Pittsburgh — a long weekend in one of America’s great cities
Author / photographer: Me
Publication: Low Velocity
Published: June 17, 2026
Original post: https://lowvelocity.org/pittsburgh/
A friend and I took a long weekend and visited Pittsburgh, a city I had wanted to spend more time in for years. We stayed in Bloomfield and used it as a base for wandering around the city. Over the weekend we made it through the Strip District, Lawrenceville, Allentown, Mt. Washington, the North Shore, Downtown, and a few transit/incline stops.
I had hoped to use transit more, but in practice the connections were rough for where we were going, so we ended up taking a lot more Lyfts than expected. Still, Pittsburgh was terrific: dense, layered, hilly, old, strange, beautiful, and full of the kind of urban texture that makes a city feel deeply lived in.
All photos below are self-taken. Original photo post/source:
https://lowvelocity.org/pittsburgh/
New Alaska Airlines lounge at Portland International before heading east.
Flying through Seattle on the way east, with Mt. Hood visible beyond the wing.
Arriving at SeaTac for the layover.
Looking up inside Pittsburgh International Airport at the wood ceiling, skylights, and suspended public art.
The Iron City Beer building at dusk, one of those great old industrial signs that immediately sets a city’s tone.
A classic Pittsburgh streetscape: narrow storefronts, old masonry, and layered upper floors.
Older mixed-use buildings on a neighborhood corner, with the city’s hills and street grid starting to show themselves.
A Pittsburgh dinosaur in a Mister Rogers sweater, holding King Friday XIII and Queen Sara Saturday puppets — possibly the most Pittsburgh thing imaginable.
Street musicians at the Bloomfield Saturday Market, near where we stayed for the weekend.
A wall of local flyers and event posters at a coffee shop in the Strip District.
Produce and sidewalk activity in the Strip District, one of the liveliest areas we walked through.
Industrial brick, old rail infrastructure, and warehouse conversions in the Strip District.
A busy Strip District street scene, with market crowds, old brick buildings, and hillside greenery in the background.
A close-up detail from the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix / Italian car show.
The Heinz History Center in the Strip District, housed in a massive old brick warehouse building.
A view through a grand doorway into a formal interior space of the Pittsburgh Union Station, showing off the city’s older architectural bones.
A tall, narrow brick building downtown, with layers of old painted signage still visible on the facade.
Downtown Pittsburgh layered behind a small urban park — one of those views where the city’s topography and older building stock really show up.
Wood Street Station, one of the city’s more handsome transit entrances downtown.
A Pittsburgh Regional Transit map downtown. We tried to make transit work where we could, but a lot of the weekend ended up being Lyft-heavy.
A light rail train at the station platform, headed toward the South Hills.
Historic landmark plaque for the Monongahela Incline plane on West Carson Street.
Looking up the Monongahela Incline tracks — great infrastructure, even if the broader weekend was much more Lyft-dependent than planned.
More photos and notes:
Pittsburgh — Low Velocity
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