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WORDS BY Tony Ware

The Priory

With its rich history, The Priory stands out as Pittsburgh’s premier boutique hotel.

Visitors to Pittsburgh seeking a heavenly reprieve from the rigours of traveling need look no further than The Priory, a 19th-century Benedictine rectory on Pittsburgh’s North Shore, renovated into a 24-room European-style city inn. The Priory’s modern incarnation is one of attentive personal service, which the family-run and lovingly restored Italianate boutique hotel has been offering since 1986. The Priory offers the charm of Victorian period and reproduction furnishings, including intimate-yet-airy rooms of hardwoods and lace trimmings, with the convenience of a USA Today at your door, a fitness room and Wi-ficoursing through the air (hardwired Ethernet is also available for business travelers).

Originally built in 1888, in what was then known as Allegheny Town (childhood home of Pittsburgh industrialist/philanthropist, Andrew Carnegie), The Priory was an addition to St Mary’s German-Catholic Church when the Benedictines took it over from the Bavarians. In the early 1900s, Allegheny Town was annexed by Pittsburgh, then in the 1970s the Pittsburgh Department of Transportation purchased St Mary’s land with plans to raze the church. While the church performed its last mass in 1981, it was granted clemency when the plans for I-279 were shifted 40 feet, and in 1985 the Graf family purchased and refurbished the building.

Thanks in part to I-279’s construction, The Priory offers an unobstructed view of Pittsburgh’s glistening skyline. It is only a five-minute car ride to the 14-block Cultural District (home to the theaters of five separate performance companies), The Strip (a vital 24-hour nightlife, commerce and cuisine district), The Andy Warhol Museum, The Mattress Factory museum of contemporary art, the city’s Convention Center, PNC Park and Heinz Field. Yet you would never know how close you are to the bustling city life while sitting within The Priory’s tranquil courtyard.

The Priory’s courtyard makes an excellent location to enjoy complimentary continental breakfast or a gratis glass of red or white wine (offered each evening in the sitting room, adjoining the library with its fully stocked honor bar). The Priory’s interior is exclusively non-smoking, so the courtyard is also the perfect place to enjoy a quiet smoke—assuming it’s not bursting with the joyous energy of a wedding party. Many such events are held in the adjacent Grand Hall (the former St Mary’s), an ornate room for parties of 350-500, and featuring a barrel vaulted ceiling, Corinthian columns, a majestic organ and striking Austrian stained glass windows.

No matter the circumstances that bring you to The Priory or the Grand Hall, this former house of worship still inspires visitors to give praise.

The Priory Hotel, 614 Pressley St, 866-3PRIORY or 412-231-3338, www.thepriory.com

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