74-75: slept like a baby, city of firsts, emoticon, nickelodeon, kiss-my-ass clock, old overholt, world series, kdka radio, slinky, cathedral of learning, mellon pillars, mysterious door, the fence, dippy, gas station, b & t water, big mac - My Midlife Crisis - CycleBlaze

July 9, 2025 to July 10, 2025

74-75: slept like a baby, city of firsts, emoticon, nickelodeon, kiss-my-ass clock, old overholt, world series, kdka radio, slinky, cathedral of learning, mellon pillars, mysterious door, the fence, dippy, gas station, b & t water, big mac

Pittsburgh

Wow....  I slept like a baby last night.

Pittsburgh has an amazing number of Firsts. You many recall how, when I go to a city that has a "first," I try to partake in whatever it is. Some examples on this trip include:
+ Key Lime Pie in Key West, where it was first created
+ Big Mac in Miami, where the first one was made

Among the many firsts here is that the polio vaccine was created here by Dr. Salk at the University of Pittsburgh. I checked that one off my list as a young child.

The first combination heart and liver transplant was performed, also at the University of Pittsburgh, by Dr. Starzl in 1984. Although I'm completely committed to this Quest of Firsts, I'm going to pass on the heart/liver transplant... although if I have to eat another Whopper I might not have a choice.

Pittsburgh had the first internet emoticon, the smiley face, which was created by a Carnegie Mellon University computer scientist in 1982.
So.....

This one is easy…. I just took a picture of myself.
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One that wasn't easy was America's first dedicated movie theater. The Nickelodeon, at 433–435 Smithfield Street, opened on June 19, 1905. It charged a nickel (hence the name “Nickelodeon” = nickel + odeon meaning theater) and initially seated 96 people. 

I scoured the street at that address, looking for any sign of the historical marker representing the location, but failed to find it. It's supposed to be somewhere along here, so I walked two blocks in each direction.
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Karen PoretThe fact it’s empty and For Lease is a “clue” it’s historical ( sad to say)
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1 week ago
I then asked this guy, Dave, a native Pittsburgher, who confidently told me that although he's never actually seen it, it's on the adjacent street - so I followed the spoor over to Wood Street and burned another half hour searching for the elusive marker.
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Still unsuccessful, I went into a bank and talked with the three security guards. Just like the guy I had asked in the convenience store across the street from the alleged location, the guards had no idea this wonderful landmark was even in the area. As they were murmuring amongst themselves, I happened to find some information on my phone that noted the street numbering has changed over the years and the address is now 441 Smithfield Street so, as they were still scratching their collective heads, I tromped over to the new address.

I'm only including the next two pictures because there's a plaque about some guy named "Fast Eddie," but not the Nickelodeon???
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very nice, but where's the first movie theater??
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I had already walked past the renamed address at 441 Smithfield 4-5 times when I was looking for the earlier address, and the only thing that might be the location is this - but it's at the wrong address.
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Rich FrasierYour commitment to this quest is impressive !
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1 week ago
Mark BinghamTo Rich FrasierIt's not like Orofino, Idaho, who claims they have "The First State Hospital for the Insane Built from a Brothel," but yeah, I really wanted to see it. :-)
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1 week ago

After spending two hours on my quest, I finally called it quits. While it's not exactly the oldest glass eye in western Cameron county, it is something I had really wanted to see.

So, you're going to have to settle for the Kaufmann's Store Clock, a poor substitute, but a beautiful piece of artistry and history. This 2,500-pound bronze clock, declared a landmark in 1981, was placed here in 1913. In 1983, Councilman Eugene DePasquale told Councilwoman Michelle Madoff that if a voluntary levy she proposed raised more than $20, he would kiss her ass under the Kaufmann's Clock. Donations reached $1,500, and Madoff challenged him to make good on his word, but DePasquale declined saying that it would be “undignified.” During a 1987 attempt to clean it, the clock had become so thick and filthy from 70 years of pollution and pigeon poop that industrial solvents used to clean bridges were needed to strip the thick film, and over 1,000 ground-up corncobs were used to sandblast the metal in order to restore its shine.
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Karen PoretWhat a gorgeous work of art and timely information!
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1 week ago
Mark BinghamTo Karen Poret"timely information" I see what you did there. :-)
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1 week ago

After wandering around Pittsburgh, accosting strangers like a deranged person to ask where the old Nickelodeon theater is and getting quizzical looks from pretty much everyone, I needed a drink........

America's oldest whiskey brand, I was surprised to learn, doesn't come from Kentucky or Tennessee - it comes from right here. Abe Overholt, a Mennonite farmer and distiller, started Old Overholt in the early 1800s. It’s one of the very few brands that survived Prohibition because it was granted federal permission to produce “for medicinal purposes.”
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This guy looks like he could use some "medicine."
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Onward and backward.......

Pittsburgh hosted the first World Series here in 1903.
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Exposition Park is long gone, but this marks where home plate was. You can see PNC Stadium, where the Pirates play, in the background.
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Because it sits next to a river, Exposition Park was famous for flooding, and games were sometimes played with water in the outfield.
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Maybe you noticed the wet streets in the previous picture. It rained on me while I was here, which shouldn't be surprising considering that Pittsburgh gets more rain than Seattle. Although it doesn't have as many rainy days, the amount of rain is higher.

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Here we take a commercial break in order to listen to KDKA, the world's first commercial radio station. Dr. Frank Conrad, a Westinghouse engineer and radio enthusiast, had been conducting amateur broadcasts from his garage. As the broadcasts became more popular, Westinghouse, the corporation manufacturing radio receivers, saw this as an opportunity and started the first commercial radio station on 2 November 1920. It sent across the waves live results of the 1920 U.S. presidential election between Warren G. Harding and James M. Cox. 

 Because it predates audio recording on magnetic tape, no recording of the actual event exists, but here's a re-enactment of the original broadcast:
KDKA's broadcast of the 1920 presidential election

This recording is particularly impressive because it uses:
* restored crystal radio equipment like what Frank Conrad used in his garage station, including 100-watt vacuum tube transmitters and the carbon microphones used in 1920
* replicated room acoustics with reverberation matching the roof of the Westinghouse Building K (where the studio was)
* voice actors using an early-20th-century broadcast style (clear enunciation, slower pacing, etc)
* eyewitness accounts and oral histories
* Westinghouse memos and logs, and notes from KDKA engineers like Conrad
* background effects like Morse code interference or static, which was common to early broadcasts.

And here's a link to the current KDKA station which, since it's a First, is necessary for me to listen to:
KDKA now

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Slinkys were invented in Pittsburgh. I bought one, and plan to insert a video of one going down some steps, but the steps have to be short (read:  for someone with a size 4 shoe), or it doesn't work. I'm still looking for the right steps, which shouldn't be hard in this town, so check back later.

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wrought iron on an old wall, a remnant of a different age
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THIS is Pittsburgh to me. I don't even remember any other buildings in the skyline, just this one.
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It's called "The Cathedral of Learning," and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1975. It has almost 2,000 rooms, 31 of which are themed classrooms which reflect a different cultural heritage (German, Indian, African, Philippine, etc). The four-story Gothic hall on the first floor covers half an acre, with vaulted ceilings and ribbed stone arches, and is reminiscent of a medieval cathedral. It’s 535 feet tall with 42 stories, making it the tallest educational building in the Western Hemisphere and second-tallest university building in the world.
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Just a cool-looking structure on the University of Pennsylvania campus. The doors are bright red, but didn't turn out in the picture.
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the same building from the side
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The Mellon Institute (not to be confused with The Melon Institute) is part of Carnegie Mellon University, and the location of these limestone pillars. There are 62 of them surrounding the building, each one carved from a single piece of limestone, and tipping the scales at 50 tons (100,000 lbs/45,359 kg).
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Pittsburgh’s industrial heyday left them covered in soot from the steel mills and coal plants.
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During those soot-filled times, many people would bring an extra shirt to work and change at noon because the first one would be so dirty.
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When the city cleaned buildings in the mid‑20th century, Carnegie Mellon University engineers intentionally left parts of the pillars uncleaned as a stark reminder of Pittsburgh’s polluted past, and that industrial progress comes with a cost.
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This cool-looking door at the end of the pillars makes you want to know what's behind it.
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Also on campus is The Fence, which was built by the Class of 1923 and evolved into a paintable message board for the entire student body. Students can only use paintbrushes, never rollers or spray paint, and only between midnight and sunrise.
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Karen PoretThank you for this!
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1 week ago
Carnegie Mellon Student Government enforces rules about painting times, guard duty, and appropriate content, and may intervene or remove paint if the message violates university policy (hate speech, explicit content, etc.).
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The coatings of paint became so thick (more than six inches) that, in 1993, the old wooden fence collapsed. It was rebuilt using steel-reinforced concrete and wood rails.
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Dippy the Dinosaur is a fiberglass replica of the actual dinosaur housed inside the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. He was named "Diplodocus carnegii" because Carnegie funded the expedition which discovered the original. Students frequently dress him up in seasonal scarves or Steelers memorabilia.
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On 12/1/1913, the Gulf Refining Co. opened the first purpose-built service station in the country where this parking lot now stands. Prior to this date, gas sales occurred at curbside pumps or barrel-served shops, and weren’t architecturally designed or full-service. There's a parking lot because, as you know, a place to leave an automobile is much more important than saving the country's first gas station.
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This was more than just a gas pump, and revolutionized what a gas station could be, setting the standard for the modern service station with full amenities and branding, including free air, water, tire & tube installation, crankcase service, and even restrooms. At 27 cents a gallon they sold 30 gallons the first day, 350 gallons a day the first weekend, and almost 1,500 gallons the first week.
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Rich FrasierInteresting that this historical marker was findable but the movie theater’s wasn’t. Something about priorities…
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1 week ago
This pole was in the parking lot. It has no signage stating what it is, so I have no idea as to what that thing at the top is.
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It isn't a solar panel.
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so.... do I need to park and then just sit in my car? Fold my car up and stuff it in my backpack?
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I just randomly happened to see this on the sidewalk near nothing in particular as I was walking along the street.
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Karen PoretAny day the Yankees are beaten is worth commemorating..
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1 week ago
What makes this particularly cool is that Cherpumple Mike and BlogMother Jen's last name is Taylor. There are thousands of these around Pittsburgh, and I do a double take every time I see one.
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If you haven’t read about my experiences eating a Whopper in Miami, you should do that now by clicking here. Otherwise, the following section will make no sense whatsoever, and you’ll become convinced that “That Mark guy is just plain weird” (although there’s a strong risk you may already think that). 

Just as the first Whopper was created at a Miami Burger King, the first Big Mac was invented and test-marketed in a Pittsburgh-area McDonald's in 1967. If you recall from my Whopper experience, I experienced some...     ….ummm..... physical and mental changes which were a bit disturbing. The effects took a while to wear off, so this time I’m not taking any chances. I’m eliciting your help to determine if any changes occur, however subtle, while I undertake possibly the most dangerous task of the trip:  eating a Big Mac from McDonald’s. 

THIS time I'm going to use a mirror to see if any dental changes occur like they did when I ate the Whopper.
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****    ****
Watch very carefully to see if you note any physical changes, however slight, that might take place.
****    ****

There were a few places I'd like to have seen but just didn't have the time. However, I really like Pittsburgh, and will definitely be back.
Bicycle Heaven - the world’s largest bike museum (and even better, it’s free).
* The Meadowcroft Rockshelter - is the oldest known site of human habitation in North America. It's south of town so I would've had to eliminate some of the places I did see.
* Latrobe - this small town of only 8,000 people is home of the very first banana split, the birthplace of Mr. Rogers (!), and the birthplace Arnold Palmer.
Those are three excellent reasons to visit, but it's 40 miles away and I just didn't have enough time.

I start riding tomorrow, and since it's been three weeks since I've put butt to saddle so I'm a little anxious. It's been so long that it feels like a different tour.

Rate this entry's writing Heart 11
Comment on this entry Comment 8
Steve Miller/GrampiesSeriously, I think you are the only person who can get as many unique and quirky highlights from a visit to a fairly ordinary place. Well done.
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1 week ago
Gregory GarceauHow in the heck did you do the special effect for your video? Or can Big Macs really produce such immediate changes?
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1 week ago
Mark BinghamTo Gregory GarceauNo CGI, no special effects.... so, draw your own conclusions.
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1 week ago
Karen PoretWhoppers “produce stomach growth”, plain and simple.
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1 week ago
Rich FrasierYour bonus payment from the Pittsburgh tourist board is in the mail. I learned a lot, though! Thanks for the historical digging.
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1 week ago
Mark BinghamTo Steve Miller/GrampiesThanks Steve!!
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1 week ago
Lyle McLeodTo Mark BinghamI bet it takes a support crew with PhD level training to pull that one off (or up).
Have you recovered yet?
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1 week ago
Mark BinghamTo Lyle McLeodI have, but after Miami, and now Pittsburgh, I looked up to see where the first Wendy’s was, and plan to avoid Columbus. 😊
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1 week ago