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Knowing Your Way Around Pittsburgh

As the second largest city in Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh boasts many attractions, but CEA conference-goers will likely be most interested in what is accessible by foot from the conference hotel during those open-ended moments on particular days and especially at night.

Conference Home Base: The Omni William Penn Hotel

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Address: 530 William Penn Place, Pittsburgh, PA 15219; Phone: 1-412-281-7100

(useful for checking out the location at a web site like

MapQuest or Google maps).

For the hotel web site, use as much of the following web site address as you

need: FindAHotel/PittsburghWilliamPenn.aspx

General Location: The hotel is bounded easterly and westerly by Grant Street and

William Penn Place (facing Mellon Square Park)—the front of the hotel—and is

bounded northerly and southerly by Sixth and Oliver Avenues respectively.

Food and Refreshment within the Omni William Penn Hotel

The hotel itself is generously provisioned with dining environments to suit every taste and pocketbook, comprising the award-winning Terrace Room restaurant; the Palm Court for light snacks and traditional afternoon tea; the Tap Room, a sports bar with for soups, sandwiches, and microbrews; the Amazon Café, a cyber café with soups, salads, wraps, and other healthy alternatives; Bruegger’s Bagels, in the hotel lobby, for assorted bagels, sandwiches, and soups; and the inevitable Starbucks Coffee Café, also in the lobby area.

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The Terrace Room

Venturing Out of the Hotel: A Quick Refresher on Geography

The central part of the city is bounded on the north by the Allegheny River and to the south by the Monongahela River. This main section of the city, essentially the Downtown business district area, forms roughly a triangle of land (the “Golden Triangle”) pointing westward, where the two rivers join to form the Ohio River, with the triangle’s westerly apex coming to a point in the vicinity of the aptly named Point State Park. A system of bridges connects the heart of the city to areas north and south across the adjoining rivers. As a Downtown hotel, the Omni William Penn is located within the Golden Triangle, which is bounded on the east by a major highway, Route 579.

Historical Note: The land of Point State Park was once home to Native Americans like

the Iroquois & Shawnee. When the French (Fort Duquesne) and British fought over this spot, the British won and erected Fort Pitt in 1759 to honor British Prime Minister William Pitt. A few years later the town plan known as Pittsborough was produced.

The Downtown Area

The following guide focuses primarily on the Downtown area mostly west of the conference hotel, i.e., if one were to head generally in the direction of Point State Park, but with a nod to the adjacent Cultural District, a rectangular area several blocks northeast and -west of the hotel in the vicinity of the Allegheny River.

But First: East of the Hotel, Bordered by Grant Street

Before considering a tour of streets west of the hotel, it is worth noting that the Grant Street exit on the eastern side of the hotel brings you—if you turn right (south)—into the vicinity of One Mellon Bank Center (500 Grant St. & 5th Avenue), where may be found The Carlton, one of Pittsburgh’s premier restaurants, receiving the coveted DiRona (Distinguished Restaurant of North America) Award. Also located at One Mellon Bank Center is Eadie’s Market & Catering, a 144-seat restaurant featuring homemade pastries for breakfast and quick-service lunchtime fare.

The Carlton, 412-391-4099

Eadie’s Market & Catering, 412-391-3993

Or try Café Euro Pittsburgh, in the U.S. Steel Tower, lower level, 600 Grant Street, 412-434-0800, for Mediterranean & Continental dishes.

Cross Grant Street (eastward) to Ross Street to find—the Common Plea Restaurant, 310 Ross Street, 412-697-3100 for fine Italian cuisine.

Or there’s always Bruegger’s Bagel Bakery, a popular chain in Pittsburgh, 531 Grant Street, 412-471-9249.

For shopping (and more dining), go to the Shops of One Oxford Centre, Plaza Level, further south on Grant Street at 4th Avenue (412-391-4300); for example:

Paradiso Ristorante, One Oxford Center, Level 3, 301 Grant Street, 412-392-0225, Italian

fare;

Au Bon Pain, One Oxford Center, 412-642-0619/412-642-2187, a bakery café for breads,

pastries, muffins, bagels, soups, sandwiches, salads;

Asiago Pasta Express, One Oxford Center, 412-392-0225.

Finally, consider taking a look at Union Station (or Pennsylvania Station, commonly called Penn Station)—a historic train station at Grant Street and Liberty Avenue. To get there, take a left at Grant Street from the hotel, heading northward, until Grant Street meets Liberty Avenue.

West of the Hotel, Bordered by William Penn Place

All the discussed restaurants and other sites for pedestrians that follow are west, northwest, or southwest of the hotel, within the Golden Triangle, as you leave the Omni William Penn Hotel by the front entrance on William Penn Place facing (westward) Mellon Square Park. A primer on the basic street grid within the Downtown triangle area will be helpful, when street addresses for particular restaurants, shops, and attractions are later given. The same will be done eventually for the Cultural District.

It helps to start with Liberty Avenue, a major thoroughfare, running easterly-westerly, with one set of city streets north of it (the Cultural District) and another set of city streets—the rest of the Downtown area, including the conference hotel—south of it. Because of how the avenue is angled with regard to other Downtown streets, sooner or later a number of streets within the triangle connect with or come to an end at Liberty Avenue.

So, exit the hotel on William Penn Place facing Mellon Square Park. Turn right to encounter the following parallel streets: Sixth Avenue, Strawberry Way, and Seventh Avenue. Keep going and you will come to Liberty Avenue. If instead you turn left (westward) down Sixth Avenue, Strawberry Way, or Seventh Avenue, all three streets come to an end at Liberty Avenue(!), with a different system of streets on the other side of Liberty—the Cultural District.

If you exit the hotel and turn left on William Penn Place (which eventually becomes Cherry Way in that direction), you will encounter the following streets all parallel to each other: Oliver Avenue, Fifth Avenue, Forbes Avenue, Fourth Avenue, Third Avenue, Boulevard of the Allies, and First Avenue (there is no Second Avenue). If you turn right on Oliver Avenue, passing Smithfield Street, Oliver goes no further than Wood Street. But if you turn right on Fifth Avenue and keep walking, you will eventually encounter . . . Liberty Avenue. Turn right on Fourth Avenue, Third Avenue, Boulevard of the Allies, or First Avenue, and all of them eventually end or intersect with a street called Stanwix St., which—intersecting with Liberty—curves to form the westernmost boundary of the Cultural District.

Attractions on Downtown Streets Just Described

All phone numbers have the 412 area code.

Shops

To single out just two department stores, consider the following:

Macy’s, 400 Fifth Ave., between William Penn Place and Smithfield St., 232-2000;

Saks Fifth Avenue, 513 Smithfield St., 263-4800.

Eateries

Bruegger’s Bagel Bakery, 429 Fourth Avenue, south of Grant St., 434-0188

Bagels

Zorba’s Gyros, Fourth Avenue & 400 Smithfield St., 471-9930

Greek fare

Ephesus Pizza, 322 Fourth Avenue, 552-9020

Traditional & specialty pizza, such as grilled chicken or lamb kabob pizza

Subway, Fourth & 401 Wood St., 471-7277, or 411 Seventh Avenue, 391-3177

Subs

Courthouse Tavern, 310 Forbes Avenue, 338-8608

Lunch menu for Downtown workers, sandwiches, subs

Au Bon Pain, 120 Fifth Avenue Place, 2nd Floor, #210, 471-6422

A bakery café for breads, pastries, muffins, bagels, soups, sandwiches, salads

The Capital Grille, 301 Fifth Avenue, 338-9100

One of the city’s newest steak houses

Franktuary, 325 Oliver Avenue, 288-0322

Hot dogs, fruit shakes, & kettle-cooked potato chips, wraps, salads, breakfasts, some

veggies

Monte Cello’s Downtown, 305 Seventh Avenue, one block from Westin Convention Center Hotel

& Convention Center, 261-2080

Pizza, pasta, hoagies, salads

Bruegger’s Bagel Bakery, 411 Seventh Avenue, near Liberty Avenue, 261-5312

Primanti Bros. Cherry Way, 11 Cherry Way, 566-8051

Pittsburgh’s “favorite sandwich shop,” “famous for piling fresh cut potatoes and slaw

between two pieces of soft Italian bread”

Mandarin Gourmet, 305 Wood Street, 261-6151

Asian fare

Mamma Lucia Pizza, 433 Wood Street near Forbes, 281-0416

Italian fare

Jimmy’s Post Tavern & Up Over Jimmy’s, 110 Smithfield St., 562-0239

Historic tavern features city’s “#1 fish sandwich, winner of the ‘Golden Hook Award,’” with soups, sandwiches, & snacks

Subway, 414 Smithfield Street, 261-4840

Eateries Along Liberty Avenue

Cuzamil Restaurante Mexicano, 500 Liberty Avenue, 642-2000

Mexican cuisine

Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwiches, 506 Liberty Avenue, 697-0999

More than two dozen sub & gourmet sandwiches

Trilogy, 620 Liberty Avenue, on ground floor of Two PNC Plaza, 697-2800

American cuisine

Morton’s, The Steakhouse, 625 Liberty Avenue, Suite 180 in CNG Tower, 261-7141

“Best steakhouse in North America” (People Magazine)

Subway, 703 Liberty Avenue, 434-7827

J. Marie’s Deli, 947 Liberty Avenue, 281-4838

Soups, salads, sandwiches, vegetarian selections, with jazz & classical bkgrd. music

& further up Liberty Avenue,

The Original Fish Market Restaurant, Westin Convention Center Hotel, 1001 Liberty Avenue, 227-

3657.

Seafood & sushi bar

Two Places Worth Strolling By or Lingering a While

(1) Market Square

Exit the conference hotel on William Penn Place and turn left. Pass Oliver Avenue and turn right on Fifth Avenue. Stroll down Fifth Avenue past Smithfield St. and Wood St. all the way to either Market St. or Graeme St. Turn left on either to enter vicinity of Market Square. (Forbes Avenue, paralleling Fifth Avenue, will get you there, too.)

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One of the older parts of the city, Market Square was created in 1764, when John Campbell mapped out the city plan, and was home to the first courthouse, the first jail, and the first newspaper (the Post-Gazette, in 1786). As one city-guide writer puts it, “The square smack in the middle of downtown, ringed by tall buildings and a panoply of restaurants, is exactly the town center many urban areas still wish they had.”

On Market St. near Fifth Avenue, Ciao Baby, 435 Market St., 281-7400

Italian cuisine

100 Fifth Avenue, Costanzo’s, 232-0706

Italian fare

On Graeme St. near Fifth Avenue, the 1902 Landmark Tavern, 24 Market Square, 471-1902.

This establishment, one of the city’s oldest—originally opening as the Dimling Brothers Bar and Restaurant (German cuisine)—has had other names like Cheshire Cat and Crazy Quilt, and is best known for its raw bar, vodka bar, and gourmet chops & steaks.

Within Market Square, look also for the following:

Yet another Bruegger’s Bagel Bakery, 25 Market Square, 281-2515;

another Primanti Bros., 2 Market Square, 261-1599;

La Gondola Pizzeria, 4 Market Square, 261-5252;

Buon Giorno Café, 5 Market Square, 471-9158;

Starbucks, 7 Market Square, 201-0296 (there are a number of others in the city not listed here);

City Café, 210 Forbes Avenue, 288-2933;

China Palace, 210 Forbes Avenue, 263-2566;

& another Subway, 2 Market Place, 261-2955.

Also, consider the Original Oyster House, 20 Market Square, 566-7925.

Established in 1871, this Pittsburgh landmark is the city’s oldest bar and restaurant (the

site of Bear Tavern, 1827)—famous for jumbo fish sandwiches & seafood.

For shopping in the vicinity, try the Fifth Avenue Place Arcade Shops, 120 Fifth Avenue (the

corner of Fifth & Liberty Avenues), 456-7800, with its “fashions, tasteful eateries, quaint

specialties, & the charm of a European arcade.”

E.g., Caffe Amante, 120 Fifth Avenue Place, for Italian cuisine, 391-1266

(2) Pittsburgh Plate Glass Place (PPG Place)

Exit the conference hotel on William Penn Place and turn left. Pass Oliver, Fifth Avenue, and Forbes Avenues. (William Penn Place turns into Cherry Way, as noted before.) Turn right on Fourth Avenue and stroll down past Smithfield St. and Wood St. Soon you will enter PPG Place, with its impressive Oz-like set of buildings, which is just south of and adjacent to Market Square. You may feel as if you have entered another world, a kind of make-believe city within the city.

To demystify it, PPG Place is one of the major distinctive and recognizable features of the Downtown area, a complex of buildings named for its main tenant, PPG Industries, one of the world’s largest glass manufacturers, which initiated the project in 1979 as its world headquarters, completed in 1984.

Designed in a neogothic style, the complex is anchored by a 635-foot tower with 40 floors, but actually consists of six buildings, all of matching glass design, covering six city blocks, bound by Forbes Avenue and the Boulevard of the Allies on its north and south sides, and by Stanwix and Wood Streets on its east and west sides.

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The plaza at the center is a popular meeting place. In winter, the water fountain and obelisk at the center of the plaza are covered with a large Christmas tree and ice-skating rink. A parking garage lies beneath the plaza.

PPG Eateries

One PPG Place, #5, River City Inn, 391-1707

At Two PPG Place, look for a food court, lower level, featuring the following:

Asiago Pasta Express, --

Au Bon Pain, 471-7353

Grecian Isles, 391-8338

Little China, 281-7033

Market St. Deli, 471-5851

Quizno’s, 471-7849

Sbarro, 281-2070.

Three PPG Place, Einstein Bros. Bagels, 434-0343

Six PPG Place & Third Avenue, for a more upscale dining experience: Ruth’s Chris Steak House 391-4800.

The Cultural District & Its Attractions

Also located within the Golden Triangle, the Cultural District—as a subset of the Downtown area—is bounded by Liberty Avenue to the south and fronted by the Allegheny River and Fort Duquesne Boulevard on the north. It is bounded on the west by Stanwix Street and to the east by 11th Street. If you keep in mind all the Downtown streets that lead to Liberty Avenue (i.e., Fifth Avenue, Oliver Avenue, Sixth Avenue, or Seventh Avenue), then—when you get to Liberty Avenue—just cross the avenue from one of those streets parenthetically listed and you are in the Cultural District.

The Street Grid of the Cultural District

As previously observed, the Cultural District has a different set of streets from the rest of the Downtown area already discussed. For example, two main streets running roughly parallel to, and north of, Liberty Avenue are Penn Avenue, going through the middle of the Cultural District, and Fort Duquesne Boulevard, parallel to the Allegheny River. (Slightly north of the boulevard, right alongside the river, is the 10th Street Bypass.)

The Cultural District’s main cross streets, east of and parallel to Stanwix Street—running perpendicular to Fort Duquesne Boulevard, Penn Avenue, and Liberty Avenue—are mostly numbered streets, but differ from the previously mentioned numbered streets of the Downtown area in that those of the Cultural District are actually called “streets,” not “avenues.”

So, heading eastward from Stanwix Street, the main cross streets encountered in the Cultural District are Cecil Way, 6th Street, 7th Street, Tito Way, 9th Street, 10th Street, and 11th Street, where the Cultural District ends. (There are some lesser cross streets in the Cultural District, but the sites listed below are accessible from the streets just reviewed.)

Restaurants

At Western End of Cultural District

Max & Erma’s Restaurant, 630 Stanwix Street, 471-1140

Full-service restaurant/bar “with eclectic atmosphere”

On 6th Street

The Lemon Grass Café, 124 6th Street, 765-2222

Pittsburgh’s only Cambodian cuisine

Christos Mediterranean Grille, 130 6th Street, 261-6442

Greek & vegetarian cuisine

Palazzo Ristorante, 144 6th Street, 434-6244

Italian fare

Six Penn, 146 6th Street, 566, 7366

American bistro

Casa Blanca (or Palate) Bistro, 212 6th Street, across from Heinz Hall, 281-3090

Spanish, Moroccan, & French fusion cuisine

On 7th Street

Grille on Seventh, 130 7th Street, Suite 10, 391-1004

Mostly American cuisine

F. Tambellini Ristorante, 139 7th Street, 391-1091

Northern Italian cuisine

On Penn Avenue, running through length of Cultural District

Subway, 540 Penn Avenue, 281-2279

Bravo Franco, 613 Penn Avenue, just steps from Heinz Hall & the Benedum Theater, 642-6677

Italian cuisine

Café Zao, 649 Penn Avenue, next to the O’Reilly Theater, 325-7007

Portuguese cuisine infused with flavors from Indonesia, Brazil, India, & China

Nine on Nine Restaurant & Bistro, 900 Penn Avenue, 338-6463

Upscale restaurant, translating French-inspired American dishes into contemporary

statements

Mark’s Grille & Catering, 923 Penn Avenue, 471-6401

Food & drinks “in warm and fun atmosphere”

August Henry’s City Saloon, 946 Penn Avenue, within a block of the David L. Lawrence

Convention Center, 765-3270

American cuisine & comfort food in turn-of-century atmosphere

Sonoma Grille, 947 Penn Avenue, 697-1136

California wine bistro with West Coast cuisine

Further East in Cultural District

Tonic Bar & Grill, corner of 10th & Liberty (971 Liberty Avenue), 456-0460

“Fresh, fusion, grilled cuisine”

If you stroll west down Liberty Avenue all the way to Commonwealth Place, bordering Point State Park, and turn right on Commonwealth Place, you’ll be in the vicinity of one more restaurant, The Palomino Restaurant, Four Gateway Center in Plaza at Gateway Center, 642-7711, an upbeat restaurant, rotisserie, and bar.

Other attractions

The August Wilson Center for African American Culture. Exit the conference hotel on William Penn Place, turn right, and head up William Penn Place to Liberty Avenue. The center is at the eastern edge of Downtown Pittsburgh, at the corner of Liberty Avenue, 10th Street, & William Penn Place, diagonally across from the Westin Convention Center hotel and anchoring the eastern border of the Cultural District. [Note: Apparently the building will not be officially open until several weeks after the conference dates.]

The David L. Lawrence Convention Center, bounded by 9th and 11th Streets, and on the north by Fort Duquesne Boulevard, paralleling the Allegheny River. This is a 1.5 million square foot convention, conference, and exhibition center completed in 2003.

Benedum Center for the Performing Arts, 719 Liberty Avenue, 456-6666. Formerly known as the Stanley Theater, it is home to the Pittsburgh Opera, the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, and Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera, and also home to dance, contemporary-to-classical music, and touring Broadway shows, having been renovated in the late 1980s.

Bynam Theater, 803 Liberty Avenue, 456-1377. Mid-sized performance hall.

Pittsburgh Symphony Heinz Hall, 600 Penn Avenue, 392-4900. This concert hall is the cornerstone of the Downtown Cultural District, home to the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, also for Broadway shows, popular events.

Watercolors Gallery, 901 Penn Avenue, 201-4003. This gallery is one block from convention center, displaying artwork of all media.

West of the Cultural District, in Point State Park, is the Fort Pitt Museum, 101 Commonwealth Place, Point State Park, 281-9284. Located on the original site of Fort Pitt, the museum is a collection of artifacts and exhibits telling the story of Pittsburgh’s founding days and military history. (The only intact remnant of the original Fort Pitt in Point State Park is a small brick building called the Blockhouse, an outbuilding known as a redoubt, erected in 1764 and thought to be the oldest building in Western Pennsylvania, and has been preserved by the Daughters of the American Revolution.) Parts of the Fort Pitt foundation have been excavated and some of the fort rebuilt to give visitors a sense of the fort’s size. In this rebuilt section is housed the Fort Pitt Museum.

Briefly: Beyond the Downtown/Cultural District

To catalogue further the city’s attractions could easily turn the foregoing into a much more extensive traveler’s guide. Those desiring a fuller account are encouraged to visit a Pittsburgh web site (e.g., hrrp://), especially if transportation is no obstacle. Then one could readily visit, for example, the following.

(1) Less than one mile from the Downtown Pittsburgh central business district is the so-called Strip District with its trendy restaurants northeast of the Downtown area, past Route 579 along the Allegheny River.

(2) Located at the entrance to the Strip District is an exceptional museum of history, the Senator John Heinz History Center, profiling the people and events shaping the region. Go up 11th Street, at the eastern limit of the Cultural District, to Smallman Street, and head east on that street to the Center, 1212 Smallman Street, 454-6000. This is a Smithsonian affiliate and home to the new Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum. It has six floors of exhibits.

(3) To the south, the Station Square area is one of the trendiest areas of Pittsburgh (the southside Carson Street district) with a number of restaurants and shops on the other side of the Monongahela River; it is accessed by the Smithfield Street Bridge. It is a short cab ride from the hotel.

(4) Also on the southern side of the Monongahela, but further west, the Duquesne Incline is an interesting attraction for tourists. Scaling Mt. Washington (or “Coal Hill”), the Duquesne Incline is an inclined plane (or funicular) railroad, completed in 1877, and measuring 800 feet long, 400 feet in height, inclined at a 30-degree angle. Originally carrying cargo up and down Mt. Washington in the late 1800s, it later carried passengers, with similar inclines later built all over Mt. Washington. But as more roads were built on Coal Hill, most other inclines were closed. By the 1940s, only the Duquesne Incline and Monongahela Incline remained. Closed in 1962, the Duquesne Incline reopened a year later, totally refurbished, with an observation deck added to provide a magnificent view of Pittsburgh’s Golden Triangle of Downtown Pittsburgh and the surrounding area, including the upper Ohio River Valley and lower Allegheny River Valley.

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Utilizing two original 1877 cable cars, the Duquesne Incline is today a working museum. The Upper Station, on 1220 Grandview Avenue (412-381-1665), includes, as noted, a new platform for the public, enabling all to view as well the Incline’s historic hoisting equipment, along with displays regarding the history of the Incline and Pittsburgh.

If you depart the Duquesne Incline at the Upper Station on Grandview Avenue, not far to your left is another fine dining experience awaiting you—the aptly named Bella Vista Ristorante, 1204 Grandview Avenue, 431-1660, for American/Italian cuisine and a spectacular view.

(5) Going north on 7th Street and crossing the Allegheny River at the 7th Street (Andy Warhol) Bridge leads you shortly to the Andy Warhol Museum on 117 Sandusky St., 237-8300, featuring permanent collections of art and archives, with temporary exhibitions including work by other artists also presented regularly.

The foregoing does not exhaust the sights to be seen in the Pittsburgh area, especially if you have transportation, or share a brief taxi ride; e.g., the Carnegie Science Center; the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh; the Carnegie Museum of Natural History with its famous dinosaur collection; the Carnegie Museum of Art especially know for its significant holdings of impressionist and post-impressionist work; the renowned Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens; the National Aviary (this nation’s premier bird park); Pittsburgh’s world-class zoo; and the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh. At the conference, CEA will provide you with even more tourist information, but with this Pittsburgh Guide in hand, the intrepid CEA conference-goer will have a running start for dining, shopping, sight-seeing, and theater-going in the vicinity of the conference hotel, and points beyond.

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