb garden, bake oven, smokehouse, and schoolhouse. All staff members were volunteers. The staff members wore costumes, and they reenacted work such as processing flax into linen thread, weaving the linen thread into cloth, cooking pumpkin soup in a hearth, making nails out of iron, etcetera. The volunteers spoke nicely to us, and they communicated educational information.

This place is super cool. Honestly it's right off the side of a busy highway but not many people…read moreknow it's there. They require at least a $5 donation to tour the museum. Honestly it's worth it. They are open on Sundays from 1-4pm except when it's winter. And seriously you could spend the whole 3 hours there. The workers are extremely knowledgeable and they act like they came right out of a history book for that time period. It's great for all ages.

Amazing street festival that celebrates biking, walking, skating, Zumba, Yoga and live music…read more Always on Sundays in the summer to give you special access to streets, tunnels and bridges that are normally exclusive to cars. The organizers do a great job of making this safe, fun and family friendly. Last weekend, for example, I was treated to a bike ride from Market Square through the Armstrong Tunnel and over the 10th St Bridge. There's lots of opportunities to take free Yoga or Zumba classes. Open Streets is a blast, don't miss it!!!

Yea, we had fun. This is not our first OSB. But it is…read moreslow crowded and people walking take up the whole side of the street. Hey, use the side walk and/or make room for for those on bikes for crying out load!. Watch for the young kids. They are having fun but can be all over the place. The best part may be the vendors, music and entertainment along the way. Like to stop and see some of the vendors and music and lumber jack throw. Fun to talk with the vendors and others stopped at places along the way. Some nice food options. We started on the Southside and did the loop across the Birmingham Bridge to the Armstrong tunnel, did not go into downtown. Then we did the Southside bike trail to Homestead to actually get some biking in. If you have kids come out and enjoy.

We were looking for a fun experience for my husband's big sis, and boy did we find it at Bayernhof!…read moreI couldn't recommend this museum more highly. Lisa, our tour guide, was just perfect - entertaining, enthusiastic, knowledgeable, and fun. Our 2-hour experience was a joy - it passed so quickly! You call ahead to arrange a tour, and Lisa returned my call maybe a day or 2 later. We arranged it for a Tuesday morning at 10am (the other option was something like 2pm). The 19,000 square foot Bavarian-inspired home is atop a large hill outside Sharpsburg overlooking the Allegheny - and with a lovely view of downtown. You come thru the gate and park near the door. Inside, Lisa talks a bit about the foyer - chock full of collectibles - and takes you to the main room with that fabulous view, a comfy room with a bar just off the kitchen. You settle in to wait for everyone to arrive. The lecture there takes about 30mins, & you learn about the wealthy, quirky eccentric, Charlie "Chuck" Brown, who built this quirky home in 1982. He was a total prankster who had very little sense about how to build a really stable home. After his death, the board would save the home for all to enjoy. The real treat is hearing from some of the 165 music machines spread thruout the house - some Chuck collected, some purchased by the board set up by Chuck's lawyer, Dave, who - with Chuck's faithful secretary - took on the Herculean task after Chuck's death of fulfilling his dream of turning the home into a museum. The mysteries of the home reveal themselves as you go - and Lisa relishes in showing them off - from the hidden doors, wet bars (in almost every room! Chuck loved to entertain though he was socially awkward!), observatory, below ground cellar, cave, and pool room with a waterfall. It's great. Lisa shares tons of stories, knowledge, anecdotes, and more. Our favorite of the fabulous musical machines: the cylinder player on the landing that has a tiny dancing black bird figure inside; the singing birds with real feathers (!!) in the bird cage upstairs; the uber-art deco Decap machine downstairs with the purple velvet pool table; and the fringe lamp victrola in the upstairs guest room. As you're walking thru the house, you can't believe all there is to see and learn. We were fascinated! Just go! You won't regret it.

This is the best kept secret in Pittsburgh. I have now toured it three times, and it never fails to…read moredelight. Tours are small and cozy, so you feel like you're taking a tour of the house as a friend. The guides are engaging and knowledgable. Don't miss it!

The Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh is quite possibly the best museum of its kind. Off the top…read moreof my head, I can't think of another major city among the many I have been to across the country that does a better job of encompassing its city's history so well in a museum. I'm glad I finally took the time out to visit, as I had not visited on my many prior visits to Pittsburgh. The museum does have a few exhibits dedicated to Heinz ketchup, but there's so much more from natural history to sports history to the periods of time where Pittsburgh was a national leader in steel and glass-making. I especially liked the "Pittsburgh: A Tradition of Innovation" area and the small space they have dedicated to Mister Rogers Neighborhood. The Pittsburgh sports exhibits are really comprehensive, covering non-traditional sports in addition to their major teams (Penguins, Steelers, & Pirates). Even if you don't care for sports, there's a decent variety of exhibits that are sure to catch your interest. The facility itself is wonderfully modern and well organized, such that it's easy to get from exhibit to exhibit without getting lost. There is a decent gift shop and cafe on the first floor. I'd highly recommend a visit to the Senator John Heinz History Center if you're interested in learning about the history of the city of Pittsburgh, or are a first time visitor.

More of a 3.8…read more This place came up over, and over, and over again on lists of places to go to when visiting Pitt. And, I get why. The place has a bunch of random (could choose a better word here) history pieces. Where the place could do better is expand on some of these pieces. Example, as a huge fan of Mr. Rogers and saying you have a part of the set, ok, yeah, you do, and it was awesome to see, but it was such a small fixture, there could have been more. At 20/person to enter, it's worth the trip since it's relatively affordable compared to some 40-50/pp spots. Can easily do 1.5 hours here.

I have been here on more than a few occasions, going all the way back to school field trips as a…read morechild. Generally, it's a pretty cool place to visit and explore. This time we checked out an "Experience" from our local library, which allows free admission. This program is great, and allows you to visit Meadowcroft, plus the Heinz History Center, and the Fort Pitt Museum. In the morning, we explored the visitor center and the Native American Village. We liked throwing the Atlatl, which launches big, spear-like darts at a fake deer target to see if you can get them to stick. Afterwards, we left the site to go have lunch about 15 minutes away, and then did a short hike at Cross Creek Lake, where we saw a historic Truss Bridge from 1881. We came back to Meadowcroft, and climbed the steps to the Rock Shelter. We had seen this before, but we were able to experience some excavation work with the staff and scientists. We saw a recent discovery of a chipped flint that was 3,000 years old. Afterwards, we finished exploring the rest of the property. We liked throwing axes, playing double ball, and some other games. The old museum part was slightly disappointing, as it smelled heavily of mold, and I didn't want to stay in the buildings because of the smell. Neat old coaches and wagons in there, but I saw them before, so we were in and out quickly. Lastly, we did the Historic Covered Bridge (looks like it was re-done recently with new wood), the school, church, blacksmith shop and log cabin. All pretty cool to see. Overall, a nice day here at Meadowcroft ... Cheers!

Not too far from Pittsburgh (~1 hr) but the narrow 2 lane rural desolate Google Map route was white…read moreknuckling. All the docents were immersed in their roles. We threw spears and tomahawk. The geologist at the rock shelter was very interesting. There was a guest from Toronto who drove up from Wheeling to visit Meadowcroft. The conference center is still under construction. The bathrooms are open. Lots of stalls that are roomy. The gift shop was a great starting and ending point.

This is one of those Pittsburgh attractions that everyone knows exists but many people have never…read morebeen inside. It is part museum, part event venue and works well for both. There is a parking lot under the lawn of the museum that is very reasonably priced, but there is also street parking in the area along with other surface lots. The museum portion of the space is interesting, but you get a lot more out of it if you are able to take a tour. There is just some information that can't be conveyed well with just looking at the objects. It is an absolutely beautiful space and while the exhibits might not take a large amount of time to go through, you'll enjoy the time you spend there. The auditorium is well maintained and the seats fairly comfortable, especially for an older venue. It is the type of place where you can't really have a bad seat. Overall, a great place to spend some time and absolutely worth a visit.

We attended a graduation ceremony at the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial. It was a great place for a…read moresmaller graduation. The aesthetic of the building was amazing. There was not a bad seat in the auditorium. You felt close to the ceremony and we were able to see well. The seats were comfortable. The elevators and bathrooms were dated. This is to be expected. The elevators were very compact. With a larger group there was some waiting. We had a cocktail on a different floor and with an older adult logistics were difficult. The room for the cocktail hour was spacious and well suited for the event. Parking was in a parking garage directly underneath the building. Again for someone with mobility issues it was a long walk. We enjoyed the ceremony and the history of the building. I would recommend taking a look even if you don't have an event taking place. The architecture alone is worth the visit.

I loved visiting Wintergarden at PPG Place when I was there in December! There was ice-skating,…read moredecorations, and Santa Claus's from all over the world. There was even a place to buy hot chocolate and soft pretzels after you're done ice-skating. The ice-skating is monitored so you don't have to worry about a bunch of crazy fools out there! An absolutely wonderful experience in the heart of Pittsburgh. Forgot to mention all the wonderful gingerbread houses on display from local schools. They are so unique and have many different themes. This year they had a big Ben clock house, a Heinz Field house, and my favorite, the West Coast Christmas gingerbread house. A great place for everyone for a fun night out in the city!

If you've never been to the Wintergarden at PPG Place during December, you're missing out on a…read morePittsburgh staple. It's a free area that features a beautiful tree - surrounded by the seasonal arts and crafts of local school groups - and an array of "Santa" mannequins from cultures all around the world, carefully dressed and decorated to best reflect how that culture views Santa and celebrates the season. I admittedly use the word "Santa" loosely because some cultures don't have a Santa figure remotely resembling the one we know and love; the purpose of the display is to highlight different holiday traditions from around the globe - not just to talk about Santa himself. Because this is a glass building, the colors from the displays and holiday lights on the tree reflect and glow all around you; it adds to the festive atmosphere considerably. A Crazy Mocha ensures that you can warm up with a hot beverage and snack, perhaps if you stop in after ice skating at PPG. The decorations as a whole change a little bit year to year - this year there were no model trains, for example, which made me sad - but overall the place becomes a warm and beautiful escape from the Pittsburgh weather and holiday stress we all deal with. And the Santa mannequins always make an appearance no matter what. I admittedly don't know what this building is like sans Santa displays, but I do know that come the Christmas season I always visit this place at least once. It's a wonderful tribute to the many different ways people celebrate the season, and I appreciate seeing it every year - it's truly one of the best ways to get into the holiday spirit.