I am glad Tom mentioned houses plural re: Frank Lloyd Wright. Most folks know about Fallingwater, but Kentuck Knob is neat-o and based around hexagons (and our tour guide last year was candid about FLW's quirks, stubbornness, mistakes, etc.). Kentuck Knob also has outdoor sculpture gardens.
Altoona seems an odd place to suggest unless you are a railroad enthusiast because it's where a famous horseshoe train curve is located.
Up around Oil City and Titusville where the oil industry began (and where the nice museum Steve mentioned is), there is also a music box museum in Franklin, PA.
For natural wonders there are lots of state parks throughout the whole region. Wildflower enthusiasts can travel 30-35 minutes west of town to Raccoon Creek State Park's wildflower preserve. Ohiopyle State Park is an hour or so east of Pgh and has a number of rapids and waterfalls. Near Ohiopyle is Laurel Hill State Park with a nice hike through old hemlocks. Further away (about 2 hours northeast of downtown Pgh) is Cook Forest for those who like remaining stands of old growth forest.
Enjoy your travels, Rainer, and others.
-- Tim
Timothy R. Williams
Librarian
Music, Film & Audio Department
Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh
Check out this list of Pittsburgh jazz musicians:
http://carnegielibrary.org/research/music/pittsburgh/pittsburghjazzmusicians.html
________________________________________
From: Association for Recorded Sound Discussion List <[log in to unmask]> on behalf of Steve Smolian <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Sunday, May 3, 2015 12:36 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Pittsburgh in June
Years ago I visited Oil City, PA, within relatively easy driving distance of
Pittsburgh. There was a small but fascinating museum on the early days of
U.S. oil exploration, the rise of Standard Oil, the muckrakers, Ida Tarbell
in particular, etc. I was in an unsuccessful search for Ida Tarbell's
voice.
Steve Smolian
-----Original Message-----
From: Tom Fine
Sent: Friday, May 01, 2015 10:15 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Pittsburgh in June
Hi Rainer:
Definitely see the two Frank Lloyd Wright houses near Pittsburgh. And the
Warhol Museum, if modern
art is your thing. Because there was so much industrial wealth concentrated
in Pittsburgh, I suspect
you could spend several days and still not see all of the interesting
historical and cultural
attractions.
If you're interested in US Civil War history, Gettysburg is definitely worth
seeing, although a bit
of a drive. Take a day and walk the battlefields. There's a place down the
road from where the old
sightseeing tower was that rents horses and offers semi-guided rides of some
of the battlefield (at
least there was such a business 20 years ago when I visited there).
If you don't mind a few hours driving, go to Philadelphia and enjoy cheese
steaks, the museums and
(carefully) walk around the parts of downtown where you don't need body
armor. Philly is not the
safest city in the US, but you should be OK in daylight.
Also, check out the abandoned town of Centralia. There are signs warning you
to stay out, but you
can go poke around. Watch out for the smoldering cracks in the ground!
http://www.centraliapa.com/
If you like American baseball, the park in Pittsburgh is particularly nice.
Also the minor league
park in Scranton. And, the AAA NY-Penn League park at Williamsport is one of
the oldest surviving
baseball stadiums in the US. In that area, it's also to see all the signs of
the booming (now
slightly busted) shale-gas business.
If you got to Gettysburg and it gets you curious for more Civil War
sightseeing, head to Maryland
and check out Antietam, and there are more important Civil War sites as you
get closer to Washington
DC.
-- Tom Fine
----- Original Message -----
From: "Dr Rainer E. Lotz" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, May 01, 2015 9:39 AM
Subject: [ARSCLIST] Pittsburgh in June
> after the May conference ends, I have a week to spend, travelling by car.
> I have been advised to visit the Altoona area. Any other suggestions for
> sightseeing, scenery, antiques, fine dining, modern art in Pennsylvania?
>
> --
> Dr. Rainer E. Lotz
> Rotdornweg 81
> 53177 Bonn (Germany)
>
> Tel: 0049-228-352808
> Fax: 0049-228-365142
> Web: www.lotz-verlag.de
>
>
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