‘The Frick’

‘The Frick, Pittsburgh’ is the name given to a ‘gilded age’ mansion house, grounds and art museum, given to the city of Pittsburgh by the Frick family to be preserved for the city.

 

The house itself, named ‘Clayton’ was the home of the industrialist, philanthropist and art collector Henry Clay Frick when he was first married and remained a family home even after he became very successful and moved to much bigger homes in New York and in Massachusetts.

His daughter returned to live at Clayton in her last years and donated the house, art collection, conservatory and staff houses, motor cars and carriages, together with an endowment to run the site as an art museum.  The collection is small compared to the Frick Collection in New York but still important.

The house is undergoing significant restoration to the covered porch entrance and ground floor.  I toured the inside but unfortunately no photographs could be taken of the opulent but original interior.  Here are a couple of photos from the web..

The house retains many original features including very fine wood carving and paneling; friezes picked out in precious metals - including the newly discovered aluminum which was and is very important in the history of Pittsburgh.

There are a number of important paintings in the house including a Monet and several portraits by Sir Joshua Reynolds.  Others are in the art museum in the grounds.

There was little colour in the garden apart from these hydrangeas.  Inside the glasshouse a few spots of colour..

This last plant had tiny flowers but was named the ‘Goldfish’ plant - not hard to see why!!

Finally I spent a short while in the carriage and motor museum, admiring some of the many vehicles..

Last but not least as I left to go back to the hotel I saw these two squirrels playing in the leaves.  One grey, one black..

‘Super Natural Night’ at Phipps Conservatory

On Wednesday evening we visited the Phipps Conservatory at the Botanical Gardens in Pittsburgh, to see the illuminated giant glass flower sculptures created by the glass artist Jason Gamrath.

These huge glass orchids in the central atrium were a taste of things to come.  Overhead the more abstract and huge glass chandelier created by Dale Chihuly which is a permanent exhibit in the Conservatory dome..

We walked around the glasshouses one by one, enjoying the sight of the illuminated glass flowers of all types..

There were also several other Dale Chihuly pieces..

In some of the greenhouses there were tableaux of various types of glass flowers.

Historic Pittsburgh

One of my first stops today was the former Pittsburgh railway station.  (It is still an Amtrak station but the main building is now used for events with flats above).  Lots of traces though of the grand old days of rail travel..

The Rotunda at the front of the station is now listed as a Historical Monument.  It has a very ornate brick structure both under foot and overhead.

Inside, the former Booking Hall is huge and imposing and retains just a few hints of its former role as a busy transport hub.

And of course lots of station clocks..

Outside the modern buildings of Pittsburgh downtown are framed in the arch of the Rotunda.

I then walked onto the Heinz History Centre via the riverside path.  All looking a little more colourful with some sunshine.

The Heinz History Centre occupies a huge warehouse building quite close to the river which was originally built to store vast quantities of ice.

Inside on the ground floor, some interesting vehicles from Pittsburgh’s past.. including this car made of stainless steel!

A streetcar..

Inside it was so much bigger than I expected..

And of course a Heinz wagon..the company started in Pittsburgh with very small beginnings - horseradish grown in a garden and made into sauce which was sold at a market stall...

Lots more to share another day!

Grey Day in Pittsburgh

It was cold and raining when we arrived in Pittsburgh and has stayed that way for most of the day.

Our hotel room is quirky and colourful though!

We set off to walk across the river to visit the National Aviary, our logic being that, once there, we would be undercover.

This is a composite photo of just a few of Pittsburgh’s many iron bridges that I put together for Facebook.  The colour photos were not significantly more colourful, unfortunately..

When we got to the National Aviary, there was rather more colour to enjoy in the Grasslands, Wetlands, Rainforest and other exhibits.

This evening we went to the Phipps Conservatory to see ‘SuperNatural Nights’ - an installation of outsize glass flowers within the Autumn flower displays..

More of that another day..