Cathedral of Learning
- Thread starter 9nationalchampionships
- Start date
They did not finish the Elevators going to the Top because "Learning Never Should End' and The Cathedral of Learning, makes Pitt Is It!
This is why some other Fans & Posters always hated Pitt, because we keep teaching them lessons on what they do not know about Pitt and they keep chasing Pitt Records they wish their University had instead of just sharing in the learning to respect each other ?
This is why some other Fans & Posters always hated Pitt, because we keep teaching them lessons on what they do not know about Pitt and they keep chasing Pitt Records they wish their University had instead of just sharing in the learning to respect each other ?
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The Cathedral of Learning remains unfinished...
Head up to the English Commons room on the fifth floor and look at the original Charles Klauder blueprints. Lots of detailings were never finished. Ever notice all those uncarved crests and shields on the inside and outside of the building?
Also disappointed that they are not installing the elevator doors as originally envisioned by Charles Klauder per the recommendation of the historic core Conservation Plan that Pfaffmann did for Pitt in 2006. Pitt is spending tens of millions on elevator upgrades and it would be the perfect time to do it. Per the conservation report, "If the elevators are ever restored or updated, the replacement of the elevator doors should be incorporated into the budget." (page 100). Fail.
English Commons Room on the 5th was very well done and retains several elements of the space that served as the main university library lending area until 1968. It also has original blueprints of the Cathedral and Commons Room incorporated into its space showing that all those shields were meant to be carved with details and the Vermont slate floor of the Commons Room was meant to be inlayed with the shield of the university. 100s of uncarved crests and shields ring the commons room and the outside of the Cathedral.
Head up to the English Commons room on the fifth floor and look at the original Charles Klauder blueprints. Lots of detailings were never finished. Ever notice all those uncarved crests and shields on the inside and outside of the building?
Also disappointed that they are not installing the elevator doors as originally envisioned by Charles Klauder per the recommendation of the historic core Conservation Plan that Pfaffmann did for Pitt in 2006. Pitt is spending tens of millions on elevator upgrades and it would be the perfect time to do it. Per the conservation report, "If the elevators are ever restored or updated, the replacement of the elevator doors should be incorporated into the budget." (page 100). Fail.
English Commons Room on the 5th was very well done and retains several elements of the space that served as the main university library lending area until 1968. It also has original blueprints of the Cathedral and Commons Room incorporated into its space showing that all those shields were meant to be carved with details and the Vermont slate floor of the Commons Room was meant to be inlayed with the shield of the university. 100s of uncarved crests and shields ring the commons room and the outside of the Cathedral.
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Saw some old pictures of the CoL being built. Amazing how fast that area went from farm to
Thanks to Coach kabala, this is my wallpaper on my phone. Stunning...
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CO0vQnwUYAAdp38.jpg:large
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CO0vQnwUYAAdp38.jpg:large
The Cathedral of Learning remains unfinished...
Head up to the English Commons room on the fifth floor and look at the original Charles Klauder blueprints. Lots of detailings were never finished. Ever notice all those uncarved crests and shields on the inside and outside of the building?
Also disappointed that they are not installing the elevator doors as originally envisioned by Charles Klauder per the recommendation of the historic core Conservation Plan that Pfaffmann did for Pitt in 2006. Pitt is spending tens of millions on elevator upgrades and it would be the perfect time to do it. Per the conservation report, "If the elevators are ever restored or updated, the replacement of the elevator doors should be incorporated into the budget." (page 100). Fail.
English Commons Room on the 5th was very well done and retains several elements of the space that served as the main university library lending area until 1968. It also has original blueprints of the Cathedral and Commons Room incorporated into its space showing that all those shields were meant to be carved with details and the Vermont slate floor of the Commons Room was meant to be inlayed with the shield of the university. 100s of uncarved crests and shields ring the commons room and the outside of the Cathedral.
So, in a couple of past threads, I have previously mentioned that I was disappointed that with the major, multi-million dollar, destination-based smart elevator upgrades for the Cathedral of Learning because Pitt apparently wasn't heeding the recommendations contained in Pfaffmann's 2006 Conservation Plan study for the campus' historic core and installing something akin to the pictorial elevator doors as originally envisioned by architect Charles Klauder and iron worker Samuel Yellin.
The doors were based on Lorenzo Ghiberti’s doors for the Baptistry in Florence (see here). You can tell, in the above design, that the panels of the doors were to allude to various endeavors in academia, science, technology, etc.
Well, here's an update. They're not nearly as elaborate, but they did significantly upgrade the doors to at least allude to the feel of the historic design.
Kudos to Pitt for paying some attention to detail.
Here's what the doors used to look like, so you can see that the new doors are a major upgrade to what was there before, as well as way more befitting of the Commons Room.
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Do the elevators still bang off the walls of the shaft as they shoot up? CoL elevator turbulence is an essential part of the experience.
Majestic.never get tired of seeing it
Here's the proof that they should only bring recruits to Oakland on a sunny day.never get tired of seeing it
That building/view/picture is iconic...nothing like it anywhere.
Not unlike many of the great cathedrals I have seen in England and Italy, in that regard. They are all fabulous edifices in their present state. But there are still many parts that remain incomplete.
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I have always felt the city of Pittsburgh should make the Cathedral more of a tourist attraction. Trip Advisor lists it as the #10 "thing to do" in Pittsburgh but if you are visiting the Pgh from elsewhere, I cant imagine how anyone would leave the city without seeing it.
It should be one of those things where someone says they just got home from a business trip in Pittsburgh and the other guy says, "Pittsburgh, huh, did you visit the Cathedral of Learning."
There isnt another building like it in America.
It should be one of those things where someone says they just got home from a business trip in Pittsburgh and the other guy says, "Pittsburgh, huh, did you visit the Cathedral of Learning."
There isnt another building like it in America.
I think you'd be surprised at the number of people in Western PA who've never been inside the Cathedral, Phipps Conservatory, Heinz Field, PNC Park, or Consol.
No one seems to notice or talk about what is not finished in the Cathedral of learning though.
And there are literally hundreds of opportunities for things like carving the blank shields in and and on the outside surface of the Cathedral. You could carve important moments and people in Pitt history, like Hugh Henry Brackenridge, Samuel Langley, Reginald Fessenden, Vladimir Zworykin, Jonas Salk, Peter Safar, Paul Lauterbur Thomas Starzl, to sports heros like John Woodruff and Tony Dorsett. It could also be a significant fundraising mechanism.
I wouldn't be surprised. Pitt has historically done a really poor job promoting itself and the Cathedral. There has never been an existing tour of the campus set up for visitors. It and the Cathedral grounds should be one of the major tourist attractions in Pittsburgh, and it certainly should be the most famous building in academia. The number of annual visitors to the Nationality Rooms is a fraction of what it should be. The opportunities for promotion of the university through tourism is almost completely lacking. Other schools do this.
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BTW, Pitt finally has a decent virtual tour of its campus (although it is still missing, in my opinion, some key things that should be part of any campus tour and I caught a few mistakes). Some good videos are embedded in it though.
http://www.youvisit.com/tour/pitt/98298
http://youvis.it/RyrFXR
http://youvis.it/WzuMsH
http://youvis.it/YmIEj3
http://youvis.it/2KBdQX
http://www.youvisit.com/tour/pitt/98298
http://youvis.it/RyrFXR
http://youvis.it/WzuMsH
http://youvis.it/YmIEj3
http://youvis.it/2KBdQX
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I had a job working about 15-miles outside of the city, and many of my co-workers lived in Westmoreland, Beaver, Washington, and Greene Counties. At least once a week, I'd have to travel into the city, and I'd make it a point of bringing a co-worker along with me.
I might as well have been a tour guide in Beijing: well-known Pittsburgh landmarks were new to many of 'em...they'd never seen 'em before. It was an eye-opening experience for me.
Definitely agree. It would be absolutely spectacular to capture those people and events for posterity.
It is not Brag over Fact, but it truly makes Old Main's everywhere on many other Campuses kind of small and certainly not unique!
Cathy is still more Majestic than what the Commies built at Lomonosov Moscow State University built in 1953 and still cannot surpass The Cathedral Of Learning!!!
LINKS:
http://www.emporis.com/buildings/121991/cathedral-of-learning-pittsburgh-pa-usa
http://www.emporis.com/buildings/11...-state-university-main-building-moscow-russia
Cathy is still more Majestic than what the Commies built at Lomonosov Moscow State University built in 1953 and still cannot surpass The Cathedral Of Learning!!!
LINKS:
http://www.emporis.com/buildings/121991/cathedral-of-learning-pittsburgh-pa-usa
http://www.emporis.com/buildings/11...-state-university-main-building-moscow-russia
The thing about the Cathedral is the impressiveness of the interior as well as the exterior, coupled with the fact that it isn't just reserved for administrative purposes like many other universities' centerpiece buildings. It is the fully functioning academic and administrative heart of the university. There are buildings at other universities that are uniquely impressive in their own right, but the scale and functionality of the CoL is complete different.
And at many schools, Heinz Chapel, or the Frick Fine Arts Building, or Alumni Hall would be their centerpiece building. Few have interiors equivalent to the William Pitt Union. These completely overshadow other impressive buildings like the Stephen Foster Memorial, Bellefield Hall, the Music Building, Allen Hall, O'Hara St Student Center, etc.
What really hurts the buildings is the lack of a picturesque, unified setting. That's why I've always been a big advocate of trying to close (Bigelow) or submerge (5th) roads. I walk around DC and see all the roads that have been sunk below the traffic circles (like Dupont Circle) and it is something that could be done without interruption of traffic patterns. In fact, it could improve traffic.
In any case, there is a major renovations going on in the upper floors of the Cathedral, including an expansion of the Honors College onto the 37th floor.
And at many schools, Heinz Chapel, or the Frick Fine Arts Building, or Alumni Hall would be their centerpiece building. Few have interiors equivalent to the William Pitt Union. These completely overshadow other impressive buildings like the Stephen Foster Memorial, Bellefield Hall, the Music Building, Allen Hall, O'Hara St Student Center, etc.
What really hurts the buildings is the lack of a picturesque, unified setting. That's why I've always been a big advocate of trying to close (Bigelow) or submerge (5th) roads. I walk around DC and see all the roads that have been sunk below the traffic circles (like Dupont Circle) and it is something that could be done without interruption of traffic patterns. In fact, it could improve traffic.
In any case, there is a major renovations going on in the upper floors of the Cathedral, including an expansion of the Honors College onto the 37th floor.
Did they ever upgrade the men's bathrooms on the bottom floors? Those were also must experience part of a tour for the new comers!
My graduation present to Nate was a painting of the Cathedral in 2010 .She did a beautiful job catching the details.
The Cathedral of Learning was Chancellor Bowman's last Erection(errr...building).
I do wish they would have never scrubbed the exterior(was it 8-12 years ago?), as I miss the darker variety of shades that gave it a Gothic look and how it appeared different from a variety of viewing angles.
I do wish they would have never scrubbed the exterior(was it 8-12 years ago?), as I miss the darker variety of shades that gave it a Gothic look and how it appeared different from a variety of viewing angles.
Did not know that, and thank you for educating me on it! I know Frank Lloyd Wright called it The Biggest Keep Off The Grass Sign He Ever Saw, but his building leaked water after building them?
Pitt's Cathy Educated The World & Cured Polio!
I am still upset that "Bowman's Erection Direction" also limped way down after he ended Athletic Scholarships at Pitt in 1938. Pitt could have maintain it Prominence among Michigan, USC, Notre Dame, OSU, Nebraska, and BAMA!
Instead Pitt went the way of Vanderbilt, CAL & Minnesota and Yale, Harvard, Princeton, PENN and Army disperse from the Top 25 altogether and no longer emphasizing Athletic Football with Academic Scholarships?
Pitt at least re-emerged briefly in 1972-1989 and maybe now again under Chancellor Gallagher & Coach Narduzzi bring back a New Pitt Renaissance Age?
So Little Done & So Much Do!
I am not sure if it is accurate to say that it was the last building constructed while Bowman was the Chancellor, but it helps make my joke funnier.
And I really do miss how the Cathedral of Learning looked before they scrubbed away the stains externally(which at least PITT can scrub away those stains since only being on a building, as the stains on an entire Football Program/ University in Crappy Valley will last forever, if the CULT does not admit that they had a False God, who when it came to do the Most, he chose to do the Least to protect young kids. Funny how the Most Powerful Person in the Cow Pasture all of the sudden had to pass on such an urgent issue to his 'Puppet AD'-after not interfering with anyone's weekend. 409 is a good stain remover though).
This past May, on my son's 12th birthday, he and I did a self tour of the Cathedral Nationality Rooms.
I remember that french company that was going to cities around the world do this to buildings/bridges to stir up some business. I heard the cost to do this full time was very expensive. I have not heard of this being done again but would love to see it on 9/9 7 9/10 and homecoming!
I think that was before L.E.D,'s that cost far less now and far less to run? If Pitt beats PSU on September 10th Pitt should salute PSU with Blue & White Lights all week.
In fact, Pitt should be able to change Lights to various colors Pitt plays that day or week during FB Season or BB at Home.
Just an idea for Pitt's a New Tradition "Enlighten" ACC Age!
Meanwhile Cathy is a pretty sight day or night!
Why didn't state penn use the Cathedral of Learning in their recruiting poster skyline? After all they are "state penn"
Penn State has one of the biggest Recruiting Programs with over 3,000 recruits invited every year to PSU Summer Recruiting Camps from 8th to 12th Grades. High School Coaching Clinics on par with ND, Michigan, and OSU! They Pay Higher Stipends too. I admire it and up to Pitt to build one, and that is up to Pitt?
Listen to yourselves and re-read what you wrote. All those wonderful nostalgic feelings about the Cathedral and the pride it instills in Pitt alums is exactly why an on-campus stadium should be built (or have never been torn down) in full view of the Cathedral and in walking distance to it!
YOU.CAN'T.SEE.THE.CATHEDRAL.FROM.THE.NORTH.SHORE!
All the opportunities for alums to go back to campus, that nostalgia, that pride, and rekindle that weekends in the fall and share it with their children, friends and families is missed out because when you go to a Pitt home game, you're not at Pitt, you're not on campus, you're not in Oakland, you don't have that true college atmosphere, you're on the concrete and distant North Shore.
Ok, rant over.
YOU.CAN'T.SEE.THE.CATHEDRAL.FROM.THE.NORTH.SHORE!
All the opportunities for alums to go back to campus, that nostalgia, that pride, and rekindle that weekends in the fall and share it with their children, friends and families is missed out because when you go to a Pitt home game, you're not at Pitt, you're not on campus, you're not in Oakland, you don't have that true college atmosphere, you're on the concrete and distant North Shore.
Ok, rant over.
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