{"id":237229,"date":"2026-07-07T04:16:32","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T04:16:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/237229\/"},"modified":"2026-07-07T04:16:32","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T04:16:32","slug":"how-to-have-a-90s-summer-in-pittsburgh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/237229\/","title":{"rendered":"How to have a ’90s summer in Pittsburgh"},"content":{"rendered":"

Remember when \u201cbe home before the streetlights come on\u201d counted as a summer plan?<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the fantasy millions of people are trying to re-create this year. This summer, TikTok and Instagram are awash in videos romanticizing what users have dubbed the \u201c\u201990s summer\u201d<\/a> or \u201canalog summer\u201d: kids riding bikes until dusk, cannonballing into public pools, catching lightning bugs, eating melting ice cream cones and wandering the neighborhood with no itinerary beyond being home before dark.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Parents are trying to give their children the kind of unstructured childhood they remember. Gen Z, meanwhile, is discovering that boredom can actually be \u2026 fun.<\/p>\n

For most places, you\u2019d have to hunt down the last surviving roller rink, seek out a drive-in theater or explain why hitting a golf ball through a fiberglass windmill once counted as peak entertainment.<\/p>\n

Luckily for us, Pittsburgh has a head start. Growing up in Turtle Creek in the 1990s, Emily Ruby, curator at the Heinz History Center, would climb on her bike and disappear for hours, pedaling from one neighborhood adventure to the next.\u00a0<\/p>\n

She wasn\u2019t headed anywhere in particular, Ruby recalls. Maybe she\u2019d end up at a friend\u2019s house. Maybe someone would suggest the public pool. Maybe she\u2019d spend the afternoon wandering the neighborhood until hunger \u2014 or eventually the streetlights \u2014 sent her home.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just remember being home and kind of on my own,\u201d Ruby says. \u201cWandering around the neighborhood being bored.\u201d<\/p>\n

That, she says, is the part people get wrong when they think about a \u201990s summer.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe big part about the \u201990s was the freedom that we had,\u201d she says. \u201cYou would go out, ride your bike and maybe be out all day.\u201d<\/p>\n

The places mattered, of course. But what people are really nostalgic for is the space between them, Ruby says. The long days at Kennywood, the chance encounter at the county pool, the evening spent at a church festival or the aimless hours that somehow became the best memories of summer.<\/p>\n

So if you\u2019re ready to swap endless scrolling for soft serve, wooden coasters and a little glorious boredom, here\u2019s how to have a \u201990s summer in Pittsburgh, whether you\u2019re introducing a new generation to those simple pleasures or rediscovering them yourself. After all, the joys of a \u201990s summer aren\u2019t just for kids. They\u2019re for anyone who\u2019s still young at heart.<\/p>\n

\"\"Kennywood visitors wait in line to ride the Jack Rabbit roller coaster, July 1991.
Photo courtesy of Kennywood Park Records, Detre Library & Archives at the Heinz History Center.<\/p>\n

Relive Kennywood\u2019s golden age<\/p>\n

Founded in 1898 and opened to the public in 1899, Kennywood<\/a> became a summer visiting ritual through school picnic days, company outings and nationality celebrations that brought generations back year after year, Ruby says. \u201cPlanning your outfit, picking your partner, Kennywood was a huge deal,\u201d recalls Ruby. \u201cYou\u2019d go with your school, but you\u2019d also go for your dad\u2019s work picnic.\u201d Ride the century-old Jack Rabbit, race your friends on the Racer, brave the Thunderbolt and don\u2019t leave without an order of Potato Patch fries, a Kennywood staple since 1973.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"South Park Wave Pool. Photo courtesy of Allegheny County Parks. <\/p>\n

Spend a day at the wave pool<\/p>\n

Allegheny County still operates wave pools at South Park, Boyce Park and Settlers Cabin<\/a>, plus the historic North Park Swimming Pool, which opened in 1937 and was among the nation\u2019s largest public pools at the time. South Park\u2019s wave pool, which first opened in 1977, underwent a major renovation before reopening in 2024. Settlers Cabin\u2019s debuted in 1978, making Allegheny County one of the few regions that still maintains multiple public wave pools. Whether you\u2019re floating through the waves or stretching out on the deck, these pools remain some of the city\u2019s most affordable \u2014 and enduring \u2014 summer gathering places.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"The Sandcastle Wave Pool in 1995. Photo courtesy of Kennywood Park Records, 1895-2018, MSS 141, Detre Library & Archives, Heinz History Center.<\/p>\n

Make a splash at Sandcastle<\/p>\n

When Sandcastle<\/a> opened in July 1989, it transformed a 67-acre former U.S. Steel railroad yard along the Monongahela River into the Pittsburgh region\u2019s first major water park. Originally developed by the Kennywood Entertainment Co., the park became an instant summer tradition for families who didn\u2019t need to head to the shore to cool off. Today, the Mon Tsunami wave pool, Lazy River and 11 water slides continue to draw generations of Pittsburghers back each summer.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Photo courtesy of Dependable Drive-in.<\/p>\n

Watch a movie the old-fashioned way<\/p>\n

There were 4,000 drive-ins operating nationwide at their peak in the late 1950s. Today, only a fraction remain, but Pittsburgh still has two within an easy drive. Dependable Drive-In<\/a> in Moon Township, which opened in 1950, is the last remaining drive-in theater in Allegheny County. It now features four screens showing first-run double features. About 35 miles north, Starlight Drive-In<\/a> in Butler County has welcomed moviegoers since 1958. Roll down the windows, tune your radio to the movie\u2019s FM station and enjoy.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Photo courtesy of Kniess\u2019 Miniature Golf.<\/p>\n

Putt your way through miniature golf<\/p>\n

Thousands of Tom Thumb courses opened across the United States before the Great Depression slowed the craze. Pittsburgh still has a piece of that history. Kniess Miniature Golf<\/a>, originally opened as Tom Thumb Miniature Golf in 1930, remains one of the country\u2019s oldest continuously operating miniature golf courses. Looking for a bigger outing? Fun Fore All Family Fun Park<\/a> pairs two 18-hole courses with go-karts, batting cages, duckpin bowling and a sprawling arcade for an all-day throwback.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"The Neville Roller Drome\u2019s Sunday afternoon Family Skate attracts skaters of all ages and skating abilities. Photo by John Beale.<\/p>\n

Roll back to the roller rink<\/p>\n

Roller skating\u2019s popularity has ebbed and flowed for more than a century, from the golden age of neighborhood rinks in the mid-20th century to the roller disco craze of the 1970s and the inline skating boom of the 1990s. Pittsburgh still has one of its survivors. Neville Roller Drome<\/a>, open since 1948, continues to host public skate sessions and birthday parties, offering a rare chance to experience a pastime that generations of local families grew up with.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Photo courtesy of The Church Arcade. <\/p>\n

Trade consoles for coin-operated classics<\/p>\n

The Church Arcade<\/a> has transformed a former Catholic church in Duquesne into a retro gaming destination with more than 100 classic arcade and pinball machines, all set to free play with admission. About 20 miles northwest, Pinball PA<\/a> houses more than 400 playable video games and pinball machines inside an interactive museum dedicated to preserving arcade history.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Sprinkle indecision. Photo courtesy of Page Dairy Mart.<\/p>\n

Join the line for soft serve<\/p>\n

Every Pittsburgh neighborhood seems to have an ice cream stand<\/a> that signals summer has officially arrived. Page Dairy Mart<\/a>, serving the South Side since 1951, remains one of the city\u2019s great seasonal rituals, where waiting in line is simply part of the experience.<\/p>\n

\"\"Students in a dorm at University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg in 1995. Photo courtesy of University of Pittsburgh Greensburg Archives, University of Pittsburgh Library System.<\/p>\n

Embrace the lost art of boredom<\/p>\n

Perhaps the most authentic \u201990s summer activity isn\u2019t an activity at all. Ruby remembers spending entire days riding bikes, wandering the neighborhood and simply being bored. \u201cThat\u2019s part of the summer experience,\u201d she says. \u201cBeing bored, being hot and not knowing what to do with yourself.\u201d This summer, consider putting your phone away for an afternoon and seeing where curiosity takes you.<\/p>\n