Category Archives: Museums

Duquesne Incline Museum Poster

Duquesne Incline Museum: 140 Years of Engineering History for $0.50

UPDATE 8/13/2019 – Visit Very Local Pittsburgh for an updated guide to the Duquesne Incline Museum.

Photo credit: Councilwoman Kail Smith.

I have been saving this post about the Duquesne Incline for May 20. Today is the actual birthday of the Duquesne Incline, 140 years ago (May 20, 1877) the Duquesne Incline opened to the public. The Duquesne Incline as well as the Monongahela Incline are both still operate daily. Riding the incline and viewing Pittsburgh from Mt. Washington are staples on things to do when you visit Pittsburgh lists the incline image is one that is frequently featured in Pittsburgh photos.

I’d like to think I know about some of the best place to see in Pittsburgh but nothing quite compares to the view from the incline. When a friend comes to visit Pittsburgh from out of town, I take them to breakfast at Pamela’s or lunch at Primanti’s followed by a trip to the Duquesne Incline. And even though I have done this tour of Pittsburgh many, many times, riding up the incline from Station Square and looking down on the point never gets old. (Turns out the Steelers give their new players the exact same tour.)

The incline ride is worth it for the view of the city. The collection of post-cards, photos and newspaper articles on the walls of The Duquesne Incline’s visitors center is probably the best was to get a sense of 140 years of Pittsburgh in one room.

David H. Miller Working Museum at the Duquesne Incline

But there it one reason why I always take folks on the Duquesne Incline – the museum. The museum at the top of the Duquesne Incline is one of my favorite places to visit and I am surprised that there is no mention of the musuem on the Duquesne Incline website.  For $0.50, and you need to have exact change, you can take a self-guided tour of the machine room below the visitors center on Mt. Washington.

The poster that describes the inner workings of the incline is one of my favorites, I never seem to visit when the gift shop is open, but it is one of the Pittsburgh things I would like to have framed for my wall.

Here is a video tour of the Duquesne Incline Museum from the blog Phenomenal Place:

The Society for the Preservation of the Duquesne Heights Incline

The other impressive thing about the Duquesne Incline is that it has been operated by the The Society for the Preservation of the Duquesne Heights Incline since 1964. After the Duquesne Incline closed in 1962, a group of neighbors formed to reopen and operate the incline. The incline is actually owned by the Port Authority of Allegheny County and leased to the The Society for the Preservation of the Duquesne Heights Incline for $1 per year.

Ride the Incline & Visit the Duquesne Incline Museum

The Duquesne Incline is open 365 days a year.

Monday through Saturday: 5:30 a.m. to 12:30 a.m.
Sundays and Holidays: 7:00 a.m. to 12:30 a.m.

Follow the Duquesne Incline on Twitter @DuquesneIncline

Do you know more about the history of the Duquesne Incline?

Given that the Duquesne Incline has been run by a nonprofit for over 50 years, I am surprised that there is not more information about the preservation efforts online. Do you know more about the incline? Are there books one should read? If you are so inclined, please share links to more info in the comments. Thanks!

 

Old Allegheny County Jail Museum – Free Tours Offered Every Monday

Old Allegheny County Jail Museum

Photo credit: PHLF

The old Allegheny County Jail building sits are the corner of 5th and Ross Streets was designed by architect H. H. Richardson. This jail and was part of a larger complex designed by Richardson and built between 1884 and 1886. In 1995, Allegheny County built a new jail, (the one over by the Allegheny River that you have probably biked past on the Eliza Furnace trail, which most Pittsburghers refer to as “the jail trail”). After the new jail was built, the old Allegheny County jail was converted to house the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas Family Division.

I know that this building is a great example of H.H. Richardson’s work and a great example of the Romanesque Revival style that Richardson was know for, but what I didn’t know is that there is an Old Allegheny County Jail Musuem in the building that is open for tours. (If you have been following some of my posts about the historic designation for the Albright United Methodist Church building, that church which was built in 1906 is also a Romanesque Revival style building.)

Visiting the Old Allegheny County Jail Museum

The Old Allegheny County Jail Museum is open on Mondays from 11:30am-1pm. Docents from Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation are on hand to tell you about the place and get you started on the self-guided tour.

Open: Most Mondays from 11:30am-1pm (No tours on memorial day, check the PHLF Calendar before you go to confirm they are open.)
Location: Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas-Family Division, 440 Ross Street, Pittsburgh, 15219
Enter on Ross Street or through the great courtyard arch on Fifth Avenue.

Things to know before you go:

  • This is a courthouse, which means you will have to go through the security screening to enter the building.
  • There is no photography allowed in the building.

Learn more about the Old Allegheny County Jail

Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Allegheny County Jail

Pittsburgh Press photographer Michael Chikiris via The Digs, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

 

Happening This Week

American Idiot
Tuesday – Sunday
Heinz Hall, Cultural District

An all-new musical based on Green Day’s Grammy Award-winning multi-platinum album.
More info/tickets:  http://culturaldistrict.org/venues/heinz-hall

 

Night Of The Living Dead
Friday 5p
Senator John Heinz History Center, Strip District

This classic, locally-made 1968 horror movie is the terrifying take of a group of people trapped in a rural farmhouse who are attacked by unnamed “living dead” monsters. Ghostly attire is encouraged but not required.
More info: (412) 454-6000 

 

Manor At Midnight Oscar Classics: Chinatown
Saturday Midnight
Manor Theatre, Squirrel Hill

The Manor Theatre ends their midnight Oscar run with 1974’s Chinatown, a searing murder mystery directed by Roman Polanski, starring Jack Nicholson as an LA private eye on the trail of some very unsavory characters.
More info:  http://www.manorpgh.com/img/ManoratMIdnightOscar.pdf

 

Some information provided by The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Five Things To Do This Week (and One Next Week)

Akira
Tuesday 7p
ToonSeum, Cultural District

Based on the groundbreaking cartoon series, this 1988 animated Japanese film is set in an obsessively detailed version of a post-apocalyptic Japan.
More info: http://www.toonseum.org/

 

Obscure Game Night
Wednesday 9p
Hambone’s, Lawrenceville

Not much on the website, but it looks as if it’s a night dedicated to weird and obscure board games. Sounds ridiculously fun.
More info:  http://www.barsmart.com/bars/events.cfm?evnt=2A987CA4-A612-8638-C3FCEB69BDE5D8DD&id=990

 

MAKEnight
Thursday 6p-9p
Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh, North Side

Create keepsake items, feast on local artisan foods & specialty cocktails, more. Ages 21+.
More info:  http://www.pghcitypaper.com/pittsburgh/makenight/Event?oid=1610569

 

Gojira with Devin Townsend and The Atlas Moth
Saturday 8p
Mr. Smalls, Millvale

If you’re at all into metal, this is an awesome lineup. That’s a lot of musicianship for one evening.
More info/tickets:  http://www.mrsmalls.com/NewPHP/home.php?section=events

 

Pulp Fiction
Saturday Midnight
Manor Theatre, Squirrel Hill

Tarantino’s classic 1994 film shown in all its glory on the silver screen. If you’re like me, you were too young to see it when it was new.
More info:  http://www.manorpgh.com/img/ManoratMIdnightOscar.pdf

 

Arcade Comedy Theater Grand Opening
Friday, Feb 15 8p
Cultural District

I’m a week early on this one, but let’s support our newest comedy club. Their mission statement: “Arcade Comedy Theater provides an interactive platform for players of all levels, both onstage and off, to experience various forms of theatrical comedy, from proven standards to offbeat styles.”
More info:  http://arcadecomedytheater.com/

 

Some information provided by:
http://old.post-gazette.com/events/
http://www.pghcitypaper.com/pittsburgh/EventSearch

Four Things To Do This Week

Here’s your weekly events for your pre-holiday fulfillment. If anybody knows of a cool end-of-the-world party going on, let me know and I’ll write about it! eric@iheartpgh.com

PGH Vinyl Con Happy Hour (21+)
Wednesday, Dec 19 6p-12a
Brillobox, Lawrenceville
Drinks on the first floor, live DJ’s on the second, and vinyl vendors on the third! What more could you want? Oh yeah, there’s no cover. I’ll be there.

It’s A Wonderful Life
Tuesday, Dec 18 thru Saturday, Dec 22
Tue-Fri 8p, Sat 5p & 8p
Regent Square Theater
Bring your family to see this Christmas classic on the big screen! Help support the East End Cooporative Ministry’s food drive by bringing a nonperishable or canned goods. Free admission.

Your Concert Listings For The Week

Good Friday
Friday, Dec 21 5p
Andy Warhol Museum
Experience the museum in a truly social way at this weekly program in the gallery featuring special programs of music, film or performance art. A cash bar will be available and discounted museum admission is offered.
More info: (412) 237-8300