Insider's Guide: The Cathedral of Learning

A beacon on the University of Pittsburgh's Oakland campus that boasts the title of tallest academic building in the western hemisphere.

A Gothic Revival skyscraper that serves as a center point for the University of Pittsburgh, the 535-foot-tall Cathedral of Learning - affectionately known as Cathy - is the second-tallest educational building in the world after the University of Moscow’s main building. In addition to its magnificent four-story Commons Room at ground level, the 42-story Cathedral houses classrooms (including the internationally renowned Nationality Classrooms) academic and administrative offices, libraries, computer labs, a theater, a print shop, and a food court.

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Cathedral of Learning

Credit |

Dustin McGrew

Nationality Rooms

The University of Pittsburgh's renowned Nationality Rooms are gifts from the ethnic communities who helped to build Pittsburgh. There are currently 31 Nationality Rooms on the second and third floors of the building. Twenty-nine of them are working classrooms, while the other two are simply for display. Each room represents and celebrates the national and ethnic groups that had an influence on Pittsburgh’s growth.

Explore all of the Nationality Rooms here.

Cathy's History

Chancellor John G. Bowman of the University of Pittsburgh commissioned the Cathedral of Learning to be built in 1921. In November of 1921, the Mellon family donated a 14-acre, $2.5 million plot of land on which to build, and ground broke on the project in 1926.

It took about a decade to complete construction. Workers completed the steel structure on October 21, 1929, one week before the stock market crash which resulted in the Great Depression. It was also briefly the tallest building in Pittsburgh until the Gulf Tower was built in 1932.

The Cathedral hosted its first class in 1931 despite construction of the exterior continuing on until 1934. Despite interior construction carrying on into the 1940s, the official dedication of the building took place in June 1937.

For First Time Visitors

If there's one piece of advice I can give for when you visit the Cathedral of Learning, it's this: take it in, and take your time. The gorgeous architecture on the outside is just a sneak peak at what you'll see when you enter its doors, where you'll be transported to what can only be described as how you imagined your favorite fantastical academy setting in the stories from your childhood.

Plan Your Visit

The Cathedral of Learning - which is free to enter - has several must-visits once you walk into its walls.

The Nationality Rooms: The Nationality Room program began in 1926, with the rooms serving as gifts from the ethnic communities who helped to build Pittsburgh. In total, 31 rooms commemorate the cultural heritages of the communities who supported and planned their construction.
The Commons Room: The main room of the first floor. The architect, Charles Klauder designed the space to be four stories tall with a vaulted ceiling and real stone arches, strong enough to support their own weight. The use of Guastavino acoustical tiles between the ribs of vaulting helps to keep the room quiet and limit echoes. Klauder considered the Commons Room to be his greatest achievement.
The Babcock Room: A room on the 40th floor. It's a plush, carpeted, wood-paneled conference room, which was originally used as the University trustees’ boardroom. The room features limited access from the 36th floor. Visitors can only enter via a spiral staircase or an elevator, both of which require a key. There's a pair of Peregrine falcons that have nested on the ledge outside the room since 2002, which the National Aviary hosts a live stream from.
The Croghan-Schenley Ballroom: Situated on the first floor, this space is two adjoining rooms—the Ballroom and the Oval Room. A hidden passageway in the Ballroom’s fireplace connects the two spaces.
The Frick Auditorium: A Fine Arts lecture hall on the third floor of the Cathedral of Learning. Its biggest feature is the Nicholas Lochoff reproduction of The Resurrection by Piero della Francesca.
The Richard E. Rauh Studio Theatre: Resides in Cathy’s basement. It is a black box space that allows for reconfiguration depending of the production’s set requirements.