Saint John Chrysostom Church, Pittsburgh

Built between 1932 and 1935, the evocative Byzantine Church, Saint John Chrysostom, is located on a remote residential street in the Greenfield section of the city. It is a distinct landmark, with onion domes adorned with Slavic style crosses, visible just east of the Squirrel Hill Tunnel from Interstate-376. Often, while driving in Pittsburgh, I tried to deduce how one got to the church. Several times, I scanned the highway for an exit that would allow easy access to the church. It turns out that it located in an isolated part of the city, entombed by surrounding tunnels, highways, hills and waterways. 

We were unable to explore the interior of the church, but murals on the exterior of the building are both beautiful and compelling. As an Eastern Russian Greek Rite congregation, the church has served immigrant families of the community. Buildings such as Saint John Chrysostom serve as a testament to those who settled and worked the dangerous and dirty industrial jobs of Pittsburgh and the religious diversity these families brought to the United States. 

Without a doubt, the most famous parishioner was Andy Warhol, who was baptized in the church as a child.