Visual Legacy

Fred Rogers' visual legacy can be seen in more than a half-dozen locations in Pittsburgh.
Magazine Staff,

 


Photo: dave dicello

 

  • A bronze statue of Fred Rogers, nearly 11 feet high and weighing approximately 7,000 pounds, lives on the North Shore.
     
  • Kyle Holbrook and other artists include a portrait of Fred Rogers in a Martin Luther King Jr. mural at Sennott and Atwood streets in Oakland, as well as the “Interpretations of Oakland” tribute at 3609 Forbes Ave.
     
  • Fredasaurus Rex Friday XIII, previously seen in Oakland in front of the WQED building, gazes out from 2100 Wharton St., the building that now houses the Fred Rogers Company headquarters.
     
  • The Idlewild Park “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood of Make-Believe” attraction, which featured a life-size trolley designed by Fred Rogers, will be revamped this year; the new theme will be “Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood.”
     
  • Also this year, the Sen. John Heinz History Center plans to open a permanent “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” exhibit, featuring the program’s original set, puppets and other artifacts.
     
  • Pittsburgh International Airport has a kiosk containing artifacts used for “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.”
     
  • The Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh houses pieces related to “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,” which were pulled from a once-permanent exhibit and reintegrated in the museum in 2011. A full-size replica of the trolley is in the garage; King Friday’s Castle is in the theater; and Fred Rogers' iconic sweater and shoes in the MAKESHOP and attic.
     

 

 

This article appears in the January 2015 issue of Pittsburgh Magazine.
Categories: Community Feature