Nice G20-related article in Wash. Post Sunday travel section (Pittsburgh: 2009, neighborhoods)

[BrianTH]

The writer gets out to the North Shore, Oakland, and The Strip/Lawrenceville:

washingtonpost.com

For a little taste, here is an excerpt from the Oakland section:

Back downtown, I hop a Fifth Avenue bus. En route to Oakland, the city's Beaux Arts heart, we crest a hill, and the dark Monongahela River swings into view, its coal barges pushed by sturdy tugboats. Forty years ago, the smoky steel mills along these banks began to cool, bringing the local economy to its knees. Their blast furnaces were replaced by gleaming labs for medical and robotics research. The combination, powered by Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh atop the hill, has fueled the city's new high-tech identity.

Five minutes later the bus disgorges us on Pitt's campus, by one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Well, its stunt double, anyway. The massive Soldiers and Sailors Memorial, crowning a green lawn, is modeled on the ancient mausoleum of Halicarnassus, a clue to the lofty intellectual aspirations of the neighborhood. The Cathedral of Learning, Pitt's tallest building, is a Gothic skyscraper, and the bulging columns of the Mellon Institute at CMU are straight out of Fritz Lang -- Beaux Arts on steroids. The world's greatest thinkers sit in armchairs at the entrances to the Carnegie Museums, created by Andrew Carnegie for the edification of his 19th-century workers. Now the Museum of Natural History and its partner, the Carnegie Museum of Art, deliver a snappy one-two punch of art masterworks and dueling T. rex fossils. Outside, the thinkers can gaze at the students lolling on adjacent Schenley Plaza. The lawn is comfortably edged with gardens, a carousel and outdoor cafes. I follow the sound of a string trio to a concert band shell, where I watch a group of tango dancers trace elegant lines onstage.

Not bad. Generally, I am hoping a decent number of journalists writing the obligatory "Why Pittsburgh?" G20 stories will get out to some of Pittsburgh's neighborhoods looking for something a little different to include.

[Hopes]

I like the part about the cemetary. I wonder if most cities use cemetaries for parks like we do in Pittsburgh.

[Little Mizz Pittsburgh]

Lots of imagery used by the columnist......

[bry456]

Originally Posted by Hopes

I like the part about the cemetary. I wonder if most cities use cemetaries for parks like we do in Pittsburgh.

Union Hill Cemetary in Kansas City, MO is used as a park (a dog park as well).

[Joshbarblahblah]

My Aunt and Uncle took their wedding pictures in Allegheny Cemetery (by the fountain). When I tell people from out of town this, they think I have crazy relatives...but those who have been in the cemetery can understand why.