August 23, 2025

Known to locals as Observatory Hill, Perry North is Pittsburgh’s 10th largest neighborhood by area. Despite its size, it has no ice cream store, so we headed to Trios Market, a convenience store at the center of the neighborhood’s small business district. A Blue Bunny ice cream freezer did the job: Pippa had an ice cream sandwich and Liddy had the cookies and cream ice cream sandwich. We took a long walk through the neighborhood, passing the Byzantine Catholic Seminary and Archeparchy of Pittsburgh Chancery. We then walked into Riverview Park and up to the Allegheny Observatory. Home to the third largest refractor in the world, the Thaw telescope, which is still in use, the observatory was also the site of work on standardized time zones. The original building was built in 1859 lower down the hill, but the current hilltop structure was built in 1899 to rise above Pittsburgh’s steelmaking pollution. Having visited it by daylight, we’re excited to return for one of its frequent public evening tours.

Fun Fact:
40% of all known star distances were calculated at the Allegheny Observatory in Perry North.