Cathedral of Learning - A 42-Story Classroom

Stop on University of Pittsburgh Campus Walk, a free self-guided tour.

Tilt your head back. The Cathedral of Learning rises 42 stories and 535 feet, the tallest educational building in the Western Hemisphere. Chancellor John Gabbert Bowman championed it, Charles Klauder designed it, and ground was broken in 1926. Classes started in 1931, and it was dedicated in 1937. Pittsburgh schoolchildren helped pay for it by mailing in dimes to 'buy a brick.'

Go on in. The ground-floor Commons Room is a half-acre Gothic hall four stories tall, open whenever the building is. Around it and on the third floor are the Nationality Rooms, working classrooms each designed in the style of a culture whose people helped build the region. When the building is open for classes, you can often peek into empty rooms for free; guided and weekend tours charge admission, so check nationalityrooms.pitt.edu for hours.

And yes, students really do take ordinary classes in these rooms.

Did you know?: Peregrine falcons nest on a ledge near the Cathedral's 40th floor, high above the students below.

Photo op: Walk out onto the lawn until the whole tower fits in your frame; inside, shoot the Commons Room's Gothic arches from a corner.

Accessibility: Paved walks cross the lawn, and the building has elevators to the upper floors. Ask at the Nationality Rooms office about the most convenient entrance.