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Best Art Walks In Pittsburgh

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Art is everywhere we look, and not just exclusive to museums. Take a walk - an art walk, if you will - and witness the murals, architectural amazements and gravity-defying sculptures that are hidden (both in plain sight and totally obscured) all throughout this glorious city. Do a self-guided tour of Pittsburgh's free and breathtaking street art and realize just how much you've been missing.

"For Pittsburgh"
David L. Lawrence Convention Center
1000 Fort Duquesne Blvd.
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
(412) 565-6000
www.pittsburghcc.com

Stretching across the convention center's expansive roofline are 688 feet of blue, twinkling LED tubes. Jenny Holzer created this kinetic display to showcase important books that tell compelling stories about Pittsburgh, including Thomas Bell's "Out of This Furnace" and John Edgar Wideman's "Homewood Trilogy," "Damballah," "Hiding Place" and "Sent for You Yesterday." Over time, new books are slated to be added to the collection. The artwork's monumental scale creates a significant contribution to the city's skyline, as the texts scroll 24/7/365. This dazzling display is one of the artist's largest LED projects in North America.

"Untitled" (Fulton Theater)
Byham Theater, North Façade
between 106 6th and 7th St.
Fort Duquesne Boulevard
www.pitt.libguides.com

Richard Haas is well known in Pittsburgh for giving flat surfaces a three-dimensional aesthetic. This 36x56-foot mural was painted in a method known as trompe l'oeil, which is a French term meaning to "fool the eye." The artist integrated real doors and windows of the now-defunct Fulton Theater into the mural, which depicts a stage on which Pittsburgh's steel heyday is honored. The setting is a steel mill interior, where furnaces are pouring hot metal to form Pittsburgh's now-iconic bridges and most famous export. The painted door on the lower right-hand side reads "Ohio," in reference to the formation of the Ohio River by the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers.

Midtown Towers Relief
643 Liberty Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
(412) 391-5226
www.ndcrealestate.com

The façade of this building features lifelike detailed reliefs of people with Pittsburgh roots. On the second story are portraits of Teddy Roosevelt, Andrew Carnegie, George Guthrie ( mayor of Pittsburgh from 1906 to 1909), songwriter Stephen Foster, William Pitt (the British Prime Minister for whom Pittsburgh is named), George Washington, who fought in Pittsburgh during the French and Indian War, William Penn, Mary Schenley, whose family land was donated to create Schenley Park, and H.D.W. English, former head of Pittsburgh's Chamber of Commerce.

Related: Best Winter 2014-15 Art Events In Pittsburgh

"Magnolias For Pittsburgh"
7th St. & Penn Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15221
www.pittsburghartplaces.org

Both of these hand-sculpted magnolia trees contain 800 individually painted, totally unique petals. The artist, Tony Tasset, felt that the downtown hustle and bustle of Pittsburgh needed "a little magic, fairy-tale moment." The artist designed the entire landscape surrounding the two magnificent sculptures with five live magnolias, ivy ground cover and a winding path. By choosing to freeze the bronze trees in perpetual spring, the artist has provided an element against which pedestrians and passersby can mark the changing seasons.

"Yesterday's Tomorrow"
7th Ave. & Liberty Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15221
www.pghmurals.com

This 2,720-square-foot transportation-themed mural is located on the west side of the Smithfield/Liberty Avenue garage. Artist and graphic designer Brian Holderman vividly contrasted vintage-inspired fonts and color schemes with kitschy, sleek cars and high rises to depict a yesterday-inspired city of the future. His brilliant masterpiece, towering majestically over Liberty's street level, captivates the viewer with vibrant colors and scenes of city life in motion as he or she goes about their day in Pittsburgh.

Related: Top Places To See Art In Public Settings

Nikki Tiani-Moroney is a full time mum of two boys, wife of a professional poker player/photographer/amateur pencil-sharpening competitor and writer from Pittsburgh, PA. When she isn't studiously neglecting her housework in favor of a good book, she's out simultaneously fighting crime and picking up sidewalk litter while savoring an occasional cigarette. Her work can be found at Examiner.com
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