Andy Warhol Museum

Bear with me here…this entry is not entirely about the Andy Warhol Museum located in Pittsburgh, PA. Wait, what? I can hear the credibility alarm going off now…probably a high pitched shrill alarm is ringing off on the site at this moment. Please don’t leave the site just yet…slowly I am building up views (I had 10 yesterday, can you believe it?!) and I would like to continue to build momentum here. Hang in there and you will see that there is a point to this post, tinged with nostalgia….and who doesn’t like the good ole days!

So lets talk about the building located at 117 Sandusky St. in downtown Pittsburgh BEFORE it was redesigned, renovated, and refurbished into the magnificent museum that it is today that bears the namesake of one of the city’s most famous artists, Andy Warhol.

Before moving to Canada in 1986, I spent ALL of my formative years growing up in this great city. In addition to playing varsity sports (soccer, lacrosse, wrestling), and scrounging for 3.1415926535 GPA (gratuitous; can’t help myself), I also took classical piano lessons. My mother (who just turned 90 as of this writing), ‘encouraged’ (ie forced) my sister and me to take lessons from an accomplished pianist in the city. So, once a week, our mother would take us to these Saturday morning lessons that were given in what is now the Andy Warhol Museum. How cool is that? “Finally he got to the point of the post…I don’t have all day here”…..yes, I am also a mind reader so be kind in judging this post.

But at the time, it was an uncool, nondescript, office building minus the Studio 54 vibes, Campbell Soup paintings, and Marilyn Monroe images displayed on the walls…..no sir. The building itself was called Volkweins. It may have actually been called the Volkwein’s Music Building but I am not sure…..we just called it Volkwein’s. If you are reading this and know, feel free to comment. It would be my first.

From what I vaguely remember, there was nothing fancy about this building. This building was long in the tooth and short on style…probably had been built in the early 1900’s…it had flat color tones, sandblasted in steel mill polluted gray) had probably 6-8 floors max. I’m guessing that most, if not all of the building was dedicated to music in one way or another.

There was a music store on the main floor as you entered the building off to the left that sold various music supplies, sheet music, and soft cover collections of various artists, bands, and performers. It was here that on one particular Saturday I took a copy of The Who’s Greatest Hits, placed it inside my jacket under my arm, and walked out allegro. Let’s just call it a colossal lapse in judgement. Is this a perfect time to insert a “Who Are You” reference as you question my character and integrity? Fair. Anyway, I am not proud of this moment but somehow letting the whole world know about this makes me feel somewhat better about my rapid egress sans paying I guess…but I digress…but don’t worry, I won’t transgress.

When we arrived for our lessons, I vaguely remember taking an old ‘freight like’ elevator that could fit 2-3 people comfortably, providing you were of average height, weight, and circumference. I recall the accordion like metal gate that you would close after you were safely on and then subsequently open when you reached your designated floor, which for us was the 3rd or 4th floor. I also remember the wall panel to the right that housed the floor buttons – hard, round, black plastic knobs with a corresponding floor number inscribed on each one. As I write this, not sure why we didn’t just take the stairs…scary.

I recall waiting for our scheduled appointment time in a general area outside the individual studio rooms. Keeping with the minimalism theme, there was a group of folding banquet tables placed in formation in the lobby, accompanied by classic folding metal chairs. Here my sister and I awaited our fate…as we each had a separate half hour lesson from Mr. J. We always had music homework from the previous week but most often hadn’t practised nearly enough to meet the high standards set by our teacher. The cacophony of musical instruments coming from behind closed doors of all the studios didn’t quell our apprehension either. So we waited…..and then when the door opened to Mr. J’s studio, it was time to pay the piper. Or in this case the pianist.

One word that comes to mind when I think of these studio rooms is austere; actually let’s just go with ‘bare’. One upright piano, one piano bench, a cup with sharpened #2 pencils sitting atop the piano, and a window. That’s it. oh yeah, and the room always seemed to be freezing. Not conducive to ‘tickling the ivories’ as my mother used to say.

Anyway, needless to say that today’s tribute and museum (can’t tell you how times I misspelled the word museum throughout this post) to one of the world’s most eclectic and eccentric artists is simply remarkable.

A few years ago, I was able to return to Pittsburgh with my son and daughter and we were able to visit the Andy Warhol Museum. At the time of visit, I didn’t know that it had been the previous Volkwein’s Building. When we entered the front doors and into the main lobby, I had the strange sense of deja vu. I hadn’t stepped into this building in 40 years! Although things looked extremely different, I had this strange feeling in my gut of familiarity; the shell of the building was intact, it was still at the corner, but the inside had been transformed into a shrine that celebrated everything about Andy Warhol.

As I get older, I get more nostalgic about simpler times…about comfortable times….and I look forward to reconnecting with memories, sights, and sounds that swirl around my brain . You should too – you may rediscover long lost memories that come flooding back to you that make you smile. Thanks for reading this post…until next time!