Well, last Wednesday Jay and I took the afternoon off to celebrate our anniversary. Being the general history nerds that he...er we are, we drove up to Ambridge to the site of the Harmonists' Old Economy Village. The Harmonists were a religious group that fled persecution in Germany and came to Pennsylvania in early the 1800's. From what I gathered, they functioned much like a communistic enclave but had capitalistic connections with the outside world. And they promoted celibacy (which, no surprise here, caused them to die out in the late 1800s). Sorry, just a bit weird in my opinion. Nonetheless, they were hard working folk, and they left some great buildings to explore.
Ok, history lesson is over. In the evening, Jay and I went to the Mattress Factory art museum on Pittsburgh's North Side. I must say that this was one of the most fun art museums I've ever visited. It's definitely off-the-wall and hands on. If you live in Pittsburgh and haven't visited it yet, you should definitely see it.
Lastly, we dined at Bangkok Balcony in Squirrel Hill--yum!
Jay and I were definitely 20 years younger than the next person on the tour.
The Harmonists liked their wine and grew their own grapes on site. They still have some vines growing there.
Pretty amazing architecture for its time.
In the Mattress Factory museum.
And this was a 20 second exposure taken in a dark room where you are supposed to sit in for 15 minutes to see what is there. Hmm...interesting.
A crazy attack stapler.
All in all, a fun adventure.
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Oohh very cool pics! I love the water coming out of the spout! And, we are also huge Thai fans! Can't wait to hang out Wednesday...
ReplyDeleteI've been to Old Economy Village a couple times but I certainly didn't seen it like you captured it!! Wonderful!
ReplyDeleteI was surprised to read that the Harmonists had a love of wine...you would think that would have resulted in some posterity!!