Some Things I Found in Oakland Today

 One of the coolest things for me about going back to the Carnegie Museums in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh is the endless possibility of discovery.  I've always been a fan of this enormous metal mural, tucked away in a back gallery of the art museum...but the whole complex abounds with locked doors and hidden rooms.

 I managed to sneak into one of the old foyers that is no longer used.  This room was designed to be one of the vestibules to the grand staircase, but it faces the street instead of the parking lot, and since very few people walk to the museum nowadays, the room has fallen into disuse.

 The eyes in this statue are too creepy.  I could only stand under her gaze for a few seconds before fleeing.

 And here's another room I never knew was there.  I got to hang here for a few minutes, wondering what the heck this place is and how many more majestic rooms sit locked up and hidden from public view.  Most of the time, this room is just another closed door in a marble corridor.  But today I had the good fortune to find it standing open.  There was a tiny kitchen attached to it, so I suppose it can be rented for parties, but it's pretty small for that.  And it has a definite air of disuse about it.  My life needs more rooms like this.

And this is what I like about the whole Oakland neighborhood: the sense that there's so much splendor hidden all around you.  Opportunities for discovery never end.  In fact, that's one of the best things about any city, and especially "old money" towns like Pittsburgh. 

My favorite children's book creates the same sensation.  It's called "The Garden of Abdul Gasazi," by Chris Van Allsburg.  The story itself is good enough.  But the best part is the way the pictures all suggest some great depth and wonder hidden just beyond their purview.  Alan is chasing his runaway dog, and he stumbles into the vast estate of the retired magician, Abdul Gasazi.   The ill-tempered magician invites Alan into his mysterious mansion.  Gasazi hates dogs and warns Alan that any dog straying onto his property gets turned into a duck. Check out the dark doorway in the background.  It could lead to a library with thousands of leatherbound books; it could lead to a ballroom with crystal chandeliers and marble pillars; it could lead down a stone staircase to a dank wine cellar.  Or it could lead to a room like the one I found today in Oakland.