Personality

Pittsburgh’s Easter eggs: historic sites and outdoor adventures hidden in plain sight

Politicos share their favorite secret spaces considered hidden gems in the Steel City.

The Clemente Museum is housed in historic Engine House 25 in Pittsburgh’s Lawrenceville section.

The Clemente Museum is housed in historic Engine House 25 in Pittsburgh’s Lawrenceville section. The Roberto Clemente Museum

The spring season brings new life to nature, a new sense of exploration and the observances of Easter, Passover and Ramadan. Whether you were a child anxiously searching for the golden egg on Easter Sunday or looking for the afikomen on Passover, you know the thrill of finding a prize hidden in plain sight. Each city has its own Easter eggs or hidden gems waiting to be discovered and the Pittsburgh region is no exception. Here are a few of them. 

Roberto Clemente Museum

The Clemente Museum | The Clemente Museum

The Roberto Clemente Museum, which preserves the legacy of the former Pirates baseball star, is a favorite place to visit for state Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa. The museum showcases not only Clemente’s playing career and the racial and language barriers he faced, but also his humanitarian efforts off the field. Located in the historic Engine House 25 in Lawrenceville, the museum offers “an incredible collection of (Clemente’s) possessions, uniforms and photos,” said Costa, and that he “learns something new about this amazing Pittsburgher” every time he goes.  

Pittsburgh Botanic Gardens

Pittsburgh Botanic Gardens | Beth Exton

Although it’s known as the Steel City, Pittsburgh has its fair share of attractions for nature lovers. State Rep. Valerie Gaydos, who hails from the Moon Township area, said the Botanic Gardens will soon become one of the best in the nation. Going from abandoned mine land to a 460-acre getaway in Oakdale, the gardens’ history is “really phenomenal,” Gaydos said. The botanical garden debuted a $10.5 million welcome center and cafe earlier this year and is hosting an art exhibition showcasing flora and fauna from April 8 through June 25.   

West View Hub

West View Hub | West View Hub

The West View Hub is a community center housed in the old PNC Bank on Perry Highway. It looks to be a one-stop-shop for the community, offering a library with computers and internet access, a food pantry, counseling services, a senior center and more. State Rep. Emily Kinkead said the center is a remarkable resource. “These kinds of community gathering places for residents of every age are far too rare these days and the HUB is doing great work to build up not just the community in West View, but throughout the North Hills region,” she said.

Gilfillan Farm

Gilfillan Farm | Jeremy Stuck

In Upper St. Clair, just south of Pittsburgh, lies Gilfillan Farm. State Rep. Natalie Mihalek said her family enjoys visiting the historic farm. Originally purchased by the Gilfillan family in 1849, the 135-acre farm is now an outdoor event venue that hosts everything from weddings to corporate and family events. Mihalek said: “While it sits just across South Hills Village Mall, when you step onto the property, you are propelled back in time.” Upper St. Clair now owns and operates the outer 60 acres of the farm, including its walking trails. 

Woodville Experience

Woodville Experience | Susan O'Toole

Just southeast of Pittsburgh, this historic site in Woodville dates back to 1785. “Pittsburgh is immeasurably fortunate to have this piece of history right in our own backyard,” said state Sen. Devlin Robinson. The home was originally owned by John Neville, a Fort Pitt commander and tax collector during the uprising of farmers and distillers in protest against a whiskey tax – known as the Whiskey Rebellion. Today, it stands as one of the oldest houses in Western Pennsylvania and offers historic tours, candle making and cooking demonstrations. 

Wightman Park

Wightman Park | City of Pittsburgh, Department of Parks & Recreation

Wightman Park, located in the heart of Squirrel Hill, “may not occupy a ton of space, but it packs a lot of character into its four corners,” said Pittsburgh City Council member Erika Strassburger. Smaller than the nearby Frick and Schenley parks, Wightman has a lot to offer on its own, including a playground, picnic shelter, basketball hoop and tree canopies. It underwent stormwater renovations in 2020 and now doubles as a retention project, hoping to solve neighborhood drainage problems. Its green infrastructure, including rain gardens and retention tanks under the park, is estimated to capture 2 million gallons of stormwater a year. 

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.