Holidays at Carnegie Museums
What would the holidays be without a trip to Carnegie Museums
of Pittsburgh? The traditional Miniature Railroad & Village at the
Science Center, spectacular tree decorations and daily concerts at the
Oakland museums, new exhibitions and special activities at all our sites
combine to make your holiday visit an occasion to remember. Below are a
few tips for making your trip to the museums as smooth as possible:
• Bring along your member card. Members receive free admission!
• Cut out the coupons that are on the cover of this magazine for even
more savings in the Stores—20 percent on most items!
• When you arrive, check the daily activities schedules for special
exhibitions, tours and programs.
• Advance reservations are highly recommended when you plan to visit
the Science Center. Call 237-3432 between 10:00 am and 5:00 pm several
days ahead of your planned visit for best results. Same-day reservations
cannot be guaranteed. Have your credit card ready when calling to reserve
Omnimax, laser show or guest tickets.
• To avoid the busiest times at the Science Center, visit late Saturday
afternoon or evening. Remember, the Science Center is open until 9:00 pm
on Saturdays, including the Riverview Café. And Science Center members
receive free parking after 4:00 pm on Saturdays.
• Consider upgrading your membership to the Reciprocal level, and your
guests receive free admission too! Call the Membership Office at 622-3314
for more information.
Museum of Art
Christmas Trees December 3–January 7
Neapolitan Presepio November 27–January 7
Hall of Architecture
It’s a sight that will take your breath away: five enormous, beautifully
decorated Christmas trees, and the exquisite Neapolitan Presepio—one of
the finest miniature Nativity scenes of its kind. Decorated by the Museum
of Art Women’s Committee, the trees this year bear the theme “Santas of
the World” and portray St. Nick as he has appeared in the Byzantine Empire,
Mexico, Holland, Italy and the U.S.A.
The centerpiece of the Christmas Tree Display is the Museum of Art’s
Neapolitan Presepio. More than 100 figures, created between 1700 and 1830
by Italian craftsmen, represent the Neapolitan concept of the Nativity
in a panorama of village life at the time of Jesus’ birth. Join Museum
of Art docents for a presentation on the Presepio following the Holiday
Concerts (See concert list in this Holiday Section).
Christmas Tree Preview Party Wednesday, December 2
Hall of Architecture
Be one of the first to see the Christmas Tree Display when the Women’s
Committee hosts a Preview Party, 6:00–8:00 pm. Cocktails and hors d’oeuvres
will be served. Tickets are $35 each, and reservations are necessary. Call
622-3325.
See Our Seasonal Paintings
Celebrate the spirituality and joy of the holiday season by enjoying two
impressive works by the late-19th-century painter Sir Edward Burne-Jones:
The Nativity (below) and The King and the Shepherd. Originally commissioned
for the Church of St. John in Torquay, England, these mural-sized paintings
are among the artist’s most ambitious masterpieces. Museum of Art docents
are in the galleries to answer your questions about these and any other
aspects of the collection Saturdays 11:00 am–3:00 pm and Sundays 2:00–4:00
pm. Stop by!
Science Center
Miniature Railroad & Village
Re-opens Friday, November 27
Visiting this famous exhibit is a holiday tradition in Pittsburgh, and
this year the display offers more to see than ever. For the first time,
all four seasons will be depicted simultaneously in the 1920s village.
Look for the following structures, which make their debut this season:
• Original Allegheny Observatory—Demolished in the 1950s, this North
Side facility is where well-known astronomers worked, and where Standard
Railroad time was established.
• World’s Oldest Roller Coaster—Dating from the turn of the century,
this coaster still exists in Lakemont Park, Altoona, Pa., where it is undergoing
repairs and is expected to re-open in April 1999. It is in the shape of
a figure eight, one of the first roller coaster designs.
• Bijou Dream Theater— Demolished years ago, this fancy theater stood
at 6021 Penn Avenue in East Liberty.
• Frank Conrad’s Home and Garage—This important site in Wilkinsburg
is where amateur radio operator Conrad made the first musical broadcast
in 1919. The first radio advertisement followed when Conrad agreed to mention
the name of a record store that loaned him records to play on the air.
• Mueller’s Hardware—This longtime North Side establishment is replicated
as it looked in the 1920s, when it was known as Mueller & Sons.
Have Breakfast with the Railroad Engineers!
Saturdays, December 5, 12 & 19, 8:00–10:00 am
Children of all ages are fascinated by the Miniature Railroad & Village,
and this event gives kids a chance to talk with the folks who make it all
come to life. Call 237-3400 for reservations.
Holiday Treats
See Santa at the Museum Café
Saturday, December 5 and 12, 11:00 am–2:00 pm
Kids—Make your lists and check them twice, because Santa will be waiting
to greet you in the Museum Café on two Saturdays in December. Get
your picture taken with Santa for a small fee, which benefits Children’s
Hospital of Pittsburgh. Call 622-3225 for details.
Performing Arts
Daily Holiday Concerts December 8–31
Hall of Architecture
The elaborately decorated Hall of Architecture provides a festive backdrop
for daily concerts during the holiday season. Sponsored by Carnegie Museums
Performing Arts Department, the concerts feature talented area performers
and are free with museum admission. Artists are subject to change. Call
622-3183 for information. Scheduled to appear are the following performers:
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December 8
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Boyce Campus Chamber Singers 12:00 – 12:30pm
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9
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The Chatham College Choir 12:00 – 12:30pm
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10
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Tuesday Musical Club Flute Quartet 12:00
– 12:30pm
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11
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Duquesne Tuba/Euphonium Ensemble 12:00 –
12:30pm
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12
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Pittsburgh Chapter, American Harp Society
2:30 – 3:15pm
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13
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California University Music Ensemble 2:30
– 3:15pm
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14
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Pgh. Chapter, American Harp Society 2:30
– 3:15pm
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15
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Mazel Tov (Klezmer Music) 12:00 – 12:30pm
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16
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Mt. Lebanon High School 12:00 – 12:30pm Percussion
Ensemble
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17
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Village Octet, Tri-County Choir Institute
12:00 – 12:30pm
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18
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Creative & Performing Arts 12:00
– 12:30pm
High School Concert Choir
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19
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Celebration Mass Choir 2:30 – 3:15pm
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20
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Sevdah Adult Tamburitzans Orchestra 2:30
– 3:15pm
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22
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Urban Skye Consort (Early Music) 12:00 –
12:30pm
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23
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Pantheon Choir of Upper St. Clair High
School 12:00 – 12:30pm
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26
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Allegheny Brass Band 2:30 – 3:15pm
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27
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South Hills Chorale 2:30 – 3:15pm
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28
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Gargaro Productions Stars 12:00 – 12:30pm
of Tomorrow
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29
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St. Paul’s United Methodist Church
12:00 – 12:30pm Handbell Choir
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30
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Demareus Cooper (soprano) 12:00 – 12:30pm
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31
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Karuzela Polish Folk Chorus 12:00 – 12:30pm
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Museum of Natural History
Thanksgiving Table Display
Contributions from the Old and New Worlds
Friday, November 27, and Saturday, November 28, 11:00 am –3:00 pm; Sunday,
November 29, 1:30–4:00 pm
Second floor, Hall of North American Wildlife
Gather ‘round the table and learn about typical foods eaten by early
Americans. Our bounteous spread features culinary delights from both the
old and new worlds.
Thanksgiving Weekend Tours & Touchable Carts
Tours:
Friday & Saturday, November 27 & 28
11:00 Cultural Connections
Noon Calling All Kids: Discover Dinosaurs
1:00 Let’s Go to Africa
2:00 Calling All Kids: Discover American Indian Ways
3:00 Behind the Scenes in Bugs
Sunday, November 29
2:00 Calling All Kids: Discover Dinosaurs
2:30 Cultural Connections
3:00 Behind the Scenes in Bugs
3:30 Calling All Kids: Discover American Indian Ways
Touchable Carts:
Friday & Saturday, November 27 & 28, 11:00 am–3:00 pm; Sunday,
November 29, 1:30 pm–4:00 pm
Native Americans (3rd floor balcony), and Ice Age Mammals (outside
Ancestors Unearthed)
Tree-Decorating
Saturday, December 5, 10:00 am–4:00 pm
Sunday, December 6, 1:00–4:00 pm
Bring the family and help the museum trim its trees. Materials will
be available for adults and children to create unique ornaments. Free with
museum admission.
Late December Tours & Discover Carts
Tours:
Saturday, December 26–Thursday, December 31
11:00 Calling All Kids: Discover American Indian Ways
(except 12/26 and 12/27)
Noon Carnegie’s Dinosaurs (except 12/26 and 12/27)
1:00 Life on Ice
2:00 Mineral Masterpieces
3:00 Behind the Scenes in Bugs
Touchable Carts:
Saturday, December 26, 11:30 am–3:30 pm;
Sunday, December 27, 1:30–3:30 pm;
Monday, December 28, through Thursday,
December 31, 11:30 am–3:30 pm
Polar World (3rd floor balcony), Pennsylvania Wildlife (Hall of North
American Wildlife), Ice Age Mammals (outside Ancestors Unearthed)
??The Andy Warhol Museum
Films
Take a break from the holiday rush! Stop by The Andy Warhol Museum
and check out the films running during November and December.
Warhol Premieres
Wednesday 12:30 pm; Friday 12:30 pm; Saturday 7:00 pm;
Sunday 3:00 pm
Newly preserved narratives and portraits from the prolific Prince of
Pop. Mario Montez and Mary Woronov star in Hedy, the story of face-lifts,
shop-lifting, ex-husbands and soothsayers. Original music by John Cale
and Lou Reed. In Outer and Inner Space Edie Sedgwick talks to her videotaped
image and discusses space, mysticism, and herself. Plus 30 more Factory
Screen Tests! Highlights include: Paul America, Deverne Bookwalter (the
star of Blow Job), John Cale’s lips, Allen Ginsberg, Ivan Karp, Andrew
Sarris, Harry Smith and Jack Smith.
• November 4–8
Hedy (1965), Screen Tests (1963–66)
• November 11–15
Outer and Inner Space (1965), Screen Tests (1963–66)
No Wave/New Cinema
In 1979, a group of young artists, musicians and filmmakers, loosely bound
together by the lower Manhattan club scene, opened a storefront cinema
on St. Mark’s Place in the East Village. Known as the New Cinema, it was
founded by James Nare, Eric Mitchell and Becky Johnston specifically to
premiere their own super-8 films and those of their friends. Modeled on
Punk’s do-it-yourself ethics, the films were an attempt to revive the tradition
of American independent filmmaking for a scene defined not by a medium
but by a style. For anyone interested in punk, film, or performance, these
films are indispensable documents of life and art in late 70s New York.
Program curated by Christopher Wool and presented in collaboration with
the Department of Film and Video at Carnegie Museum of Art.
• November 21, 7:30 pm. Presented by Christopher Wool
Men in Orbit (1978), Kidnapped (1978)
• November 22, 3:00pm
She Had Her Gun All Ready (1978), Rome ’78 (1978)
Waiting For The Wind (1980)
Alice Faye
Saturdays 7:00 pm, Sundays 3:00 pm
As one of Hollywood’s pantheon of screen goddesses, Alice Faye began
her career as Jean Harlow-type blonde band singer. Later, at 20th Century
Fox, her image was restyled. She became the beautiful, earnest, and romantic
leading lady, starring in dreamy musicals and nostalgic period costume
dramas before being supplanted by Betty Grable in the 1940s. Warhol, who
probably first saw her when she starred with Shirley Temple in Stowaway,
always thought of her as one of his favorite actresses. She died in May
of this year. This tribute series is a sampling of some of her best work.
• November 28 & 29 Stowaway (1936)
• December 5 & 6 In Old Chicago (1938)
• December 12 & 13 Alexander’s Ragtime Band (1938)
• December 19 & 20 Tin Pan Alley (1940)
• December 26 & 27 Week-end in Havana (1941)
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Copyright 1998 Carnegie Magazine
All rights reserved.