Walking Pittsburgh

Self-Guided Walks

• Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council Public Art Walking Tours
  You can download 5 brochures in .pdf format covering public art in The Cultural District, Retail District & Firstside, The North Shore, Grant Street Corridor District, and Oakland.
• The Fabric of Pittsburgh Walking Tours
  The City of Pittsburgh's Planning Department's Historic Review Commission has created several self-guided tours of historic districts in Pittsburgh. They include "historic districts" (Mexican War Streets, Allegheny West, and Manchester), "city legacies" (Fourth Avenue, Grant Street, Mellon Square, Monongahela Wharf, Downtown Churches), and Historic Interiors.
• Neighbors in the Strip
  This official site for the Strip District (wholesale grocery district with fish and meat markets, ethnic food stores, produce markets) offers an interactive map.
• Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation: Whirlwind Downtown Walking Tour
  This self-guided walking tour features a selection of architectural landmarks and public spaces in the heart of downtown Pittsburgh.
• Pittsburgh Neighborhood Tours
  This site features historic neighborhood tours of Bloomfield, Lawrenceville, Mount Washington, Oakland, The Strip, North Side and South Side.
• Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
  The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette published three walking tours of the area: Downtown (2002), Oakland (2003), and Southside (2004). These came out in the paper but were not put online. Oakland and Downtown were printed as brochures which can be obtained at a few libraries.
  • Walking Oakland: the ultimate tour of Oakland and surrounding areas (2003)
  • Walking Pittsburgh: the ultimate walking tour of downtown Pittsburgh (2002)
• Pop City
  Pop City is a wonderful site for learning about the city of Pittsburgh. Sherrie Flick has contributed articles about walking in various neighborhoods of Pittsburgh
  • Walk this Way: Pittsburgh's Walkable Neighborhoods
  • Urban Walk #3: Squirrel Hill to East Liberty
  • Urban Walking Tour: Bloomfield to the Strip
  • Pop City: Confessions of a Walker (Strip District to the South Side)
    A December 6, 2006 article by Sherrie Flick which includes a walking route from the Strip District to the South Side.

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Guided Tours

• Homewood Cemetery Walking Tours
  The Homewood Cemetery Historical Fund offers two walking tours in the summer, from August through the first week of November on alternating Saturdays at 1:00 p.m.
• Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation
  Ask about their various bus and walking tours. Note that many must be scheduled 10 days to three weeks in advance and some have a 10 person minimum.

• Pittsburgh Walking.com
  Walking tours of Pittsburgh led by Donald Gibbon. For more information, check the April 18, 2002, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article: "Leader of new Pittsburgh Walking covers lot of ground".
• Sierra Club - Allegheny Group: Outings
  The local chapter of the Sierra Club offers walks in their Events/Outings section, where they will also list walks by other groups.
• Urban Hike Pittsburgh
  Urban Hike is an informal, monthly-or-so walking tour of the Pittsburgh area. They learn a little history, take in some strange and beautiful sights, get some exercise, and wrap it all up with some delectable local cuisine.

• Venture Outdoors
  Venture Outdoors also posts walking activities from other organizations. Search for "hiking" activities (ALL organizations).

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Books & Articles

• Pittsburgh in Your Pocket : a Guide to Pittsburgh-Area Architecture
  by Walter C. Kidney. Pittsburgh, PA (450 The Landmarks Bldg., One Station Square, Pittsburgh 15219) : Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation, c1988. New Edition 1994, $4.95.
• If you want more, check out the above author's monumental
  Pittsburgh's Landmark Architecture : The Historic Buildings of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County
  These books and others about Pittsburgh may be purchased online at the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation.
• Seeing Pittsburgh
  By Barringer Fifield; photos by Michael Eastman; University of Pittsburgh Press, c1996. $29.95. A collection of walking and driving architectural tours written and photographed by two non-Pittsburghers. Also available from the University of Pittsburgh Press in paperback ($16.95).
• Pittsburgh Walking Map
  Unique 4-color map and mini-guide to buildings and attractions in key city areas (Downtown on one side, Oakland on the other). 400 bldgs, parking and sights, mini-guide to 46 points of interest, capsule restaurant reviews, new riverfront attractions. Order online from New Pittsburgh Publications.

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Videos

• Out of this furnace: a walking tour of Thomas Bell's novel
  A videorecording from the University of Pittsburgh Press.
• WQED Pittsburgh: Rick Sebak and the Pittsburgh Video Collection
  These videos about Pittsburgh include "North Side Story", "The Strip Show", "Downtown Pittsburgh", "Wylie Avenue Days" (Hill District), "Holy Pittsburgh" (Pittsburgh churches), "The Mon, the Al, and the O" (Pittsburgh's three rivers), "Pennsylvania Diners and Other Roadside Restaurants", and "Something about Oakland".
  The following are available in the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh
  • North Side Story
  • The Strip Show
  • South Side
  • Downtown Pittsburgh
  • Something about Oakland
  • Holy Pittsburgh
  • Flying off the Bridge to Nowhere!

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Can't Walk?

• Molly's Trolleys
  A Pittsburgh-based charter service specializing in conferences, meetings, group tours, weddings, and other special events.
• Just Ducky Tours
  For the more adventurous, Just Ducky offers a fun-filled trip through Pittsburgh in a vintage World War II amphibious vehicle, able to drive from land into water.