2018 marked the 50th anniversary of “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” and after watching a documentary about him, I discovered that the show was filmed in Pittsburgh. I stumbled across the “Fred Rogers Trail” that the PA Tourism Council had put together, and a road trip with my friend Kara was born. On the way there, we were able to stop by the Flight 93 Memorial. The approach is completely different than New York or DC’s Memorial and is still being created. In addition to telling the stories of the passengers, what I loved about it was the intention to turn that scarred land (a former open pit mine) into a place of healing. The meadow was blooming, memorial trees were being planted, and it had a feeling of peace and renewal.
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| The "Tower of Voices" being installed at the Flight 93 Memorial |
Mr. Rogers was apparently very health-conscious, but we couldn’t resist stopping for lunch at a place called The Fat Squirrel that offered a waffle made of mac and cheese and was delicious.
Our first official stops on the “trail” were in the town of Latrobe, his birthplace. Although he was an ordained Presbyterian minister, Saint Vincent College (which is Roman Catholic) is home to the Fred Rogers Center and has a free exhibit about the show including some of the props and his cardigans. It again impressed me to see how intentional he was in what he was teaching and the celebrities that appeared on his show. I also thought it was sweet that his mom knit some of those cardigans.
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| Fred Rogers Center at St. Johns College in Latrobe, PA |
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| The Neighborhood Trolley |
From there we drove by the cemetery to see his family crypt where he’s buried before visiting the downtown sites including his childhood home, the church he attended, and Latrobe’s other claim to fame: the birthplace of the banana split. The drugstore where this happened is no longer standing, but a nearby ice cream parlor served us an authentic version of the dish (who knew pineapple topping was a part of it?) topped with a little American flag; I felt very patriotic while enjoying it.
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| Site of the banana split's birthplace |
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| The original banana split |
Before leaving Latrobe, we visited the life-size statue of Mr. Rogers and I donned my sneakers and cardigan for the occasion. By the time we got to our hotel, we were too tired and stuffed to worry much about dinner.
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| Won't you be my neighbor? |
The next day, we drove to Pittsburgh under a clear sky and had perfect weather after they’d had days of rain. We started our visit with a trip up Duquesne Incline with great views overlooking the downtown and the closest we’d get to riding a trolley.
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| Duquesne Incline |
From there we visited the Senator John Heinz History Center, a converted ice storage building that was an impressive museum about all things Pittsburgh, including more Mr. Rogers artifacts.
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| King Friday's castle |
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| The set of "Mr. Rogers Neighborhood" at the Heinz Museum |
I had no idea so many inventors also came from Pittsburgh, and the Heinz exhibit was very engaging (if not appetite-inducing). For all the creativity, one thing that really impressed me was their use of the stairwell. They turned it into an exhibit on health, which certain numbered steps highlighting years of sports milestones or jersey numbers of famous athletes. For each flight of stairs there was a stamp to collect, and at the end you could show all the stamps for a free prize: a little ketchup bottle pin that was a replica of a Heinz marketing scheme at the World’s Fair.
All those stairs made me hungry, and a short walk away was a famous institution: Primanti Bros. They’ve been serving huge sandwiches since 1933 that were influenced by coalminers who didn’t want to get their food dirty, so the sandwiches come wrapped in paper and include what would normally be sides in the sandwich, including French fries and coleslaw.
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| A bit of the line to get in |
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| Enjoying our sandwiches |
After lunch we started a leisurely stroll along the riverside to Fort Pitt and were grateful recent floodwaters had receded as we saw debris indicating how high it had recently been. Fort Pitt was an unexpected stop, but it helped me appreciate the historical significance of Pittsburgh and gave us a chance to work off all the delicious food we’d been enjoying. From there it was a quick jaunt across a bridge to visit the "Tribute to Children" statue next to the Steelers stadium and enjoy more views along the river.
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| The destination of our riverside hike: the "Tribute to Children" statue |
On the walk back to the car we took a detour to the Milk Shake Factory, recommended by a local at the Fort Pitt museum and worth the hype.
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| Good to the last slurp |
Back in the car, we drove to a crowded, quirky, and interesting place called “Bicycle Heaven”. I don’t think I’d ever considered how many types of bikes there are, but it was fun to see my bike’s model included in the collection, along with one of the bikes from “Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure.”
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| Bicycle Heaven (every room was this crowded) |
For dinner we went with the hotel’s suggestion and visited “The Church Brew Works”, which is pretty much how it sounds. It was surprising to see the beer tanks where the altar used to be and to sit on old pews, but the pierogies were delicious and the ambiance was fun.
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| View from my seat The Church Brew Works |
On the drive home we stopped at Buttermilk Falls Natural Area, which had been on land owned by Mr. Rogers’ grandfather and where he’d spent time swimming and exploring as a boy. It was a short walk to a small but lovely waterfall that we practically had to ourselves, and a nice calm before dealing with traffic on the drive back.
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| Buttermilk Falls Natural Area |
I didn’t know what to expect, but Pittsburgh was cleaner, friendlier, and more affordable than some of the other big cities in the region, and I hope to return someday.
