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| - From the first time I checked out Visitpittsburgh.com, I knew I wanted to see the Cathedral of Learning. I love architecture, history and culture so to visit a place that combined all three was going to be thrilling! The Cathedral of Learning itself was interesting architecturally. It is one of the tallest classroom buildings in the world and the descriptions show stunning features similar to the late Gothic revival style. It also contains the Nationality Rooms. The Nationality Rooms are classrooms designed to represent the culture of various ethnic groups that settled in Allegheny County. What made them a must see this trip was the fact that each would be decorated according to the Christmas/holiday traditions of that culture.
When we pulled open the doors and ventured into the building, I quickly saw why the building was called "Cathedral." I felt as if I had been transported to one of the grand cathedrals of Europe.
When we checked in for the tour, I was a bit surprised at the "technology" that they offered. In today's day of podcasts, iPods and digital everything, we were handed a cassette player circa 1990. That just added to the entertainment factor of the morning as we raced to make sure we pressed 'stop' at the appropriate time in each room.
For $3, you receive a map of the rooms, the key that gets you in to all of the rooms and the audio cassette tour. As we unlocked and opened each door, I never failed to gasp in awe and say "wow, that is amazing" or "how incredibly beautiful."
It was interesting to learn about the culture of each country and even more incredible to see the traditional holiday customs on display. Each room had a sheet that described the holiday decor and the traditions that went along with it. It was fun to test our knowledge of certain cultures and customs and learn more about those that we were not familiar with. Room after room I was impressed with the attention to detail and uniqueness of each space. Dramatic colors, stained glass windows, student and professor chairs, paintings and murals and even blackboards all tied back into the theme and time period of the room.
In about two hours, we had travelled around the world without even leaving Pittsburgh! We visited Czechoslovakia, Italy, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Ireland, Lithuania, Romania, Sweden, China, Greece, Scotland, Yugoslavia, England, France, Russia and Syria/Lebanon. Unfortunately, due to time constraints (and the amount we had put in the parking meter) we didn't have time to visit the third floor classrooms of Austria, Japan, Armenia, India, Africa, Israel or the Ukraine. It was a bit disappointing to not see it all, but at the same time, I am excited to go back and experience the rooms all over again - this time bringing my camera. To cap off the experience, there is a gift shop that features items that originate from many of the countries featured in the classrooms.
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