63. PRIMANTI BROS.

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

9/24/2010

The last stop on our journey was the Primanti Bros. sandwich shop. Again, some cosmic force was trying to stop us. When we got back to our car the parking lot was completely sealed in. Obviously, in order make twenty more bucks the parking lot guy let cars park in the entrance, so we had no escape. He must have believed everyone parking there was going to the game, which would continue for several more hours. And of course, parking lot guy was nowhere to be found. Luckily, we were parked facing the road. We gritted our teeth and just gunned it over the curb.

Primanti Bros. was truly a few minutes away and fairly empty as they waited for the after-game crowd, which we could now verify as a Pirates game thanks to the TVs in the restaurant. Greasy man-food, their shtick is that on the first day of business the brothers forgot to buy plates and silverware. Their solution: cram all the side dishes (like French fries and coleslaw) right into the sandwich, and serve the concoction on sheets of wax paper. A legend was born, etc., etc. What you get is full, very fast, because your entire meal is all in once place for you. The ambience is nice, the service was great, and if you’re going to eat standard bar food they’ve got a simple gimmick that works.

When we left, Houston and Pittsburgh were tied. Go Steelers! Um… I mean Pirates!

62. THE ANDY WARHOL MUSEUM

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

9/24/2010

The Andy Warhol Museum is the largest facility in the world dedicated to a single artist. Planning this trip around my cheapskate ways, there is a reason I’ve saved Pittsburgh for a Friday – the museum stays open until 10 on Fridays and admission is half-off after 5 pm. Unfortunately, some of my cheapness was undone because of a sporting event. Suddenly the $5 parking lots were $10 parking lots. We weren’t sure who was playing, but we saw a lot of people wearing Pittsburgh Pirates and Pittsburgh Steelers shirts. Laura concluded that the Pirates and the Steelers were playing each other that night. I tried to convince her how incredibly unlikely that was on so many levels, but she wouldn’t be put off.

Six floors of Warhol’s work are displayed in themed exhibits, with an apparent emphasis on his films. I guess that would be pretty cool to a Warhol fan since apparently most of these films are not available anywhere else. Aside from really being into soup, Warhol was also quite interested in male anatomy – so bear that in mind before you take YOUR infant children. (Not knowing anything about Warhol’s personal life before visiting, we were surprised since we perceived Warhol as the oxymoronic mainstream modern artist.)

I must mention that Daniel reached new heights of hilarity when we entered an installation piece called “Silver Clouds”, which is a bunch of giant helium-filled balloons blown around by fans. People are encouraged to play with them and Daniel needed little encouragement. Like most art museums you’re not allowed to take photos, but when the 18-year old Goth girl guarding us started texting her boyfriend we snapped a few shots anyway. We don’t think Andy would have minded too much.

Laura and I weren’t sure what to make of the museum. Only having a superficial awareness of Warhol’s most famous works before going to the museum, we were surprised at the evidence that he considered himself a devout Catholic in contrast to most of his actual lifestyle. We spent most of our trip home discussing his art (or even is it art?), was he a devout Catholic because he perceived himself to be? (Was he in many ways no different from many other religious people who struggle with vices, but just don’t have museums dedicated to them?) We discussed Warhol. We discussed his art. We discussed perception versus reality. (Isn’t that a huge question in pop art, anyway?) We’re still talking about it. So the museum made some sort of impact on us. We’re just not sure what.

61. PITTSBURGH'S STEEL HERITAGE

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

9/24/2010

Every year the staff at my school get a random Friday in September off as a comp day in exchange for working during our school’s open house – because we teachers don’t get enough vacation days as it is, apparently. Last year Laura and I were all ready to use the day for a short jaunt to Pittsburgh, only to discover most of the free world was there to stop us. This year we decided to be undeterred.

We left around 9 am for the three-hour journey, but it’s becoming clear that someone, somewhere out there isn’t too keen on us going to the Iron City. Although we didn’t know it at the time, a diesel truck and a paint truck collided on I-70. That’s an OSHA field day, right there. Miles and miles of the highway were shut down, so that three-hour drive crawled to a six-hour one. We thought about turning around a few times, but we would have faced the same problem going back, so we persevered. (The truck drivers are fine, just in case you think I’m a completely heartless guy.) Also, Laura and I were both impressed in how well the kids dealt with the situation.

With our schedule completely out of whack, it looked as though we might have to abbreviate our journey through “Pittsburgh’s steel heritage” – Schultz’ catch-all term for everything Andrew “I was the richest man in the world” Carnegie and his cronies laid their hands on.

Our first stop was the Carnegie Science Center – a favorite of Laura’s that we had hoped to spend most of the day in, but since it was now 3 pm we only had two hours before they closed. Even with less time than we had hoped, this place was really fun – very interactive and extremely kid-friendly. Daniel ran amok, playing gleefully with all the exhibits. Bizarrely, his favorite “exhibit” was the handicap ramps – he seemed to think they were slides! Really sensitive to people’s disabilities, dude.

Anchored just outside the museum is a World War II-era submarine to explore. I took Daniel down there, but the cramped quarters freaked him out. Maybe a naval career isn’t in the works. Meanwhile, Laura played foosball with a robot. I’m not allowed to say who won. (Hint: It wasn’t her.) [Laura: HEY! It was 2-1!]

[Info that’s only really good for teachers: The admission price is pretty steep, but teachers can get a free ticket once a year. Just email the museum and their marketing manager will send you an email to print off. This isn’t very well advertised on their website, so take advantage if you can.]

After the museum we drove over to the Frick Art and Historical Center – former home of Henry Clay Frick, Andrew Carnegie’s business partner. The drive was supposed to take ten minutes, but again we were caught in a traffic disaster. A five-car pileup on the highway stretched that ten minutes into an hour.

When we finally reached the Frickin’ house we pulled into the parking lot where a sleepy-looking security guard stared blankly at us from his booth. After a little prompting he told us the house was closed. We asked if we could just look at the grounds. He said no. He didn’t look like he was prepared to stop us, but we left. What a Frickin’ waste of time!

Who cares about Henry Clay Frick anyway? Once called “America’s most hated man” his management strategy involved hiring gunmen to shoot striking workers. Where did this tragedy happen, you ask? Just down the road at the Homestead Works mill. We went there and read the historic plaque of “The Battle of Homestead Works” where in 1892 the workers successfully fought off their assailants after a 12-hour gunfight. The victory for the workers was short-lived when the Pennsylvania militia forcibly ended the strike, but the event remains a powerful symbol for labor unions.