2006 Pittsburgh Frequently Asked Questions

2006 Pittsburgh | Hotel Information | Photos | Program Highlights | Critiques | Convention Reports

Dear NCEW friends,

Now is a good time to start planning your trip to Pittsburgh for the 2006 convention, Sept. 13-16. Be sure to tack on an extra day or two for personal enjoyment, since mid-September is a glorious time in Western Pennsylvania -- the hills are green, the days warm (mid to upper 70s) and the nights delightful (upper 50s).

Below are answers to some questions you may have about visiting. If I've overlooked something, give me a call (412-263-1669) or shoot me an email (twaseleski@post-gazette.com).

Yunz have a safe trip,
Tom Waseleski
Editorial Page Editor, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
NCEW Convention Chair 2006

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Q: Tom, since those guys on Monday Night Football still call Pittsburgh the Steel City, will I have to pack a breathing mask to keep the smoke and grit out of my lungs?

A: Are you kidding? That is so 1970s.Today the sky is blue and the air is clear, especially in September when the summer humidity is gone. If you'll be coming from the airport, just wait till you cross the Fort Pitt Bridge to downtown (especially if you go through the Fort Pitt Tunnel). The city skyline explodes in your face as you cross the Monongahela River and you immediately understand why travel writers say Pittsburgh is the only American city with a gateway.

Notice the lush green hillsides, the expansive lawn of Point State Park, the gleaming condos and offices along the three rivers. It was along these banks that ESPN held its Bass Master Fishing Classic in 2005 and on these waters where NCEW will hold its opening reception Sept. 13 aboard the sternwheeler Keystone Belle. In short, we're not your father's Pittsburgh.

Q: If I have a car and want to spend a day out of town, what should I do?

A: You have lots of options. Here are a few:

1) Drive south to Ohiopyle State Park, about 90 minutes away. You're in the lovely Laurel Highlands. You can go whitewater rafting with a guide. You can rent bikes and ride a riverside trail to the village of Confluence, where you can have lunch at a friendly inn then pedal back. You can fish the Youghiogheny River, Morgan. Click on the park's web site for more details (www.dcnr.state.pa.us/stateparks/Parks/ohiopyle.aspx#whitewater).

2) Drive an hour north to the heart of Western Pennsylvania's Amish country. In the rural hamlet of Volant you can spend an easy day browsing shops run by artisans, sample the latest vintage at the town winery, take stock of Amish quilts for sale and have lunch at a café. (Link to www.volantshops.com). A few miles away is more conventional, designer outlet shopping at Prime Outlets at Grove City, with more than 140 name-brand stores (www.primeoutlets.com/cntrdefault.asp?cntrid=1024).

3) Do something revolutionary: Soak up some history. About an hour and a half south is Fort Necessity National Battlefield, run by the National Park Service (www.nps.gov/fone). This is where young George Washington surrendered to the French and was lucky enough to walk away. You'll understand why when you see how meager his troops' defenses were. Up the road is Jumonville Glen, also part of the historic site, where Washington's men exchanged fire with the French and set off the French and Indian War. Down the road is Braddock's Grave, where the British general was transported and buried after he was shot near Pittsburgh. You don't have to pack a mess kit, though. You can reward yourself with lunch at the fabulous Chez Gerard
(www.chezgerard.net/index.html) in nearby Hopwood. It's how we'd all be eating if the French had won.

4) If you're among the diligent dozens who will be critiquing Thursday and therefore miss the optional tour, use your extra day to see Fallingwater, 90 minutes away (www.paconserve.org/index-fw1.asp). One of the nation's architectural masterpieces, Fallingwater was the weekend retreat designed by Frank Lloyd Wright for the Kaufmann family, owners of Pittsburgh's longtime premier department store. The famous contemporary-styled home is nestled in the Laurel Highlands and cantilevered over babbling Bear Run. Don't go off the grounds for lunch, though; the café serves primo entrees, soups, salads and desserts. The best part is you can eat in air-conditioned comfort indoors or outside under a cool canopy of trees. If you're a real Wright aficionado, you can visit another of his homes, Kentuck Knob (www.kentuckknob.com), only seven miles away.

Q: What can I do with half a day or more in the city?

A: Downtown is a short walk from our hotel across the historic Smithfield Street Bridge. If you prefer, you can take the light-rail system called the T, which has a Station Square stop just across Carson Street. One-way fare is $1.25, and three stops downtown (Steel Plaza, Wood Street and Gateway) will get you where you want to go.

-- Explore Point State Park downtown. You can visit the Fort Pitt Museum (www.fortpittmuseum.com), inspect the Blockhouse (the city's oldest
building) and trace the outlines of both Fort Duquesne (when Pittsburghers spoke French) and Fort Pitt, key outposts of the French and Indian War. You can jog or walk the paved banks of three rivers (the Allegheny, Monongahela and Ohio). Then run through or just marvel at the fountain at The Point, one of the city's icons.

-- Spend the day at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History
(www.carnegiemnh.org) and Museum of Art (www.cmoa.org) in Oakland. Hop a bus, take a cab or use the free hotel shuttle. The museum is renowned for its dinosaur fossil collection, architectural holdings and gems. The gallery is home to works by Renoir, Van Gogh, Picasso and other masters. Admission is $10 and covers both museum and gallery.

-- Unwind in the indoor/outdoor splendor of Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens (www.phipps.conservatory.org), another Oakland treasure. Stroll through 13 rooms of a Victorian glasshouse, including the Palm Court, Desert Room, Orchid Room and Butterfly Forest. Admission is $7.50.

-- Take a historic walking tour led by the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation, which begins a block from our hotel.

-- Visit the Andy Warhol Museum (www.warhol.org), devoted to the work of Pittsburgh's native son. It's where Mao, Liz, Jesus and Jackie are larger than life. It's the city's hip and edgy zone, where art, politics and the outrageous mix. Admission is $10.

-- Discover the funky Strip District, where produce vendors mix with hip restaurants mix with sidewalk vendors mix with fish mongers. DeLuca's has the best breakfast in town (try the frittata). Mon Ami Chocolates, Enrico Biscotti and La Prima Espresso need no elaboration. It's a sensory experience. Bring a few dollars and a gourmet appetite; you can work it all off when you get home.

-- Go shopping. Downtown has the region's 10-story flagship Macy's department store (formerly Kaufmann's) on Smithfield Street (a 10-minute walk from our hotel). On the same street are Saks Fifth Avenue, Barnes & Noble, Brooks Brothers and S.W. Randall Toys. Also in the "Golden Triangle" are Sharper Image, Talbots and the chic shops at small indoor malls in Oxford Centre and Fifth Avenue Place.

-- Get the lowdown on the life and times of the Steel City at the Pittsburgh Regional History Center -- from Pittsburgh's tribal roots to the days of Washington, from the heyday of Carnegie to the bust of big industry, from the launch of an organ transplant center to the rise of robotics. An affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, the museum houses permanent and traveling exhibits in the handsomely restored Chautauqua Ice Co. building in the Strip District. Admission is $7.50 (http://www.pghhistory.org/Default.asp).

Q: What's the most economical transportation from the airport?
A: 1) Express Shuttle USA delivers you directly to our hotel for $19 one way and $34 roundtrip.
2) For anyone on a tight budget who packs light, catch the 28X Airport Flyer, an express bus run by Port Authority Transit. One-way fare is $2.25. Get off near the Hilton Hotel downtown, then schlepp your bags (on wheels
preferably) half a block to the Gateway subway station. Take the light-rail train to the Station Square stop (one-way fare is $1.25), then wheel your bags the final couple of blocks to our hotel.

Q: How can I stay in shape during this convention?
A: Lucky you. The Sheraton has a large indoor pool and outdoor patio with skyline view. Then there's an indoor workout facility. And there's a riverside walking trail.

Q: Any sports in town while NCEW will be there?

A: Of course, but don't let it keep you from the convention program. The Pirates will host the Brewers at PNC Park Sept. 11 and 12 at 7:05 pm and Sept. 13 at 12:35 pm; and the Mets Sept. 15 and 16 at 7:05 pm and Sept. 17 at 1:35 pm. The University of Pittsburgh's football Panthers will play Michigan State Sept. 16 at Heinz Field, time to be announced later. At press time, the Steelers' schedule had not yet been announced, but forget tickets for them; they're sold out through the next decade.

Q: What can I do downtown that says Pittsburgh?

A: -- Eat a sandwich at Primanti Brothers in Market Square (J.R. Labbe did). It's meat, fries and cole slaw piled between the bread -- the way the truck drivers like it.

-- Pay homage to the larger-than-life statues of Roberto Clemente, Honus Wagner and Willie Stargell outside PNC Park.

-- Buy your favorite beans (and tea and nuts and chocolate and dried fruit) at Nicholas Coffee in Market Square.

-- Look up elegant Heinz Hall for the Performing Arts, home of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, at the corner of Sixth Street and Penn Avenue. You can have lunch near the waterfall of its outdoor courtyard, then walk around the corner to Curtain Call, the symphony's unique gift shop specializing in everything musical.

-- Indulge in high tea at Pittsburgh's elegant 1916 hotel, the Omni William Penn, daily 2:30-4:30 p.m. in the Palm Court (http://www.omnihotels.com/FindAHotel/PittsburghWilliamPenn.aspx).

-- Ride a World War II amphibious vehicle during a hilarious downtown tour, then hold on as it plunges into the river. Usually, it stays afloat. Just Ducky Tours depart daily from Hard Rock Café, next to our hotel. Tickets are $19 (http://www.justduckytours.com).

-- Walk among the departed in the city's oldest graveyard between Trinity Episcopal Cathedral and the First Presbyterian Church on Sixth Avenue. It was the final resting place for Native Americans and English, French and American settlers. Across the street is the stately Duquesne Club, where the captains of industry do Pittsburgh's biggest deals over lunches of grilled Virginia spots and gin.

Q: What is Station Square?

It's the neighborhood where our hotel, the Sheraton Station Square, is located. Under the theme "Less Locomotion -- More Commotion," this historic district, which was once a major rail depot, has become one of Pittsburgh's liveliest nightspots (www.stationsquare.com/main.htm). A block from the hotel you'll find the Grand Concourse restaurant, a converted former train station with stained-glass ceiling (http://pittsburghworks.talkingcomputers.com/grandconcourse). In between are Starbucks, Hard Rock Café, Buca di Beppo, Joe's Crab Shack, the Buckhead Saloon and the Funny Bone comedy club.

Across the street are the Freight House Shops (www.stationsquare.com/Directory-Shops.htm), with jewelry, clothing, wine, chocolates, books and assorted specialties under one roof. Outside, near the Monongahela River, is the Fountain at Bessemer Court, where the city skyline is the backdrop for 40-foot shoots of colored, choreographed water. Pedestrians can enjoy a more commanding view from the new public tower that overlooks the marina.

Also nearby is the Monongahela Incline, a pair of tracked cable cars dating from 1870 that will carry you to the top of Mount Washington and an incredible view (www.portauthority.org/ride/pgIncline.asp). Roundtrip fare is $2.25. Get a free lift from the hotel shuttle, and you can ride to the Duquesne Incline, a mile downriver. For the same fare, the view at the top of the Duquesne Incline takes in all three rivers; the Mon Incline gives you two.

Q: Tom, I hear your football team did all right last year. Anyplace I can pick up a souvenir?

Several stores downtown carry Steelers stuff (Macy's, Honus Wagner Sports and hotel gift shops, to name a few). The best outlet, though, may be right across the street from the Sheraton, our convention hotel, at Hometown Sports. They've got more Steelers, Pirates and Penguins gear than just about anybody.

Q: What's the biggest mistake I can make short of not coming to the convention?

A: Not bringing your camera. This will be one photogenic NCEW conference
-- from the opening boat cruise around the city to your chance to ride one of the inclines up Mt. Washington, from our visit to the medieval Cathedral of Learning and its Nationality Classrooms to the hospitality suite's private balcony overlooking the river.

Q: Tom, you seem to be dissing Pittsburgh's steel heritage. Do you mean to say there are no working mills left to see?

A: Of course there are a few mills and coke plants still around. Probably the handiest is US Steel's Edgar Thomson Works in Braddock, which is best appreciated visually from across the river in West Mifflin. Though it's over a century old, the mill survives today because the corporation installed expensive continuous-caster technology years ago to modernize the production process. Best way to reach it from Station Square is to follow Carson Street east (which becomes Route 837) into Homestead, Whitaker and finally West Mifflin (if you reach Kennywood Park, you've gone too far). Pull into one of the businesses on the left and observe the sprawling steel plant across the river below. Drive time about 30 minutes.