The Lawrence mansion is maintained as a house that evokes the elegant lifestyle of the Lawrences rather than a museum. It houses an excellent collection of original English and American antiques. Its 16th-century architectural design affords both young and old an opportunity to glimpse into a part of Pittsburgh’s past. Family photographs, treasured books, cherished trophies, and even Mr. Lawrence’s art supplies are still in place.
Hartwood symbolizes the changing American culture of the past century. William Flinn, Mary Lawrence’s father, realized the American dream of the nineteenth century. He amassed industrial and political power as well as great wealth. This legacy enabled his daughter to build a home compatible with the life of leisure and philanthropy so fashionable in the first part of the century.
The Library features a wide plank-pegged floor, a low Renaissance-style plaster ceiling, and a stone mantelpiece.
The Living Room, or what was known in the Jacobean era as the Great Hall, is paneled in magnificent oak with functional lookouts that became elegant bay windows inset with diamond-paned stained glass. The furniture consists of elegantly carved late Stuart chairs, two early Georgian folding walnut game tables, a large Bijar Persian rug, a gracious mahogany Steinway grand piano built in 1901, and a residential-style Aeolian pipe organ.
The Upper Landing has a vaulted plasterwork ceiling with design motifs including mythological allegories, fairy tales, and elements of nature. Mr. Lawrence’s Suite has a view of the remarkable undulations and crests of the Allegheny Mountains. It reflects his interests as a businessman, sportsman, artist, and antique collector.
Mrs. Lawrence’s Suite is wallpapered in a fanciful rhapsody of birds, flowers, and foliage, which makes it a very feminine and very personal bedroom. The furniture is heavy, white Empire Revival pieces from Mrs. Lawrence’s childhood bedroom.
The Dining Room is green with gilt paneling and is the most formal room in the house. It has a walnut corner cabinet, a Chippendale side table, and a Sheraton sideboard. Examples of English silver, Sheffield plate, American sterling, and eighteenth-century Chinese export porcelain are displayed here.
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Allegheny Cemetery is the sixth oldest rural cemetery. On April 24, 1844, Allegheny Cemetery was chartered as a tax-free, non-profit organization. The Allegheny Cemetery Historical Association was established on March 17, 1980, as an educational and charitable organization.
Birthplace and childhood home of ecologist and author Rachel Carson (1907-1964), whose 1962 book Silent Spring helped to launch the environmental movement. Guided tours and classes are available.
Go back over a hundred years and take a new look at a period in Pittsburgh’s history often characterized by the extremes of late 19th-century America: fabulous wealth and grinding poverty.
In addition to being the organizing force behind saving the Braddock Carnegie Library, the Braddock’s Field Historical Society is dedicated to preserving the history surrounding General Braddock and the French and Indian War.
A History of the Point The Fort Pitt Museum is located in a re-created eighteenth-century bastion of the famous British fort on the Forks of the Ohio River in Point State Park, Pittsburgh.
Soldiers & Sailors museum offers a unique look into American history. The museum explores the evolution of equipment and technology as well as the effects that military conflicts have had on society. The museum’s collections span art from the mid 1900's to cultural artifacts of today.
Committed to education, research, and wildlife conservation, the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium is actively involved in 25 Species Survival Plans and proudly exhibits 32 threatened or endangered species.
The Bible Lands Museum's exhibits offer glimpses into life from prehistoric times into the Middle Ages. Artifacts include many forms of pottery; objects made of stone, bone, alabaster, faience, glass, and metal; and rare examples of ancient basketry, leather, and textiles.
The Children's Museum of Pittsburgh is reaching Great Heights with exciting exhibits and programs for the young and young-at-heart.
Based on the private collections of Rachel McMasters Miller Hunt, the Hunt Institute was initially founded in 1961 as the Rachel McMasters Miller Hunt Botanical Library.
Pittsburgh is a place where one may delve into art, culture, architecture and find masterpieces renowned around the world. One of the must-visit places in this city is the Carnegie Museum of Art.
The Carnegie Museum of Natural History is one of the four Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh found in 1896 by Andrew Carnegie.