Attractions

Cultural District

Pittsburgh's Cultural District is an easy walk from the David L. Lawrence Convention Center and all downtown hotels, providing plenty of post-meeting entertainment for delegates. The Cultural District features five major world-class theaters plus smaller performance venues and cutting-edge art galleries.

• Benedum Center for the Performing Arts A historic, restored 2889-seat theater that hosts concerts, Broadway musicals and a wide variety of regional, national and international arts groups.
• Byham Theater. An intimate, rococo-appointed theater that seats an audience of 1,302 and hosts events for smaller and mid-size performing arts groups. Tours and private rentals available.
• Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre. Widely acclaimed for its classical ballet masterpieces as well as innovative explorations of contemporary dance, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre is currently recognized as one of the world's leading ballet companies.
• Heinz Hall. Located in the heart of the Cultural District, the world-renowned Pittsburgh Symphony's glamorous home features classical and pops concerts by the orchestra, plus Broadway shows, popular performers and children's productions.
• O'Reilly Theater. A contemporary theater with a unique three-quarter thrust stage (the audience surrounds the stage on three sides) and smooth, Michael Graves architecture, the home of the Pittsburgh Public Theater offers immediate, engaging, professional theater—encompassing world premieres, new works, musicals, classics and more.
• Cabaret at Theater Square. Home to fantastic musical productions, late-night entertainment, live music, and outstanding food, the Cabaret at Theater Square is the Cultural District’s newest performance venue providing unique live music and theatrical performances year-round.

Museums and Cultural Institutions

Pittsburgh is the birthplace of American philanthropy, and nowhere is this great cultural legacy more obvious than in the four Carnegie Museums. The city also features one of the oldest botanical conservatories in the country, and is home to the National Aviary.

• Carnegie Museum of Art, featuring distinguished masterpieces of French Impressionist, Post-Impressionist and 19th Century American art. The large collection of paintings, prints and sculpture by old masters shares space with works by contemporary artists in the Scaife Gallery. The Carnegie Museum of Art is host to the prestigious Carnegie International.
• Carnegie Museum of Natural History is one of the six largest natural history museums in the country. Called the “home of the dinosaurs” for its famed skeletons of Tyrannosaurus rex, Diplodocus and other extraordinary fossils, the museum also displays more than 5 million specimens from all areas of natural history and anthropology.
• The Andy Warhol Museum is the largest single-artist museum in the world, featuring thousands of pieces by the Pittsburgh-born artist and cultural icon, as well as rotating special exhibitions, installations and musical performances.
• The Carnegie Science Center features a four-story Omnimax theater, an interactive planetarium, an immense science and sport exhibit, a real WWII submarine, the world's best model railroad display, and more than 400 hands-on exhibits that bring the world of science alive for visitors of all ages.
• Children's Museum of Pittsburgh is consistently rated one of the best children's museums in the country. A recent expansion has quadrupled the size of the museum, and features interactive exhibits, a workshop, nursery, theater, and Mister Rogers' Neighborhood.
• Phipps Conservatory + Botanical Gardens was built more than 100 years ago and offers a feast for the senses. Tropical plants, a butterfly garden, Bonsai, miniature orchids and seasonal flower exhibits are just a few of the pleasures that await visitors in this charming glass palace. In 2007, in conjunction with the regional initiative Pittsburgh Celebrates Glass, Phipps will be the site of a large installation by renowned glass artist Dale Chihuly.
• The National Aviary. features a 200,000 cubic-foot indoor rainforest. Home to more than 600 exotic and endangered birds in natural habitats, the National Aviary is a unique Pittsburgh treasure.