Pittsburgh: Lovin' Every Minute Of It

[Evergrey]

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Little Italy Days took place outside my front door this weekend... the Allegra Dancers of Wheeling, WV performed a high-octane fusion of ethnic and contemporary dance
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crowds gathered for this athletic competition all weekend long
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everyone's wearing shades
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Bloomfield's iconic church
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someone's ordering gnocchi
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that's my apartment above the restaurant... the festival was literally at my doorstep
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I've really fallen in love with this hidden overlook high above the Monongahela River
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Duquesne University in the foreground
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the skyscraper equivalent of the Death Star looms over a barge
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The University of Pittsburgh's Cathedral of Learning all sparkling and bright after its first bath
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medical skyscrapers
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Oakland
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the suburbanesque (though densifying and identified as a prime LRT expansion route) Technology Park resides on a former steel mill site along the north bank of the Monongahela... the long suffering but architecturally-stunning Uptown neighborhood connects Downtown to Oakland above the Tech Park... and the Hill District looms in the distance
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The South Side Slopes... a one-of-a-kind neighborhood
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South Side Flats... one of the city's most exciting neighborhoods
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American Eagle has relocated from the suburbs to the South Side
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South Side has a dazzling array of churches
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Greenfield
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washed out view from Schenley Park
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Cathedral of Learning again
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skyline and Sur La Table
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Birmingham Bridge
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Oakland
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Is this still America?
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Hot Metal Bridge
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Greenfield
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these houses weren't originally built for the view... the slopes were just a cheap place to put worker's housing... the city was often obscured by industrial pollution... as the city evolved into the dazzling jewel it is today... many incremental changes have been made to Slopes housing to take advantage of the vistas
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South Side alley houses
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Oakland... Pennsylvania's 3rd largest concentration of employment after Downtown Philly and Downtown Pittsburgh
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The Cathedral of Learning and the twin-spired St. Paul's to the right
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Uptown and the Hill District are two neighborhoods that have been beaten down over the past 60 years... but are poised for a revival due to their strategic location and billions of dollars of new investment within and adjacent to their borders... hopefully we can get it right this time... the prominent building is the foreground is the ancient Fifth Ave. High School... now mostly vacant... I could imagine one of those gorgeous schoolhouse condo conversions
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more Uptown and Hill District... Uptown's legacy urban fabric is very similar to the South Side across the river... being within walking distance of South Side, Oakland, Downtown and Duquesne University should make this a very desirable location... but it currently serves primarily as a harsh automobile thoroughfare and parking district
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hideous siding near Mt. Oliver
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the sun hit the Frick Building
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a small throng turns out for the Duquesne University Dukes football game
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that riverside prison is like some sort of tumor growth on the skyline... if that parcel could've held out for another 15 years it probably would've been condos or a mixed-use development...
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the 10th St. Bridge leads to the Armstrong Tunnel... which burrows underneath Duquesne University
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a weedy corner lot along Mt. Oliver St.... some day this area will realize its potential
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the entrance to Allentown
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a neglected church in Beltzhoover
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South Hilltop neighborhoods like Allentown, Beltzhoover and Knoxville have fallen on hard times in recent decades... but they are full of attractive houses like these
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slightly off-balance... but an interesting perspective... the U.S. Steel Tower is peering over the Hilltop
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a random house built into the hillside along Arlington... it has a stunning view and a trolley stop!
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the Frick Building at center is over 100 years old and still looks fabulous
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South Side and Oakland
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10th St. Bridge
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Grant St. cluster of skyscrapers
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PPG looking fabulous as always
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one of the best city views
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[BuffaloSam]

These pictures are absolutely amazing!!! Pittsburgh is such and incredible city! Great work! :cheers:

[wisla_krakow]

God I love Pittsburgh. How much are homes in South Slopes?

[Evergrey]

God I love Pittsburgh. How much are homes in South Slopes?

I think the median value a couple years ago was around $75k and increasing at a healthy rate for the market... but there is great variability... you can get some long-neglected wreck for very cheap... but there are some nicely-preserved gems... and newer construction tends to be high-end... most of the new stuff ranges from $300k-$700k...

[JivecitySTL]

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[OfCourse]

Ha, holy cow. This is definitely one of my all-time favorite threads thus far. Great stuff. I've never been to Pittsburgh, but I'm fascinated and intrigued by it anyhow. Beautiful shots.

[flar]

Excellent, one of your best tours yet

[Mr.YGuy]

Wow, very nice!

[pj3000]

Good choice with the Loverboy... those Canadians sure know how to lay down the 1980s rock. Great photo set... looks like it was a beauty of a day to be in Pittsburgh.

Playing the bocce ball on indoor/outdoor carpeting goes against all that is Italian.
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[denveraztec]

Great shots and love those hills, looks like a wonderful place to live!

[Derek]

I've never seen Pittsburgh like that before. It's stunning! :)

[Austinlee]

Great tour Evergrey!!

I have to disagree with your thoughts on the jail; Not that I love that structure or anything but It is a very isolated little piece of land between a cliff and the highway/river. Across the river views are of the ugly "Ford truck" dealership and other single story industrial bldgs and parking lots.... Who would want to live right there? I think it's not a bad spot for the jail since it had to go somewhere....

Now I AM worried about the parking lots on either side of station square being misused.... That land is perfect for midrise - highrise since it has a cliff behind it and a million dollar view of downtown; I hope they don't ruin that with lowrise suburban style development... Time will tell I guess.

[BigKidD]

Another great Pittsburgh thread Evergrey.

[Evergrey]

Across the river views are of the ugly "Ford truck" dealership and other single story industrial bldgs and parking lots.... .

That area pisses me off too... especially that hundred-foot high Ford sign... I( think those uses will eventually yield to housing or mixed-use development some day... I can imagine something similar to the newer riverfront housing in the South Side... like Riverfront Mews that is going up now near 18th St..... a riverfront location in the South Side is too precious to be wasted on Ford dealerships, parking lots and hideous warehouses

And the jail location isn't isolated... though it may have the appearance of isolation... It's a 1 minute walk to Grant St... and a short walk across a bridge to South Side or Station Square / Mt. Washington... put some 20-story condos there and you'd have awesome views of the river, Mt. Washington and South Side (even with its infamous Ford dealership)... does a jail need to be next to its courthouse? They should've put this thing in Windgap or Hays or outside the city (It is the County jail after all)

[STLgasm]

Excellent tour. Thanks for the descriptions too. What a city.

[pj3000]

And the jail location isn't isolated... though it may have the appearance of isolation... It's a 1 minute walk to Grant St... and a short walk across a bridge to South Side or Station Square / Mt. Washington... put some 20-story condos there and you'd have awesome views of the river, Mt. Washington and South Side (even with its infamous Ford dealership)... does a jail need to be next to its courthouse? They should've put this thing in Windgap or Hays or outside the city (It is the County jail after all)

I hate that the county jail is in that location. Prime riverfront property wasted... the jail is going to be there forever, and therefore completely eliminating any chance of that area ever becoming sought-after property for proper development. That whole stretch from the jail to the technology park along the Mon could be put to such better use for Pittsburgh (that gravel yard doesn't need to be there either).

Usually, a county jail does have to be near its county courthouse, so I understand its location. But it still sucks. A friend of mine from Chicago, when visiting Pittsburgh for the first time, commented that "those are some ugly looking condos on the river". I was like, "yeah, those are condos you really don't want to live in". He couldn't believe that they would build the jail on that prime a piece of land.

[the dude]

tremendous tour. pittsburgh's an impressive city.

[olga]

Great photos and interesting comments - thanks! What an amazing city. I love those slopes crowded with small houses.

[ColDayMan]

My 2nd favorite Ohio River city!

;)

[Evergrey]

My 2nd favorite Ohio River city!

;)

but your first favorite Allegheny River city! (I hope) ;)

[Buckeye Native 001]

Holy hell, I miss Pittsburgh :tup:

Cathedral of Learning looks great after that bath, so much more majestic without the soot.

[mrherodotus]

The problem with the jail is that no councilman that wanted to keep his job could allow the jail to be put in their district.


By the way, this is Knoxville, not Beltzhoover. The two are easy to tell apart. Knoxville is narrow streets with mostly brick houses. Beltzhoover is wider streets, with mostly frame houses.
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[mrherodotus]

but your first favorite Allegheny River city! (I hope) ;)


Nah, the Monongahela is unquestionably "Pittsburgh's river". Though there are three of them, the Mon holds a special place in our hearts.

[KevinFromTexas]

Fine city. So beautiful. I swear, I never get tired of Pittsburgh. How cold does it get there? :) Love the topography, the georgraphy, architecture and greenery. The cathedral looks great. I think that's the best I've ever seen it look.

Such a fine city.
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Oh man, the girl on the left is so gorgeous. :yes:
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[peanut gallery]

Very nice! I did indeed love every minute of it.

[HomeInMyShoes]

It should be illegal to be as cool as Pittsburgh is. But I have to take offence with the title. This thread should be named "Pittsburgh: Lovin' Almost Every Minute of It" as you were clearly not enamoured with the siding or the reiverside prison development. I, however, loved the siding and will be lobbying to have it declared a national historic site. The prison may be bulldozed.

[JackStraw]

awesome thread evergrey. I enjoyed very much.

Did you see that they are giving the First Presbyterian Church downtown a srubbin too? It looks unreal. They did the first half one day when I walked down past it. It was amazing how much soot was on it.

[Wheelingman04]

I enjoyed the tour immensely.:)

[mrherodotus]

awesome thread evergrey. I enjoyed very much.

Did you see that they are giving the First Presbyterian Church downtown a srubbin too? It looks unreal. They did the first half one day when I walked down past it. It was amazing how much soot was on it.

I didn't notice that. I did see where Trinity, next door, has been given a bath. Trinity has been literally black as long as I can remember.

[EventHorizon]

I agree with kevin - the girl on the left is beautiful! :D
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You are a really great ambassador for the city Evergrey! your pictures are great as usual!

[Evergrey]

yeah... that girl has unbelievably great skin tone... thanks everybody!

[atl2phx]

awesome pics! nice tour of street level and delivering a sense of the steeltown's flavor. i LOVE ppg center - consistently in my top 10 list.

[boden]

First class post! :tup::tup::tup:

[JackStraw]

I didn't notice that. I did see where Trinity, next door, has been given a bath. Trinity has been literally black as long as I can remember.

I am sorry Mr. H. it is Trinity that I noticed. They sit side by side so I got mixed up. It looks amazing how much of a difference it made.

[Ex-Ithacan]

I swear your pics get better with every thread. Wonderful tour Eg. Of course the subject ain't bad either. :D

[Rufus]

Fuckin fabulous. I love Pittsburgh's siding. It's beautiful, in an ugly way -- and very cool.

Come to think of it, Pittsburgh should be the ultimate hipster city. I mean if cities were people, Pittsburgh would be the ultimate hipster.