Photo of the Day: Yugoslav Room, Cathedral of Learning, Pittsburgh PA

Previously, I posted about the Irish, Turkish, and African Heritage rooms in the Cathedral of Learning, on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh. But I also felt the need to take this picture of another “Nationality Room” there, the Yugoslav Room, when I visited in October 2019.

This was hardly the best-lit of the rooms I saw that day, but it is a miniature jewel because of its combination of wood carving, weaving and lace making. I am sure that the Yugoslav immigrant community in Pittsburgh took special pride when the room was dedicated in March 1939.

Start with the chairs, which were carved by students at the International Art School in Zagreb. The director of that school, Vojta Branis, journeyed over to the U.S. twice during the room’s construction to supervise the work.

But take a look at the woodwork on the walls (paneled in Slavonian oak) and ceilings. Believe it or not, that was done back in what was then Yugoslavia, all with small pocket knives.

The two portraits above the blackboard depict Vuk Karadzic and Bishop Josip Strossmayer, who compiled the Serbian dictionary.

Photo of the Day: Cymbidium Golden Vanguard, Phipps Conservatory, Pittsburgh PA

I photographed this orchid while at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens in Pittsburgh last October. I am sure that the Orchid Room at this local treasure would be appreciated by perhaps the most famous orchid lover in fiction, Rex Stout’s private detective Nero Wolfe, who kept a greenhouse on the top floor of his New York brownstone residence. 

Warm- to cool-growing, the yellow beauty in this picture blooms from early summer through early winter. It is best to water it once a week in summer but every 10 days in winter.

I am sorry that Pittsburgh residents and visitors won’t have the chance to visit Phipps—at least for a while—due to the coronavirus. It presents, in every room, what every person needs a reminder of: the beauty of God’s handiwork in nature.

Photo of the Day: Sculpture and Rider, Allegheny Landing, Pittsburgh

I took this photo in what seems like an eon ago, in terms of freedom of movement: last October, while on vacation in Pittsburgh. I hadn’t intended to do so at the time, but the image captures at once one of the unique appeals of this stretch of greenery between the 6th and 7th Street bridges on the north bank of the Allegheny River next to PNC Park, the Pittsburgh Pirates’ ballpark: its sculptures and its use for recreation. 

Since its dedication in 1984, Allegheny Landing has pointed the way for other major cities on how to capitalize, in a different way, on one of the original reasons for their existence: their location by rivers. In the beginning, rivers served as points of commerce; now, more primally, they remind us of the mainstay of life itself: water.

Photo of the Day: European Fan Palm, Phipps Conservatory, Pittsburgh PA

I took this photograph of this unusual palm while visiting Phipps Conservatory on a vacation to Pittsburgh last October.

Sometimes called the Mediterranean fan palm, this the European fan palm, as you can see here, can really spread out—6 to 10 feet wide. What this picture doesn’t show is how hardy this is. Established palms of this kind can survive temperatures to 10 degrees or even lower, and are drought-resistant, as well.

Photo of the Day: The Cathedral of Learning, Pittsburgh PA

Rising out of the campus of the University of Pittsburgh, the 535-foot-tall Cathedral of Learning is not just a skyscraper but a wonderful mosaic of multi-cultural America at its best—and, I would have to imagine, a delightful academic environment. 

I first visited this site nearly 30 years ago. When I revisited this past October, I was glad to have the opportunity to refresh my memory of this 42-story structure—the second-tallest educational facility in the world after the University of Moscow’s main building. 

Several classrooms, occupied by students, were not open to the public on the day I walked the halls. But enough were to remind me of the rich global history so evident here: 26 “Nationality Classrooms,” including several ethnic groups represented in the polyglot metropolis of Pittsburgh, such as the Polish, Greek, Irish, Italian, African, Turkish, and Japanese rooms.

The building derived from the vision of University of Pittsburgh John G. Bowman, who conceived of a “high building, a tower—a tower singing upward that would tell the epic story of Pittsburgh.”

The final look of the building, created by Philadelphia architect Charles Zeller Klauder, more than fulfilled Bowman’s notion. The skyscraper was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1975. It borrows design elements from the Gothic style of medieval European cathedrals, inspiring reverence in the service of a secular environment that undoubtedly creates devotion in the memories of those who pass through its halls.

Commissioned in 1921, the building came to fruition as the result of a remarkable $10 million public fundraising campaign in which the institution’s label served as an indispensable hook. Approximately 97,000 schoolchildren contributed a dime each certificate testifying that they were “Builders of the Cathedral of Learning.” The first class was held in the building 10 years later, with the formal dedication coming six years later.

At the time, objections were raised among some faculty members and the city of Pittsburgh as a whole that the height of the building did not fit it with its surroundings. But it is difficult, if not impossible, to view it now without a sense of wonder.

Any one of the classrooms here is worthy of a comment and its own separate page, and at some point over the next few months I will try to do so. But I wanted to lay down the markers here now.

Photo of the Day: Screw Pine, Phipps Conservatory, Pittsburgh PA

This past October, among the many exotic and beautiful sights of Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens in Pittsburgh, I came across the screw pine. It’s a novelty plant that grows best in a tropical environment.