Photos of Cathedral of Learning

The Cathedral of Learning is one of Pittsburgh's landmarks, one of the National Register of Historic Places, and the centerpiece of the University of Pittsburgh's main campus in Oakland. This 163-meter-high, 42-story post-Gothic Revival church is the tallest campus building in the Western Hemisphere and the tallest campus building in the world. The building is actually the realization of the idea of the tenth president, John T. Portman. Shortly after John came to Pittsburgh in 1921, he decided the university needed a landmark building. In the same year, with the help of the Mellon family, he acquired a plot of land for construction. The church was designed by Charles Lauder, and construction began in 1926 and was completed 11 years later, in 1937.