Walking Tours

Arrive Early for the Conference and

Enjoy the

PITTSBURGH EXPERIENCE WALKING TOURS

On Thursday, July 20, and Saturday, July 22, local storytellers will lead seven tours of Pittsburgh attractions and historic landmarks. Experience Pittsburgh as you see the sights, hear the stories, and mingle with the people of our vibrant community. Schedule your arrival so you can join one or more of the tours listed below.

All tours will begin from the Hilton Hotel where you will meet your tour leader on the Mezzanine level. You will travel by foot, bus, or light rail. Most tours will include a stop for lunch or a snack. You will be responsible for paying your own bus fare, admission fees, and lunch or snack. All tours will bring you back to the hotel in time for the Opening Event of the conference.

YOUR TOUR CHOICES

Thursday 11:00am Join Edmund LoPresti as you travel by public bus to the Oakland neighborhood, home of the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University.

The Cathedral of Learning at the heart of the University of Pittsburgh features a series of Nationality Rooms. Each room has been sponsored by one of the ethnic groups which settled in the Pittsburgh area. The room is decorated to celebrate the art, culture, and history of that nationality or ethnic group. Tour participants will have the opportunity, as time permits, to share their favorite stories from many lands while standing in rooms reminiscent of Italian monasteries, Hindu academies, English governmental chambers, and Norwegian homes.

Cost: $2.25 per person round-trip bus fare, $3 admission, and lunch

Estimated time: Five hours, including lunch

Handicapped accessible, minimal walking.

Tour size limit: 15

Thursday 11:30 am & 2:00 pm Join Alan Irvine for a walking tour of downtown Pittsburgh.

Discover the events and people who forged modern Pittsburgh. Alan's stories recreate the world of yesterday, bringing old Pittsburgh vividly to life as you explore the Pittsburgh of then and now.

Cost: Snack stop

Estimated time: 1 to 1½ hours

Difficulty: 1 to 2 miles, easy walking

Tour size limit: 20

Thursday Noon Join Kathy Maron-Wood for lunch and a tour as you…..

See Pittsburgh from a Mountain – Mt. Washington, that is! We will ride the world's shortest subway, then get on an incline and…voila! - the spectacular view! Visits can be made to the Mt. Washington Branch Library and local shops at Station Square. Many lunch choices are available.

Cost: Subway (the “T“) $2.50 round trip, Incline $2.50 round trip, and lunch.

Estimated time: 2 hours

Handicapped accessible. Minimal walking, 5-8 blocks.

Tour size limit: None

Thursday 12:30pm and 2:30pm Join Jodie King for a stroll to Point Park and Fort Pitt Museum just outside the hotel. This tour will also be given on Saturday, July 22 at 11:30am.

A Clash of Two Powers: Planting the Seeds of a Language

Have you ever wondered how a country inhabited by diverse groups of people would come to speak the English Language? Come along with Jodie for a trip through the portals of time to discover the answer. Hear the unusual story of Mary Jamison, a young girl who survived a bloody conflict and lived to tell her tale some seventy years later. Come walk the path leading to Fort Duquesne, or Fort Pitt, as it is know today, and know that you may be walking in the footsteps of this remarkable woman.

Cost: Museum admission $5/4 and stop for snacks (optional)

Estimated time: 1 to 1½ hours

Difficulty: Easy, one mile round trip

Tour size limit: 15

Thursday 1:00pm Join Mary Morgan Smith for a trip to Station Square and back in history.

Gather on the banks of the Monongahela River to listen to stories of Pittsburgh’s past at Station Square, a popular entertainment area just across the river from downtown Pittsburgh. Once upon a time the area was the site of steel mills that turned Pittsburgh into a black and gold town… black from the ever present smoke, gold from the fires that made the steel possible. Listen to tall tales about Joe Magarac, the greatest steelman ever to work a mill, and true tales of the Homestead Massacre. Your guide is a fifth generation Pittsburgher, daughter of a steelworker, and granddaughter of a storyteller.

Cost: The “T“ subway $2.50 round trip

Estimated time: 1½ hours

Handicapped accessible: Minimal walking.

Tour size limit: 10

Thursday 1:30pm Join Sean Miller for a downtown rivers tour. This tour will be given again on Saturday, July 22 at 11:30am.

This tour takes place in Downtown Pittsburgh and reveals how the three rivers affected not only the history of the region, but also the world. Sean will talk about Flat Boats, Keel Boats, Side/Stern Wheelers, Pirates, Ship Building and Floods to name but a few topics. The tales of the people involved bring this tour to life.

Cost: Optional snack stop.

Estimated time: 1 to 1½ hours

Difficulty: Easy walking, 1 to 2 miles

Tour size limit: None

Thursday 2:00pm Join Lois “Toni“ McClendon and others for a tour of the historic Hill District.

Adjacent to downtown Pittsburgh, the “Hill” is a predominately African American, but culturally diverse, community – home of playwright August Wilson, George Benson, jazz singer Billy Eckstine and other notable jazz greats. This Pittsburgh neighborhood has such a rich cultural and social history. Learn more about Robert L.Vann, founder of the crusading Black newspaper, the New Pittsburgh Courier. The Pittsburgh Crawfords of the Old Negro Baseball League, renowned photographer Teenie Harris, to name only a few of the legendary notables who called the Hill “home.”

We will visit Freedom Corner, at the intersection of Centre Avenue and Crawford Street, which is both the physical and symbolic gateway from downtown Pittsburgh to the oldest urban neighborhood in Pittsburgh. It has served as the rallying point for local marches, protests and celebrations that promote social and racial justice. Two beacons of freedom, St. Benedict the Moor Church, with its statue of the Black Christ gracing the skyline, and a sculpture park with a granite and bronze Monument to Freedom, welcome you to the Hill.

Cost: Public bus $2.50 round trip

Estimated time: 1½ to 2 hours

Difficulty: Easy walking, under 1 mile

Tour size limit: 20

Thursday 2:00pm Repeat of Alan Irvine downtown tour (see above)

Thursday 2:30pm Repeat of Jodie King tour to Point Park (see above)

Saturday July 22, 11:30am Repeat of Jodie King and Sean Miller tours (see above)

Tour Registration

Please register for the tour(s) of your choice. Register by sending an email to Judy Seeley at judy_seeley@hotmail.com. Please put "Conference Tours" in the subject line.

Should your plans change so you will be unable to go on your tour, please notify Judy Seeley at judy_seeley@hotmail.com. Most tours are space limited.

Quick Recap of Tours

Thursday 11:00am - Edmund Lopresti

Thursday 11:30am - Alan Irvine

Thursday Noon - Kathy Maron-Wood

Thursday 12:30pm - Jodie King

Thursday 1:00pm - Mary Morgan Smith

Thursday 1:30pm - Sean Miller

Thursday 2:00pm - Lois “Toni“ McClendon

Thursday 2:00pm - Alan Irvine (repeat tour)

Thursday 2:30pm - Jodie King (repeat tour)

Saturday 11:30am - Sean Miller

Saturday 11:30am - Jodie King

Come to Pittsburgh, July 20 - 23 and experience Community!