John Matey

Aug 5, 2024 | pittsburghmagazine.com | John Matey

It’s an uncharacteristically warm day for early March in Pittsburgh. About a dozen of us are gathered around the statue of the Pittsburgh Pirates’ legendary left-fielder, Willie Stargell, just outside PNC Park’s Left Field Gate. Among the group is a family from Montreal with a stroller and two older children wearing Pirates T-shirts and hats, one holding a baseball. A few minutes before noon, we’re called inside to start our 90-minute, off-season tour of PNC Park. I look out over the baseball field.

Aug 5, 2024 | pittsburghmagazine.com | John Matey

In case you were wondering, yes, one of the giant Heinz ketchup bottles is still at Acrisure Stadium. Erin, our guide for the stadium’s 90-minute Ultimate Tour, told us that fact early on. Most of those working at the stadium were as blindsided as the rest of the city on July 11, 2022, when the Steelers announced the stadium name change, ending 21 years as Heinz Field. “Well, it’s still Heinz Field to us,” a woman in the tour group called out.

Jun 17, 2024 | pittsburghmagazine.com | John Matey

Bonnie Baxter, founder of Doors Open Pittsburgh, has taken Pittsburghers to thousands of out-of-the-way places. But there’s one place that’s been elusive: the roof of the U.S. Steel Tower. The view of the city and the technology behind the building’s construction are too interesting not to share. “I want to be able to tell the story,” she says. Baxter enjoys learning about history but frequently finds herself bored by dry presentations.

May 13, 2024 | pittsburghmagazine.com | John Matey

In the past several years, a number of new music venues have cropped up around the Pittsburgh region — and others that closed for remodeling (or due to the pandemic) have reopened. If you’re craving that one-of-a-kind concert experience, here are some places worth checking out.

Apr 11, 2024 | pittsburghmagazine.com | John Matey

The National Museum of Broadcasting will be honoring Pittsburgh inventor and broadcasting pioneer Frank Conrad to mark his 150th birthday with a fundraiser. Frank Conrad isn’t a household name like Thomas Edison or Alexander Graham Bell, and the National Museum of Broadcasting is hoping to change that. In honor of Conrad’s 150th birthday, the museum is hosting a fundraiser on May 4 at the newly renovated Wilkinsburg Train Station.