Pittsburgh Church Photography: The Oakland Edition

Achievement: #58. Photograph 10 Pittsburgh churches

Alright, I’m not going to lie, I was scrambling to get these last three churches. I couldn’t fail this Achievement two years in a row! (We did fail in 2009… I don’t think we have a single church picture!) So today, I drove around to three churches that I’ve always liked, even though it was drizzling a little, and the conditions were not perfect.

St. George Church
Church #8 is St. George’s in Oakland, on Dawson Ave. They always advertise their fish frys at Lent, and I think one of these days we’re going to have to check it out.

Heinz Chapel
Next is the Pitt dream wedding location, Heinz Chapel. This church is just breathtakingly gorgeous. We had seriously considered it for a wedding location (but opted not to try, because although they are non-denominational, they make you use their organist, and we were more of a Stevie Wonder/indie rock kind of wedding). It’s quite a feat to get a date for your wedding here, but I imagine they must be beautiful ceremonies. The rest of the surrounding scenery is great too, as the Cathedral of Learning is just next door.

St. Paul's
And finally, church #10 is one of the Pittsburgh classics, St. Paul’s Catholic Church in Oakland. This is probably the next most popular wedding choice in Pittsburgh, after Heinz Chapel. It is really quite lovely and statuesque, standing on Fifth Avenue. However, we tried the fish fry back in 2006, and it was kind of a disaster. They ran out of fish and had to have the restaurant across the street cook it and bring it over. No St. Veronica’s, certainly, but the atmosphere is quite nice!

Will we look at more churches in 2011? Yes. Will we remember to take pictures of them? Eh, from the way we performed this year, probably not!

2 Comments

Filed under #58, #58-10, architecture, church, oakland

2 Responses to Pittsburgh Church Photography: The Oakland Edition

  1. Johann Amadeus Majeski

    Saint Paul's Cathedral in Pittsburgh may be one of the grandest of Gothic churches anywhere, but now I will only go there to worship, contemplate its beauty, and listen to the incomparable von Beckerath organ… never will I go there for a fish fry!

  2. Well, to be fair, I think we were there for their inaugural fish fry, so they may very well have perfected their method since then. I must admit, I'll usually give a second chance to a fish fry 😉