Description: When it comes to amazing Museums I have to tell you that this one just may end up on top of the heap. The roots for today’s museum can be found in the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania and date back before 1880. After several different homes they moved into the At 200,000 square feet it is the largest history museum in Pa. In 1996 they moved into the Chautauqua Lake Ice Building and in 2003 began construction on a new five story wing that would bring in the Smithsonian Museum’s traveling exhibits and the Western Pa Sports Museum as well as lots of gallery space.
There isn’t any free parking in the area that we could find. There are several large pay lots and I think it only cost us $5 to park there.
Be sure to check your Pittsburgh entertainment book for a 2 for 1 coupon. If you don’t have the book ask about the AAA discount and they offer free entrance to active service members and their families.
We began our visit by going to the small dining area on the first floor and having a sandwich. There are some decent choices and the prices were reasonable considering we were a captive audience.
The first thing we visited was a display of antique vehicles. The cable car is available for you to climb on board and watch a short little video about the cable cars in Pittsburgh.
There are exhibits spread out over several floors. One that we found of particular interest was about the glass industry in Pennsylvania. There were a lot of really beautiful pieces of glass on display and also videos that you could watch about the history of the industry.
The Heinz whose name is on the museum is from the Heinz ketchup family and there was of course a large display about the development of the industry, advertisements related to it’s products and how it changed the lives of women over the years. It was a lot of fun to see things that we recognized from our childhood. The pictures of Mom in an apron bring back certain nostalgia for a simpler time.
Another exhibit which really kept our interest was one on Lewis and Clark. This is a museum that the whole family will find of interest. Attached to it is the Pennsylvania Sports Museum which we did not visit but I am sure that it is worth a visit for anyone with more interest in sports then any of us had.
Check out the website to see the latest updates on what is on display. Allow several hours for your visit.
Senator John Heinz History CenterClose