This is the University of Pittsburgh’s Cathedral of Learning. In what sounds like a hideous industrial accident, this building attempts to ‘fuse the idea of a modern skyscraper with the tradition and ideals of Gothic architecture’, and is America’s tallest university building. Not much of the height is shown from this angle, except for the gigantic shadow of course, which dwarves all other shadows for miles around.

Completed way back in 1937 the building is over 163 metres tall, has 2,529 windows and 42 floors. Apparently floors 38 through 42 are closed off to the general public though, as they not only contain electrical wiring for the building, but also house a nesting pair of peregrine falcons.

There’s a tour of the Cathedral of Learning at the University of Pittsburgh’s site, with a great ground-level shot, and there’s also a webcam at the top of the building which you can spin around and zoom in and out till you’re dizzy.

Worth noting by the way, that this is only the second tallest educational building in the world…

Thanks to Sixf00t4, Sayf Sharif and David Drexler.

This is the Blue Mountain ski resort outside of Palmerton, Pennsylvania (although there’s nothing very ‘blue’ about it). That sure is some excellent snowmaking facilities they’ve got though! It might be interesting going skiing or boarding and looking out at a brown, snowless landscape as far as the eye can see…

Thanks to Chris and Steve.

Kennywood Park is Southwest Pennsylvania’s amusement park, and was known as the “Roller Coaster Capital of the World” in the 1970s for its collection of excellent wooden coasters. Scott Ventura (who seems to know quite a bit about this park!) gives us the guided tour:

Due to Pittsburgh’s hilly terrain, two of the coasters are able to drop into valleys without first ascending a lift chain. When built in the early 1990s, the Steel Phantom had to longest drop in the world at 220 feet, topping out at 80 mph. The drop passed through the supports of another coaster in the same valley: the Thunderbolt. Phantom was reworked a few years ago to remove the inversions and make it a hypercoaster: The Phantom’s Revenge. Phantom (green track) and the T-bolt (white track) are at the northwest end of the park. Notice the shadows for the Phantom’s supports. At the other end of the park, the brownish-red track is the Racer, one of only a handful of “Moebius” racing coasters in the world. Leave the station in the car on the left, return to the station in the car on the right. Just south of it is the Jack Rabbit, featuring a double-dip. The track levels out halfway down the longest hill, providing tremendous airtime.

Our picture is of the Phantom, which looks very cool. Thanks Scott

The first stadium is the San Francisco 49er’s Stadium Monster Park (formerly 3com park) (thumbnail #1 below) and it seems they were playing at the moment the photo was taken.

There’s lots of stadiums in this shot of Philadelphia In the North West there’s the Veterans Stadium before it was demolished on March 21, 2004, North East is Citizen’s Bank Park still under construction (opened April 9, 2004) and South East is Lincoln Financial Field (opened August 8, 2003). In the South West is First Union Center & First Union Spectrum, each with large type on the roof.

Lastly we have the amazing Olympic Stadium complex in Montreal (thumbnail #2 below), which was built for the 1976 Summer Olympic Games.

Thanks: sixtoe, Dean, Allen, many others.