It’s been 100 years since groundbreaking on Pitt’s most recognizable landmark, and the Cathedral of Learning has seen its share of history, quirks, and, yes, a few thousand trips up and down its elevators over the decades.
Take the quiz and see how well you really know the building that puts the “higher” in higher education.
Take the Quiz!
Hover over (or tap if on mobile) the empty space below each question to reveal the correct answer. Let’s go!
•••
A) A massive, tuned mass damper located on the 42nd floor
B) An internal, structural steel skeleton that allows up to several inches of lateral flex
C) Interlocking stone blocks designed to slide slightly against one another
D) Base isolation pads installed under the foundation layers
B) An internal structural steel skeleton that allows up to several inches of lateral flex. Like modern skyscrapers, the Cathedral relies on a flexible, interconnected structural steel frame hidden underneath its heavy stone facade. During high-velocity winds, the upper floors can safely flex and sway by several inches to absorb wind shear safely.
A) Louis Sullivan
B) Frank Lloyd Wright
C) Philip Johnson
D) I.M. Pei
B) Frank Lloyd Wright. Frank Lloyd Wright’s dislike for skyscrapers, which contradicted his philosophy of horizontal, organic architecture, was well known. After visiting the Cathedral, he delivered this biting critique, adding that “If this is the best learning can do, let’s get unlearned.”
3. What real-world construction issue in the late 1920s sparked a famous Pittsburgh urban legend that the Cathedral of Learning was being built “upside down”?
A) A copper shortage that forced roof installation before lower masonry was completed
B) A quarry delay delivering base limestone, forcing masons to lay upper-floor cladding first
C) A steel strike that paused lower-floor framing while upper trusses were completed
D) A city ordinance dispute that blocked ground-level excavation work
B) A quarry delay delivering base limestone, forcing masons to lay upper-floor cladding first. The story goes that the quarry supplying the Cathedral’s limestone fell behind on the heavier stone needed for the lower portions of the building. To keep construction moving, work progressed on the upper floors first, leading to the enduring “upside down” legend.
4. As with the exterior, the breathtaking, 52-foot-tall Commons Room on the first floor is constructed in a late Gothic style. What structural feature was employed that stays true to its medieval inspirations?
A) Corbeled stone vaulting that relies on heavily anchored iron tie-rods hidden behind the limestone crown molding.
B) True, self-supporting stone arches.
C) Ribbed vaulting that relies on an internal skeleton of modern steel beams disguised as stone.
D) Solid stone lintels that distribute weight horizontally across flat, load-bearing walls.
B) True, self-supporting stone arches requiring no steel reinforcement. The Commons Room’s magnificent arches are true masonry, entirely self-supporting. While heavy steel was used in the tower’s core frame, the 4-story high Commons Room relied on medieval structural mechanics, using Indiana limestone and massive corner piers to carry the vault’s weight.
5. What acoustic engineering technique was used in the four-story-high Commons Room to prevent excessive echoing and deafening noise from student foot traffic?
A) Deep, lead-lined expansion joints set between the floor’s slate pavers
B) Highly porous Guastavino acoustical tiles layered into the vaulted ceilings
C) Hidden felt dampening panels mounted behind the limestone walls
D) Specially molded acoustic plaster with sound-absorbent cork aggregate in the upper ribbing
B) Highly porous Guastavino acoustical tiles layered into the vaulted ceilings. To combat the acoustical nightmare of a massive 4-story stone hall, architect Rafael Guastavino’s specialized acoustic tiles (‘Akoustolith’) were integrated directly into the vaulted ceiling. These porous tiles look like solid stone but absorb vocal echo, keeping the Commons Room remarkably quiet.
A) Pennsylvania slate
B) Green Vermont slate
C) Indiana limestone
D) Imported Italian marble
B) Green Vermont slate. The floor of the half-acre Commons Room is paved in durable Green Vermont slate, contrasting with walls made of Indiana limestone. Architect Charles Klauder selected these materials for both their aesthetic appeal and their ability to withstand heavy daily foot traffic while grounding the room’s soaring vertical vaulting.
A) Samuel Yellin
B) Philip Simmons
C) Edgar Brandt
D) Albert Paley
A) Samuel Yellin. Master blacksmith Samuel Yellin designed the Commons Room’s railings, lanterns and imposing iron gates. The 18-foot gates leading from the room were installed in 1940 and feature a verse from poet Robert Bridges.
A) The steelworkers of Western Pennsylvania
B) The school children of Pittsburgh
C) The brave pioneers of the American frontier
D) The teachers and professors of the university
B) The school children of Pittsburgh. One of the grand stone fireplaces in the Commons Room bears an engraved inscription explicitly thanking and dedicating the warmth of the space to the school children of Pittsburgh, whose donated dimes made the construction possible.
A) 18 Rooms
B) 27 Rooms
C) 31 Rooms
D) 33 Rooms
C) 31 Rooms. The Nationality Rooms began taking shape in the 1920s as Pittsburgh’s immigrant communities were invited to create classrooms reflecting their cultural heritage. The Philippine Room, dedicated in 2019, became the 31st.
A) Exposed electrical outlets and modern screens
B) Religious symbols, icons, and sacred texts
C) Any representations of political figures post-1787
D) Modern cushioned or ergonomic desk seating
C) Any representations of political figures post-1787. The rooms were conceived as cultural and historical spaces rather than political statements. Their designs generally depict a period before 1787 and are governed by guidelines intended to keep the rooms focused on cultural heritage.
A) German
B) Russian
C) Scottish
D) English
D) English. The inaugural cohort of four Nationality Rooms dedicated in 1938 consisted of the German, Russian, Scottish, and Swedish rooms. Although the English Room was planned early on, its construction was delayed until November 21, 1952. The delay allowed the committee to incorporate historic artifacts, including stone and wood paneling salvaged from the bomb-damaged British House of Commons following World War II.
12. The Early American room features a hidden door built directly into the wall paneling drawing inspiration from which American piece of literature?
A) The Scarlet Letter
B) “The Fall of the House of Usher”
C) The House of the Seven Gables
D) The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
C) The House of the Seven Gables. The only nationality room inspired by a single person (George Hubbard Clapp) as opposed to a committee, Ted Bowman, the architect behind the room’s design, drew his inspiration from Hawthorne’s novel to create a secret door in the wooden wall paneling that leads up to a hidden second-level bedroom.
A) The Italian Room
B) The German Room
C) The Polish Room
D) The Swedish Room
C) The Polish Room. The Polish Room houses a detailed bronze replica of the 1510 Globus Jagellonicus (Jagiellonian Globe). The original globe is one of only a few surviving globes from the early 16th century that depicts South America as “America Noviter Reperta” (America Newly Discovered).
14. What was the Croghan-Schenley Ballroom originally built for?
A) To serve as an opulent venue for Pittsburgh’s high-society civic galas
B) A grand setting for a young woman’s social debut
C) A meeting space for Pittsburgh’s civic leaders
D) A reception hall for visiting dignitaries
B) A grand setting for a young woman’s social debut. The Greek Revival ballroom was built in the 1830s as part of a Pittsburgh-area mansion, intended to provide an impressive setting for its owner’s daughter to make her debut in society. There was just one problem: she never danced there. At 15, she eloped with 43-year-old British Army officer Captain Edward Schenley. The ballroom was later moved into the Cathedral of Learning.
A) It features a completely open floor plan allowing simultaneous north and south views across Pittsburgh
B) It houses an outdoor observation balcony lined with stone gargoyles
C) It contains a subterranean water reservoir feeding the building’s fire sprinklers
D) It is constructed out of solid bronze alloy rather than steel
A) It features a completely open floor plan allowing simultaneous north and south views across Pittsburgh. Floor 38 houses the mechanical “guts” of the building, including the top motor rooms for the main elevator banks and water distribution systems. Because the skyscraper narrows significantly near its apex and contains no interior drywall partitions on this level, it is the only floor where you can stand in one spot and look out windows facing both north and south simultaneously.
