Next month beginning on April 23, the annual National Football League collegiate draft goes down in my hometown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This will be the 91st draft in history and what better city to hold it than in a town that is home to one of the oldest and storied franchises in the league.
The Steelers currently hold the 21st pick overall and the events for the three-day event will have several venues. For draft selection, the theater and main stage for that portion will be set up on the North Shore of Pittsburgh with the outside of Acrisure Stadium, the Steelers home stadium to be used as an amphitheater. There will be a fan experience which is a free fan festival at Point State Park in downtown Pittsburgh.
I was lucky enough to attend five straight drafts when I was living in New York City and at that time it was held in the world-famous Madison Square Garden. A good friend of mine and I learned that to get into the event you would have to arrive early. I mean EARLY. The first year we attempted to go we got there at 10:00 AM and there was already a line a mile long. We stayed in line and ended up just a few feet from the door until the guard told us they were filled up inside and we were turned away.
The following year we arrived at 6:00 AM and had no problem getting in. Once inside, it’s a football fan’s dream. All day talking about football, fans from every NFL team represented, and ESPN often provided free gifts. The NFL eventually decided to share the wealth in 2015 taking the draft out of New York City and handing it over to the city of Chicago. That was the start of rotating the draft every year and this year is the Steel City’s turn.
This won’t be the first time Pittsburgh has hosted the draft it is actually the second with the selection process having been conducted in the ‘Burgh in 1948 and 1949. Since 2015 here were the host cities:
- 2015: Chicago
- 2016: Chicago
- 2017: Philadelphia
- 2018: Dallas
- 2019: Nashville
- 2020: Virtual
- 2021: Cleveland
- 2022: Las Vegas
- 2023: Kansas City
- 2024: Detroit
- 2025: Green Bay
Now it is Pittsburgh’s turn and given the football crazed town it is, I expect the turnout will be very heavy laden Black and Gold. While I am living in Florida now, unfortunately I will not be able to attend as much as I think this will be historic for the city and for the good folks living there as well as Pittsburgh transplants like me making the trip.
If you are reading this and have never been to Pittsburgh, seeing the city for the first time, you are in for a treat if you visit the city the right way. Driving into the city of you can take the path of either the Liberty Tunnel or the Fort Pitt Tunnel and once you emerge out the other side, it’s a gift of a site that never stops giving. The view of the city explodes on you suddenly and the beauty of the city exposes itself.
Even better than that view is taking a trip up Mount Washington using the Duquesne Incline. The mode of transportation is described as a “funicular scaling,” which in layman terms is defined as “a type of cable railway system that connects points along a railway track laid on a steep slope.” Climb aboard this car which resembles a trolley car, and you climb Mount Washington reaching 440 feet in height, doing so at a 30-degree angle. The speed is only four miles per hour and given that it has been in operation now 189 years, for a first timer it can be a bit nerve wracking. Just as my wife as I took her on the incline for the first time years ago and it made her incredibly nervous.
Other than some power outages stranding the cars without reaching the top there have never been any serious accidents. The entire ride takes about five minutes. Currently the incline costs just $2.50 for a one-way ride but there are discounts for children and senior citizens. There is yet another incline in Pittsburgh and that is the Monongahela Incline. Not as popular but older then the Duquesne version this one was built in 1870. What makes the Duquesne Incline so special is reaching the top and then going to the observation deck and looking outward to one of the most beautiful city skylines you will see anywhere.
During the NFL draft the Pittsburgh Pirates will be playing on the road, so no baseball games are available. There may be tours of Acrisure Stadium available and if you like museums, Pittsburgh has plenty to see. If you are an art enthusiast then you need to see the Andy Warhol Museum on the North Shore dedicated to the famous artis that was born right there in Pittsburgh on August 6, 1928. Warhol is a graduate of the Carnegie Institute of Technology.
There is also the Carnegie Museum of Art in Oakland and the sister museum the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. For the kids Pittsburgh has the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh. For you sports fans, especially the older set, you MUST see the Clemente Museum in Lawrenceville. Opened in 2007 there you will find family photos, old uniforms including gloves and baseballs, bats used by Clemente and even some seats from old Forbes Field where Clemente got his start.
Carnegie Museum of Art
For some history on Pittsburgh when down by the point visit the Fort Pitt Museum. Another great visit is the Heinz History Center located in the famous strip district which in itself is another must visit and while you are there be sure the go to Primanti’s Restaurant and have yourself the equally famous Primanti’s sandwich. Look it up. It is absolutely unique and having been born and raised in Pittsburgh it took many years and years after I left the city to return with my wife for a visit and have myself for the first time a Primanti’s sandwich. In a word it was absolutely DELICOUS.
While in the strip district once again for sports aficionados, visit the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum at the History Center. There you will see on display Franco Harris’s cleats from the day he made the “Immaculate Reception.” Mari Lemieux a Pittsburgh Penguin superstar and hall of famer has his skates there for everyone to see. In 1960 the Pittsburgh Pirates shocked the New York Yankees and won the World Series. The Forbes Field pitching rubber is withing the confines of this museum.
One of the greatest boxers ever, Billy Conn, is from Pittsburgh and a set of his boxing gloves can be seen in the Sports Museum. Arnold Palmer, another hall of famer but in professional golf hails from the Pittsburgh area and one of his sweaters he wore during tournaments as well as his golf bag are one of the many items on display.
For animal lovers there is the Pittsburgh Zoo and a unique attraction for bird lovers that has been in Pittsburgh as far back as I can remember, a place that actually got its start way back in 1893. It’s a beautiful building and place to see all kinds of birds well worth paying a visit to in the Oakland section. One place I have not visited and just found out about the Bicycle Heaven, which houses the world’s largest bicycle museum and serves as a bike shop as well.
Pittsburgh Zoo
One last site worth mentioning, not far from the city (90-minute drive) in Mill Run Pennsylvania is a home called “Falling Water.” It was designed by Fran Lloyd Wright, and this year marks the building’s 90th anniversary. The scenery surrounding the house is breathtaking and it covers 5,100 acres. I would also like to mention a site I took my wife to visit and that was Laurel Caverns 50 miles south of Pittsburgh in Hopwood, Pennsylvania. It is a series of underground caverns and among the largest calcareous sandstone caves in the world. The caverns are currently closed and due to open this spring so if you are heading to Pittsburgh for the draft and want to get underground for something spectacular then you should call ahead to be sure they are open for visitors using this number (724) 438-3003. One note, my wife did NOT like it and refused to go in the caves. If you are claustrophobic, you may want to skip this attraction.
Falling Water by Frank Lloyd Wright
The bottom line to this article is this…if you are planning on a trip to the ‘Burgh for the draft, it does not have to be all about football or sports. I may not live there anymore but in my heart Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania will always be my home. I’m proud of my growing up there, I would not trade it for anything. Life takes us elsewhere sometimes and that is the story I tell you here. I’m a Jacksonville, Florida resident now but will never lose my grip on the Steel City.
