Travel & Leisure Magazine: Go to Pittsburgh!

Travel & Leisure magazine named Pittsburgh one of it's top destinations for 2016.  See the story here.
That's a shot of the Schenley Plaza fountain and the University of Pittsburgh's Cathedral of Learning, by the way.

Allegheny City Historic Gallery Opens in Deutschtown

The Allegheny City Historic Gallery, displaying vintage photos of the days when our North Side section of Pittsburgh was its own city, Allegheny, has opened just up the street from us on East Ohio Street.  The gallery is a labor of love by the volunteers, and takes us back to the Victorian era when the North Side was home to Pittsburgh's robber barons.

Here's a link to a Pittsburgh Magazine blog post about the gallery.

Here's a link to the Gallery's You Tube page, featuring some fascinating films of the North Side's history.

The shot above shows the corners of Federal Street and North Avenue.  Some of the buildings are still extant, including the Garden Theater, which is being redeveloped into a restaurant.

A Year on the Mon

Here's an fascinating photo display by photographer John Beale about life on the Monongahela River, the only river in North America to flow South to North, and one of the two rivers creating the confluence at Pittsburgh's point.  This gives you a flavor of river life here in Western Pennsylvania.

See the photo array here.

Plans Announced for Civic Arena Site

The City of Pittsburgh announced development plans for the site which had once housed the Civic (then Mellon) Arena, home of the Penguins.  This part of town, called the lower hill, should help connect downtown to the upper hill neighborhood and create a more seamless experience.  Here's hoping that the project moves forward!

Here's a story from the DesignBloom website discussing the development plans.

Brew Pubs Everywhere

A new brew pub is slated to open in the historic Arch Street Fire House, located in the adjoining Mexican War Streets neighborhood.  The fire station was most recently home to an art studio.  The new brewery is to be christened the War Streets Brewery.  We look forward to welcoming them to the neighborhood, and to adding another attraction to the fabulous tapestry which is Pittsburgh's North Side.

Here's a story on the plans for the new brewery.

Priory Hosts Urban Impact

It was our pleasure to host, again, Urban Impact Foundation's annual Christmas fundraiser.  Urban Impact is a North Side based charity which assists at risk youth with after school programming and mentoring.  Founded by Pastor Ed Glover, Urban Impact has a great impact on the lives of many young people in the Pittsburgh area.

Joining the UI youth choir in the festivities were many Steelers, including center Maurkice Pouncey, defensive back Will Allen, and offensive linemen Kelvin Beachum and Ramon Foster.

Great Shot of Pittsburgh in the Fog

Here's a fantastic shot of the skyscrapers of downtown in the fog this week by local photographer Dave Dicello.

The Men Behind Pittsburgh's First Renaissance

The Tribune Review posted an interesting story recently detailing the careers of the architects who were behind Pittsburgh's first downtown building renaissance in the 1950's & 1960's.  This was the period of time which saw the clearing of Pittsburgh's point to create Point State Park, as well as Gateway Center, Mellon Square Park, the Civic Arena (pictured under construction), the old Hilton (now the Wyndham Grand) and many other landmarks which have helped pave Pittsburgh's way from dirty industrial town to a transformative city for the new millenium.

You can see the story here.

December Specials

Check out our Priory Hotel's website for some great special packages for December, which incorporate everything from the theatrical productions to ice skating.  They're a lot of fun, and worth treating yourself to during this Christmas season!

See our Packages here.

The City with A Postcard Welcome

Here's a beautiful shot of downtown Pittsburgh as you come through the Fort Pitt tunnels and onto the Ft. Pitt bridge.  This is the main entry into downtown from the airport, and it's many people's first introduction to the Golden Triangle.