06/09/2026
Save the dates, mates...
Marilyn Evert Lecture Series
Autumn 2026
Wednesday, Sept. 2, 7 p.m.
“The Cathedral of Learning at 100”
Drew Armstrong has some thoughts about Charles Klauder's iconic 1926 Neo-Gothic design for what is still the tallest educational building in the Western Hemisphere. Dr. Armstrong is Director of Architectural Studies in the University of Pittsburgh’s history of art and architecture department, where he has taught for more than 20 years.
Wednesday, Oct. 7, 7 p.m.
“Homing: Instincts of a Rustbelt Feminist"
Pittsburgh author Sherrie Flick will read from and discuss her recent memoir, which explores her Beaver Falls childhood, her coming of age as a writer in the 1990s, and how place and geography shaped her experience of sexism and formed her feminism. Flick lived on the East Coast, West Coast and Great Plains before circling back to Pittsburgh. Road trips, eight-ball pool, Andy Warhol, Gen-X, food, faith, longing and loss are strung together across the 13 essays in “Homing,” published in 2024 by the University of Nebraska Press.
Wednesday, Nov. 11, 7 p.m.
“The Mellons and Their Mansions"
For a century and a half, the Mellons were the most influential family in the Pittsburgh area; the Mellon name adorns landmarks across the region, and their wealth has funded countless public and private initiatives. But on a personal level, the family often has shunned the limelight. Nolan Grimes' illustrated talk will explore the Mellons' extensive family tree and the numerous mansions they once owned across Pittsburgh's East End, from Highland Park to Shadyside to Squirrel Hill, as well as the grand estates they still occupy in the Ligonier Valley. Mr. Grimes is Carnegie Mellon University's Facilities Archives and GIS Manager.
Wednesday, Dec. 2, 7 p.m.
“Pittsburgh Parlor Song”
Soprano Brady Collins will discuss Pittsburgh's music publishing scene during the late 19th and early 20th centuries and perform such local favorites as "Pittsburgh, You're a Grand Old Town," "Pittsburg, City of Smoke," and "My Youghiogheny Girl." Ms. Collins also will feature East Liberty composer Ernest B. Lydick and perform his song, "The Wreck of the Flyer Duquesne." It commemorates the December, 1903 Duquesne Limited accident on the B&O Railroad, where Laurel Run meets the Yough at a serpentine curve and more than 60 passengers lost their lives. Ms. Collins is on the board of the Avonworth Historical Society.
All talks are free to the public and held in the Parish Hall of Calvary Episcopal Church, 315 Shady Ave., 15206. (Use Marchand Street entrance.) Free parking in church lot.
