Pittsburgh - Stephen Foster Memorial

The Stephen Foster Memorial is located on the University of Pittsburgh campus.  Yes, Stephen Foster is yet another Pittsburgh native.

We weren't able to enter the building due to a scheduled event, but the grounds were wonderful.  Be sure to check the official campus website (here) so that you are sure of the hours.  I am going to show a few of the photos that I took and the things that caught my eye.  References that I give are taken from this wikipedia description.

 The building was designed by Charles Klauder, as was the Heinz Memorial Chapter.

The gate and lamp are beautiful works done by Samuel Yellin.

This is a closeup of the Samuel Yellin work.

Paving stones always capture my eye.

 Red front door, with ironwork by Samuel Yellin.

This is a sundial on a stone base (the gnomon is missing).  This was dedicated in 1914 to the Pittsburgh blues of the War of 1812.

 The stained glass windows were done by Charles Connick.

Here are a few Amazon links to books and music about Stephen Foster (affiliate).

Pittsburgh - Heinz Memorial Chapel

The Heinz Memorial Chapel is on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh.  Click here for a wikipedia description of the building. All architects and designers are listed on the site and I credit my information to wikipedia. I won't repeat a lot of what is provided, but will give a brief description. This building is worth seeing.  It is in an area of the campus along with the Stephan Foster Memorial and the Cathedral of Learning.

One of the main features that drew me to this building is the stained glass.  The neo-classic design was by Charles Klauder and the stone was grey Indiana limestone.

 All of the wood in the chapel is oak.  The lectern and pulpit area are of English pollard oak.

 The pews are of Appalachian oak.

 Ahh, there they are, the stained glass windows. There are 23 Chapel windows, design by Charles Connick.  The windows are about 4,000 square feet, with 250,000 pieces of glass. There are 391 identifiable people in the windows plus "a large supporting cast of anonymous individuals."

 The ceiling is lined with structural acoustical tile (a ceramic product) which approximates stone.

Here is another view of one of those beautiful stained glass window details.

The wrought iron was beautiful. The lanterns, door fittings, altar cross, candlesticks and all other were created by Samuel Yellin of Philadelphia.

 Stone carvings on the inside and out were intricate and detailed.

There was no fee to enter the chapel.  Check the Heinz Memorial Chapter website for hours. There is plenty of paid street parking in the area.  Be sure to visit the Stephen Foster Memorial and the Cathedral of Learning while you are in the area.

This is book that I found on Amazon with great details about the metal work of Yellin. (affiliate)




This one describes the "eminent Pittsburghers".

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania - River Cruise

I love the river cruises in Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh is not complete unless you travel the river and see the connections on each shore.

This is quite interesting. It appears to be an overturned barge, painted, with a little bit of graffiti.  Not the best photograph, and certainly not the most glamorous along the river.

This is the baseball stadium with the stands filled to see a Pirate game.

This is the sunset showing off Heinz Field, the home of the Pittsburgh Steelers!

As the sun dips in to the Pennsylvania hills, you can see the Carnegie Science center.

The lights are on the rails of the incline.  The incline is the best way to get to the top of Mount Washington for a beautiful view of the nightlights of Pittsburgh.

I am fascinated with all of the bridges around the city and the great variety of construction methods.

No cruise is complete unless you can look at the sunlit skyline with Point Park in the foreground.

Arizona State Fair - 2011 Amateur Photography Division

These photos were entered in the Arizona State Fair, in the Amateur Photography Division.  This is the last year that I can be in this division and next year will be moved up to the Pros. So I am enjoying any recognition that I get this year because next year the competition will get tougher.

This is the Roman Forum.  It was displayed but no ribbon.

This is the Sans Souci castle in Pottsdam, Germany.  It was not displayed.

This is the pond and bridge at Monet's Garden in Giverny, France.

This photo won Honorable Mention.

I have an enlarged 20x30 hanging on my wall at home and the colors are amazing.

This is the view from inside the Pantheon in Rome, Italy.

It was awarded Honorable Mention. I enlarged this photo to 20x30

and it absolutely glows.

I also entered four photos in the Black and White division.  I tried some artsy approaches to see if I could catch the judges' eye. It didn't work.

This is gatework from a church along the Elbe River, Germany.

Not selected for display.

This is the dome from a church along the Elbe River in Germany.

Not displayed.

These are the wintry steps in Montmartre, Paris, France.

These lead up to Sacre Coeur.

Displayed but no ribbon.

This is one of my favorite of the Louvre Museum, Paris, France.

I probably like it a lot because I took it on my last day in Paris with Tina.

It was not displayed.

All of these photos are available for a reprint. Let me know what size you want and I'll quote a price.

Arizona State Fair on Facebook

Phoenix - Beckett's Table

Beckett's Table has been open for a few months and I finally had an opportunity to enjoy a wonderful dinner.  We had reservations so our table was ready when we arrived. I have noticed driving by in the past that the parking lot is full, so I recommend reservations so that you won't have to wait.  We made reservations a week in advance because it was "Phoenix Restaurant Week" and this place was bound to be full (and it was!)

We split appetizers so that we could have some of both.

This was chicken meatballs and smokey tomato sauce, roasted onions, eggplant & peppers, bread crumbs and basil.  Very tasty.

We also had a vegetable chop salad, razz cherries, pepitas, cucumber, carrot, fennel, potato, tomato, green beans, celery, red bells, corn, champagne basil vinaigrette.  This was good too.

For our entry we both had the same thing: Steamed white bass with farmer's market organics.

 The other choices were Fire Roasted green chili pork stew with corn bread, cotija cheese or J's Meatloaf, cream yukon mashed, green beans, mushroom gravy.

Included in the $30 fixed price was a glass of house red wine (or white or beer).

Dessert was a choice of "award winning fig and pecan pie, with cream cheese citrus zest ice cream. (Yes, cream cheese ice cream...rich and creamy.)

You could also have Chocolate dipped bacon s'mores, caramel, house-made marshmallows, whipped peanut butter, graham cracker.  Sounded good.

I highly recommend a dinner here.  The service was good and timing of the courses allowed plenty of time to relax, chat, and enjoy good company and good food.

Click here to go to Beckett's Table on the web.