News Around the Neighborhood
Be Part of the Largest Mural in the History of Pittsburgh
PHLF: Walking Grant Street from Sixth to Liberty Avenues
Wednesday, July 13
6:00 pm – 7:15 pm
$20.00 per person
This tour is limited to 20 participants.
(Tickets will not be available after July 12)
Click here to purchase a ticket.
You will receive a ticket with a QR Code by e-mail. Please PRINT and bring it with you for the tour
This tour covers the northern half of a street the American Planning Association designated one of America’s Ten Great Streets in 2012. From the quintessentially Modernist U.S. Steel Tower to the elegant Beaux-Arts Pennsylvanian (formerly Union Station), and with glorious Art Deco gems in between, this part of Grant Street is populated by outstanding civic and corporate buildings.
Examples of adaptive re-use of historic buildings in this corridor demonstrate the economic value of historic preservation. Tour participants also will learn of the wide influence—sometimes explicit, other times less so—of businessman, philanthropist, politician, art collector, and Pittsburgh native Andrew W. Mellon on this important street.
PHLF: Sewickley Walking Tour
Saturday, July 9
2:00 pm to 4:00 pm
$20.00 per person
This is an in-person tour and is limited to 20 participants.
(Tickets will not be available after July 8.)
Click here to purchase a ticket.
You will receive a ticket with a QR Code by e-mail. Please PRINT and bring it with you for the tour.
Located 12 miles west of Pittsburgh, Sewickley is nestled between hills to the north and the Ohio River to the South. Taking its name from the Native American word for “Sweet Water,” Sewickley was incorporated as a borough in 1853 and dubbed “the Queen of Suburbs” by one writer in 1895.
The tour focuses on the commercial and residential neighborhoods of the Borough’s Third Historic District, in central Sewickley. Here you will see excellent examples of many of the architectural styles popular in the 19th and early 20th centuries, including work by a number of regionally and nationally important architects who lived and worked in the area.
Featuring places of worship, civic buildings, and handsome homes, the tour will demonstrate why this historic community continues to delight.
Keep Quiet or Die: The Struggle for Democratic Change in The Congo
Keep Quiet: The Struggle for Democratic Change in The Congo
Monday, June 27
7:00 pm
In October 2015, a few months before the end of his final constitutional term, General Denis Sassou Nguesso—President of the Republic of Congo—decided to change the constitution to enable his running for another term. After 18 years in power.
Keep Quiet is a feature length documentary film chronicling the struggle of journalists and pro-democracy advocates in their fight against the constitutional change and in favor of democracy in the Republic of Congo.
Following the release of this film, director, and producer Aunel Arneth was persecuted in the Republic of Congo and Senegal. As a result, he went into exile in the United States where he is currently a visiting scholar at the Global Studies Center at the University of Pittsburgh and sponsored by the Artist Protection Fund (APF).
This program contains violent materials and may be unsuitable for certain audiences. Parental discretion is advised.
WPA Juneteenth Homecoming Celebration
WPA Freedom Days 2022
Point State Park
Friday, Saturday and Sunday (June 17-19)
11:00 am-9:00 pm
Celebrate the conclusion of Juneteenth with a weekend blowout. The Downtown event, hosted by the city of Pittsburgh in partnership with Stop the Violence Pittsburgh, will feature vendors, musical performances, and activities for everyone to enjoy. This event is free and open to the public.
About Juneteenth
Juneteenth is the celebration of the end of chattel slavery and was first started in Texas in 1865 when the last enslaved people learned that the Civil War was over and that the Union had won the war.
Juneteenth is celebrated in 50 States across America and is the Country’s second Independence Day. Our Festival started in 2013 and this year marks the first Pittsburgh and Allegheny County legal holiday in this region. In 2021, the U.S. Congress declared Juneteenth a Federal holiday.
Register for Friday’s Free “SHRINE” Opening Block Party!
Where: 1400 Block of Monterey Street
Date: Friday, June 17
Time: 6:00-8:00 pm
Price: FREE (pre-registration encouraged)
We invite you to join us on Friday, June 17 from 6-8 PM for SANCTUARY, a free one-day public outdoor event that celebrates SHRINE, an exhibition of new installation works opening the same day at the Mattress Factory Monterey Annex. Featuring more than ten local entrepreneurs and small businesses, SANCTUARY will be located at the 1400 Block of Monterey Street, between Jacksonia Street and Sampsonia Way.
SANCTUARY includes free family artmaking activities in the City of Asylum garden, a Mommas’ Market featuring local artists and vendors, a live DJ set from Pittsburgh-based Yadirtydaughter, free admission to the brand-new exhibition SHRINE in the Monterey Annex, and an opportunity to fellowship with Northside neighbors. Food from soul food favorites Mommalicious and vegan Trinidadian food stand ShadoBeni will also be available for purchase. Local artists and vendors featured in SANCTUARY include Schereéya, Marietta Altenor, Dail Chambers, Nikki Delice, Chere Gordon, Desa Kishar, and Tiara LaShawna.
Free & Inclusive Programs in Allegheny Commons Park
Free & inclusive programs are taking place throughout June!
Explore the programs below and be sure to register in advance!
Join YMCA fitness instructors in the park for weekly exercise classes every Wednesday, June through August. Click here to register!
Saturday, June 11 @ 10:00 A.M. | Allegheny Commons Park
Come and flow with some of Pittsburgh’s best yoga instructors from Yoga Studios in this free all levels yoga event. Bring your kids and enjoy the feeling of practicing yoga beneath the trees in this city park! Participants should bring their own mat. Click here to register!
Wednesday, June 15 @ 6:30 P.M. | Allegheny Commons Park
Join YMCA fitness instructors in the park for weekly exercise classes every Wednesday, June through August. Click here to register!
Saturday, June 18 @ 10:00 A.M. | Allegheny Commons Park
Come and flow with some of Pittsburgh’s best yoga instructors from Yoga Studios in this free all levels yoga event. Bring your kids and enjoy the feeling of practicing yoga beneath the trees in this city park! Participants should bring their own mat. Click here to register!
Sunday, June 19 @ 2:00 P.M. | Allegheny Commons Park
Visit Allegheny Commons the third Sunday of the month from June through October for free activities for children (and children at heart) including balloon artist, craft activities, with special guests and performers! Click here to register!
Wednesday, June 22 @ 6:30 P.M. | Allegheny Commons Park
Join YMCA fitness instructors in the park for weekly exercise classes every Wednesday, June through August. Click here to register!
Saturday, June 25 @ 10:00 A.M. | Allegheny Commons Park
Come and flow with some of Pittsburgh’s best yoga instructors from Yoga Studios in this free all levels yoga event. Bring your kids and enjoy the feeling of practicing yoga beneath the trees in this city park! Participants should bring their own mat. Click here to register!
Wednesday, June 29 @ 6:30 P.M. | Allegheny Commons Park
Join YMCA fitness instructors in the park for weekly exercise classes every Wednesday, June through August. Click here to register!
PHLF: Downtown’s Best Special Places and Spaces
Thursday, June 9
9:45 am – 12:00 pm
$30 per person
The ticket price includes a guidebook, Exploring Pittsburgh: A Downtown Walking Tour
This tour is in-person and is limited to 10 participants.
Click here to buy a ticket. (Tickets will not be available after June 8.)
You will receive a ticket with a QR Code by e-mail. Please PRINT and bring it with you for the tour.
Downtown Pittsburgh’s built environment is a remarkable array of buildings and places old, new, and restored. In this brisk tour of architectural landmarks, spectacular interiors, and significant urban spaces you will learn how Pittsburgh developed from a military outpost in the 18th century into a beautiful, walkable, and livable 21st-century city.
Tour Meeting Point: One Oxford Centre Plaza, 301 Grant Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15219
Tour Ending Point: PPG Plaza, 1 PPG Place, Pittsburgh, PA 15222
Please arrive 10 minutes before the start time in order to ensure that the tour gets underway on time. Dress for the weather (PHLF tours proceed rain or shine!), and wear comfortable shoes. By purchasing a ticket for this tour, you acknowledge that you are physically able to undertake the tour, assume all personal risk during the tour, consent to being photographed during the tour, and permit PHLF to use your image in our communications.
This tour is handicap accessible. Please notify us of your needs 2 Business Days in advance of the tour.
PHLF: Old Allegheny County Jail Museum
Open on the first and third Mondays of the month through October (except on holidays)
Visit at your convenience between 11:30 am
and 1:00 pm
Cost: Free
A PHLF docent is on hand to tell you the story of the place. Completed in 1886 to the designs of Boston architect H. H. Richardson and in use until July 27, 1995, the former Allegheny County Jail was renovated between 1999 and 2001 to house the Family Division of the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas.
A portion of one of the cell blocks has been preserved in the “Old Allegheny County Jail Museum.” The Jail Museum was created through a grant from the Drue Heinz Trust to PHLF, in cooperation with the Allegheny County Juvenile Court and Curator Ed Urban, former Deputy Warden.
The Jail Museum, which is located in Downtown Pittsburgh at 440 Ross Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15219, opened in 2005.
Enter the Family Court Facility through one of two entrances. In both cases, you must go through security, and NO cameras are permitted.
- Either enter through the main Ross Street entrance.
- Or, enter through the great courtyard arch on Fifth Avenue.
For further information––or to double-check that the Jail Museum will be open on a particular Monday, contact Mary Lu Denny: at marylu@phlf.org or call 412-471-5808, ext. 527.
Claudio Cojaniz Returns for Two Different Jazz Poetry Performances
Claudio Cojaniz “Orfani”
Tuesday, May 17
7:00 pm
Master jazz pianist Claudio Cojaniz (Italy) returns to Pittsburgh with his trio and a brand new album of entirely original music.
Claudio is a world-renowned musician and a dear friend of City of Asylum. He first performed in Jazz Poetry 2018 to two evenings of sold-out and awed crowds. Claudio was also our most popular pandemic virtual concert, performing from his home near Naples to a gathered Pittsburgh crowd who needed some uplifting tunes.
We are thrilled Claudio returns to Pittsburgh live for JPM 2022 for two stellar performances.
The first evening features the US premiere of Claudio’s 2021 album Orfani(Orphans). In this album, Claudio sought to mentor and steward the next generation of Italy’s jazz stars, musicians who accompany him to Pittsburgh. Their album is inspired by the tragedies and triumphs of global migration. It is infused with world music sounds, influenced by the Balkan folk music of Claudio’s Serbian grandfather, as well as Claudio’s mastery of the blues.
The album is lyrical and concise with delicate melodies, and is sure to be an excellent evening of music.
The in-house restaurant 40 North will be closed but a cash bar will be available.