Pittsburgh geography:
Pittsburgh is located at the head of the Ohio River, which is formed by the confluence of the Allegheny River and the Monongahela River. It is also situated in the Allegheny Mountains, part of the Appalachian mountain chain separating the East Coast and the Great Plains. The combination of hills and rivers results in Pittsburgh having more bridges, it has been claimed, than Venice does. The hills, rivers, and bridges combine with a notable lack of steel mills to produce a truly lovely city, with picturesque views around almost every corner.

Pittsburgh weather in June:
The weather in early June in Pittsburgh is usually hot and sunny, with a chance of rain. Average high temperature of 80F (27C).

NAACL 2001

Local Attractions: Pittsburgh, PA, USA

Spring Hill Overlook
by Mary Lois Verrilla
412-793-9414

Attractions in town:

Optional conference social events: a baseball game and a barn dance.

Things to do or see before, during, or after the conference; roughly in order of distance from the conference site.

  • The Carnegie: art museum, natural history museum, public library, concert halls
  • Three Rivers Arts Festival: 1-17 June 2001. Note that this includes free musical performances (including big names, like Richard Thompson), food booths, and crafts, as well as fine arts.
  • Point State Park: The location of the original French fort (Fort Duquesne) and its successor (the British Fort Pitt), and the head of the Ohio River. A nice open space downtown.
  • The Monongahela and Duquesne Inclines: Pittsburgh has two working inclined railroads that you can ride. At one time, there were over 20. The Monongahela Incline is actually still a regular part of the local transit authority. (We said there were lots of hills!)
  • The Warhol Museum: Andy Warhol was born in Pittsburgh, and attended Carnegie Mellon's School of Art. (Also run by The Carnegie.)
  • PNC Park: our spectacular, brand-new baseball park.
    The Pirates will be playing here against Atlanta on June 1, 2, and 3!
    A group of us may be going to the game on June 2.
  • Carnegie Science Center (yet another piece of The Carnegie)
  • Station Square: an entertainment, eating, and shopping complex that used to be a railroad station.
  • Gateway Clipper Fleet: A fleet of sightseeing riverboats.
  • Just Ducky Tours: Sightseeing tour on a WW II era amphibious landing craft (this photo has an out-of-date phone number on it).
  • Bicycle rentals for riding on the river-side bicycle trails.
  • Sandcastle: a nice, big water-park on a former steelmill site.
  • Kennywood: local amusement park, National Historic Landmark, with several of the best wooden rollercoasters in the US.

    • Short excursions:

  • Less than a two hour drive:
  • Fallingwater and Kentuck Knob: two houses designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.
  • Ohiopyle: perhaps the most interesting of the many local nature areas.
    Includes serious white-water rafting, nature preserve, swimming, and the 18-foot high Great Falls of the Youghiogheny. A bicycle path going from Pittsburgh to Washington, DC, is mostly finished, and goes through the park.
  • Fort Necessity: a small battle here between George Washington and the French sparked the French and Indian War. (Known as part of the "Seven Years' War" in Europe.)
    The "fort" has been recreated on the original site; located just off of US Route 40.
  • New Wilmington Amish (Pennsylvania Dutch) settlements (Odd that they have a website.)
  • Moraine State Park: Glacial moraines and Lake Arthur, a man-made lake that reinstantiates a glacial-era lake. (This was the southernmost reach of the last Ice Age glaciers.) Nearby McConnell's Mill State Park is also lovely.
  • West Virginia, including some true wilderness.
  • Less than a three hour drive:
  • Cook Forest: canoeing and hiking; its "Forest Cathedral" is one of the last stands of old-growth (read: gigantic) trees in Pennsylvania. Theoretically you can actually hike there from Pittsburgh on the Baker Trail.
  • Erie: "Presque Isle" State Park/Lake Erie/Perry Monument and flagship
  • Cleveland: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Flats, Sea World

    • Pittsburgh links:

    There is an official Pittsburgh city government website.
    The University of Pittsburgh has a web page listing local activities.
    Carnegie Mellon also has a Visitors web page and a grad student web page listing local activities.