With more than 50 restaurants in walking distance to theaters, the Cultural District offers a wide variety of dining options to satisfy your personal tastes and budget. Enjoying a relaxing meal before a show or capping off the evening with cocktails and dessert add to a pleasurable experience in the Cultural District.
A Pittsburgh Cultural District-wide gift card can be used to purchase tickets for Pittsburgh Cultural Trust events as well as any event taking place in the Cultural District. With so many exciting shows, concerts, and exhibitions, there is truly something for everyone!
The Cultural District is accessible by public transportation, including Port Authority buses, "T" light-rail service and Pittsburgh's famous inclines. Driving to the show? There is also ample parking in and around the District -- for real-time garage parking information, try ParkPGH.
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Mural
Richard Haas, 1993
In 1993, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust commissioned renowned American muralist Richard Haas to create a striking homage to Pittsburgh’s historic steel industry. Located on the Fort Duquesne Boulevard façade of the Byham Theater, the mural exemplifies Haas’s mastery of trompe l’oeil—a technique that employs highly realistic imagery to create the optical illusion of three-dimensional architectural elements on a flat surface.
Haas’s design ingeniously incorporates the theater’s existing doors and windows, seamlessly blending painted details with real architectural features to produce a dynamic and immersive visual experience. Reflecting on the complexity of the project in a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette interview, Haas described the mural as "one of the most complicated façades I've done," underscoring the technical and artistic challenges involved in transforming the theater’s façade into a monumental work of public art.
About the Artist
Richard Haas (b. 1936, New York, NY) is a pioneering figure in the field of architectural muralism, celebrated for his large-scale trompe l’oeil paintings that transform urban environments. Since the 1960s, Haas has created murals across the United States and internationally, redefining architectural façades with illusions that engage viewers in a playful dialogue between reality and representation. His work can be found on buildings in cities such as New York, Chicago, and Boston, and has been featured in exhibitions at the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Museum of Modern Art. Haas’s murals celebrate architectural history, urban identity, and the possibilities of public art to enliven cityscapes.
