By Matthew Miramontes- 12th Grade, Cornell High School

Molly’s Trolley takes the scenic route to grant some great photo opportunities of the stadiums and of Downtown Pittsburgh

Have you ever wanted to know more information about what makes Pittsburgh the thriving metropolis that it is today? What about the origins of the South Side district and how the population and night life became booming there? Or how about what happened when George Washington first arrived in Pittsburgh years before he was president? On Molly’s Trolley tour, all these questions and more can be answered on a quick two-hour tour of our great and thriving city.

The tour begins in Station Square, where a brief overview of what Station Square was back when the steel mills were still rampant in Pittsburgh. The tour then takes a casual drive over to the South Side and South Side Works, where tour-takers can learn more about what early life in Pittsburgh was like and how it has changed since then. I guarantee even the most hardcore Pittsburgh city fanatic will still find some new bit of information about the city, as Ralph, who was my tour guide was able to spit what seemed like endless knowledge about the city that even took me by surprise.

The tour stops on top of Mount Washington get a photo of the whole city and let visitors take in the sights

I pride myself on my knowledge of Pittsburgh, but Ralph just crushed me in knowledge about the once dirty city that has now gone clean. My tour guide Ralph also made the learning experience enjoyable as he cracked jokes about Pittsburghese, our world famous dialect, and our addiction to anything that involves scoring against another team. Even if you know everything about everything on Pittsburgh, I still recommend going on the tour just for the sheer enjoyment factor, I just had a great time and learned a new plethora of information about my hometown.

Molly’s Trolleys seems to be more focused on what tourists should attend if this was their first time in Pittsburgh, as it covered some of the geographical information that Pittsburghers now can list without batting an eye, and actually hearing the 376 highway being called the 376 rather than the parkway left even me confused.

The tour then continued through Oakland where more information on Pitt’s campus and of course Pittsburgh favorites like The Original or The “O” were mentioned. Then the tour would go to Downtown Pittsburgh, where founding information about Pittsburgh was shared from the French and Indian War, to Carnegie, to present day information about Mayor Peduto and the current population in Pittsburgh.

Finally, after a short tour of the North Side and The Cultural District, Molly’s Trolley took us up to Mount Washington to ride the Duquesne Incline and get some pictures. I started to take advantage of the view of Pittsburgh from the mountain side. The crowd all in unison seemed to just let out this giant, “Wow” as we reached the top of Mount Washington.

The ride down the Duquesne Incline can be a steep one, but the view sure is beautiful

The tour then traveled back to Station Square and as we pulled into the Station, Ralph made a great joke about The Ducky Tours almost being as cool as Molly’s Trolleys, I am not going to disagree or agree, but I can say that the trolley is one of the coolest ways to go around town.

Matthew Miramontes is an incoming senior. He lives in Pittsburgh and has been with Pittsburgh Youth Media for two years. Matthew is also the Chief Editor of his school newspaper, and has now started his own music website (mattsmusicmine.wordpress.com) that acts as a key of reviewing and previewing up and coming music.