Author
Zack Tanner

Lucy, a boxer owned by Anthony Pisano of Bridgeville, takes in the game during pup night at PNC Park as the Pirates take on the Diamondbacks. (Matt Freed /Post-Gazette)

Pup-lic attractions

By and / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Western Pennsylvania has lots for dogs to do, but you need people to drive you (and to read this). Thanks to my human for typing up these favorites.
Artist: George William Sotter (American 1879-1953) | Title: Fiery Blast Furnaces at Night, Pittsburgh |Date: 1942 |Photography Credit: Kaela Speicher, Concept Art Gallery.

Good finds

By / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Even in this app-centric century, it's an excellent idea to inspect art, furniture, glass, jewelry and other expensive things of beauty in person before you buy. There's no need to don a deerstalker cap but do channel your inner Sherlock Holmes. Here are some places where you can track down quality finds.
Low layers of clouds get baked in red shades before sunrise in this view near West Carson Street and framed Downtown Pittsburgh by the West End Bridge. (Darrell Sapp/Post-Gazette)

Bridge city

By / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
With more than 1,400 bridges, the region is a permanent showcase of the inspired engineering and public art that make bridges great. My colleague Kevin Kirkland and I have been exploring them for a Pittsburgh Bridges series. Here are some of our functional and beautiful favorites.
Marquee of Hollywood Theater. (Rebecca Droke/Post-Gazette)

Big screens

By / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
When it comes to movies, go big or go home. Nothing compares with the experience of watching "Jurassic World" or "The Martian" on a screen the size of a stadium scoreboard. Some of our favorite theaters have just one screen; one has 22.
Illustration by Ed Yozwick

Suburb spots

By / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Pittsburgh is 89th on the alphabetical list of 130 municipalities in Allegheny County. Unlike other cities that expanded their boundaries as they grew, Pittsburgh pretty much remained in place while surrounding communities developed on their own. Here are some of the many with personality, charm and amenities that anyone might like to call home. Take a drive and check these out for yourself. You might run into me exploring them, too.
In somewhat of a busman's holiday, Patty Landon (right) leads her daughters Christine (left), 16, and Kate, 20, down the long series of steps along Sterling St. on Pittsburgh's South Side Slopes during the 8th annual Step Trek. (Bob Donaldson/Post-Gazette)

Step treks

By / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
With 739 sets of steps, Pittsburgh has more municipal stairways than any city in the U.S.. That’s according to Bob Regan, author of his updated “Pittsburgh Steps” (2015), which is part historical record and part guidebook for active step trekkers. Of these stairways, 344 are legal streets — composed just of steps.
A view of the library inside of Lisa Earle's Shadyside home. (Nate Guidry/Post-Gazette)

House tours

By / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Pittsburgh is a city of neighborhoods, and one of the best ways to get to know them is through their architecture. Homes paint a historical picture of past owners in their pine floors, marble mantels and shotgun rooms. For the less architecturally inclined, house tours are a perfectly acceptable way to be nebby, as we say, and snoop on how other Pittsburghers live. Here are some of the area’s most popular tours.
Map design: Ed Yozwick

Day trips

By / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
There is nothing like a trip to refresh your perspective, but if you can’t pack your bags and hit the jetway, I recommend just hopping in the car and hitting the road for the day. From Downtown there are plenty of places to go that are well under a two-hour drive.
Illustration by Ed Yozwick

City neighborhoods

By / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Morningside? Mt. Washington? Brookline? Find out where to rent and what neighborhood has the best date night.

Nice slices

By / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
It’s the kind of discussion that can launch reasonable adults into belligerent invective. Somewhere below politics but occasionally on par with sports rivalries, there is pizza. Ask 100 people for their favorite pizza place and you might get 100 different answers. It’s a fiercely territorial topic, bordering on tribal. And while Pittsburgh doesn’t have a defined “style” like New York, Chicago or even Detroit, there’s no paucity of premium pizzas. Here are a few of my favorites.