The University of Pittsburgh's Nationality Rooms
The University of Pittsburgh offers an unusual learning opportunity for visitors. You don't have to be a traditional student to enjoy visiting the Nationality Rooms in the Cathedral of Learning. The Cathedral of Learning is located in the heart of the university campus in the Oakland section of the city at the intersection of Fifth and Bigelow Avenues.
The University of Pittsburgh's Cathedral of Learning is a 42-story Gothic-style tower. The Nationality Rooms are a collection of 26 classrooms designated as a Pittsburgh historical landmark. They are located on the 1st and 3rd floors of the Cathedral of Learning. Twenty-four of the 26 rooms are functional classrooms utilized daily by University of Pittsburgh faculty and students, while the other two are display rooms can be explored only via guided tour.
The rooms were financed and created by different ethnic groups from the area in response to an invitation from the Chancellor who wanted the rooms decorated to represent highly creative periods or aspects of their heritages. The rooms, completed between 1938 and 2000 provide spiritual and symbolic foundation for the tower. Many of the rooms contain fine artwork and even museum pieces in display cases and each is totally unique to the culture it represents.
Use the Fifth Avenue entrance to find the tour. Monday-Saturday, the tours begin at 9:00 and start the last tour at 2:30. On Sundays, the tours begin at 11:00 and start the last tour at 2:30. They close for Thanksgiving Day, December 24, 25, 26, New Year's Day. The fee for adults is $3.00 and children under 18 are only $1.00.
It's not the same as actually seeing them in person but they even offer a virtual tour: Nationality Rooms at the University of PittsburghÂ
