PITTSBURGH | New Multi Purpose Arena | U/C

[akPITT207]

Let's see here I was asked to start a thread about this and couldn't find one already on here so why not. I will be taking pictures of the construction a few times a week. Everyone is welcome to contribute.



Some pictures from earlier today, 8/19/08

[NYC4Life]

Will this arena be the new home for the Pittsburgh Penguins?

[Burgh15]

Originally Posted by NYC4Life

Will this arena be the new home for the Pittsburgh Penguins?

Yes it will. The new arena will be right across the street from where they currently play.

[JackStraw]

Good thinkin!

I was going to work on some of the lighting design for this project through a contract with Asterino, but I bailed that company that I could have done this work with and went somewhere else. It would have been fun, especially since the work would have been all overtime work added to my regular pay.

[akPITT207]

From today:

[akPITT207]

from today

[guyFROMtheBURGH]

looks awesome dude, you should post a link to this in the Pittsburgh Rundown page. Looking forward to the pics as much as possible since im not living too close to there now.

[Gilamonster]

Crews have been working past 11 pm this week.

[dugdogmaster]

Rockin! I'm still referring to it as The Igloo

[beyondtheforest]

Do you have pictures of the site before demolition of the existing buildings, particularly anything historic or significant (unlike St. Francis haha). I know the church rectory, school, etc. were demolished. Why is it that the original plans for this site included saving the building next to the church, which is gone now?

[qwho]

check google maps... the picture that is there will show you the white building that was there...


http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ie...96240601503759

[Gilamonster]

It is very interesting to watch the grading of the site. It is especially interesting to see the "steps" being embedded into the soil. I am so curious as to how that is done.

It can all be seen on the 24 hour webcam:

http://penguins.nhl.com/ext/html/webcam4.html

[Minivan Werner]

Originally Posted by beyondtheforest

Do you have pictures of the site before demolition of the existing buildings, particularly anything historic or significant (unlike St. Francis haha). I know the church rectory, school, etc. were demolished. Why is it that the original plans for this site included saving the building next to the church, which is gone now?

They are rebuilding it. Must not have passed inspection or something. Currently you can see the foundation starting at the bottom part of the arena cam.

[Gilamonster]

[Evergrey]

that first shot is awesome... I love the density and diversity of structures in the background!

[Gilamonster]

Thanks Evergrey, though I must admit I was simply taking a picture of the arena site. I suppose the city of Pittsburgh buildings did the rest!

[Gilamonster]

These 2 shots are from the same exact spot. The first is just a zoom in of the second.

[Johnland]

Originally Posted by Gilamonster

These 2 shots are from the same exact spot. The first is just a zoom in of the second.

What a great angle. I'm really impressed by the view of the older, small scale commercial buildings along Fifth Ave. You know, if those exact same buildings were located in the Cultural District, they would have enormous conversion value to residential or new-use commercial. They are gems of the extensive loft inventory in Downtown. Hopefully they will survive the massive new arena devlopment and provide an important architectural connection to Pittsburgh's rich mercantile, commercial and financial heritage of the early 1900's.

Also, this shot is a perfect comparison of old and new. Notice how the older urban area on the left is rich and interesting, while the newer landscape on the right is bland and sterile. Just an observation.

[Burgh15]

Originally Posted by Johnland

What a great angle. I'm really impressed by the view of the older, small scale commercial buildings along Fifth Ave. You know, if those exact same buildings were located in the Cultural District, they would have enormous conversion value to residential or new-use commercial. They are gems of the extensive loft inventory in Downtown. Hopefully they will survive the massive new arena devlopment and provide an important architectural connection to Pittsburgh's rich mercantile, commercial and financial heritage of the early 1900's.

Those buildings add a ton of character to the city. I hope that they don't only survive the arena development, but also begin to thrive. That seems like it could be an awesome area to hang out at before and after games and hopefully someday even on non-game days.

[Johnland]

Originally Posted by Burgh15

Those buildings add a ton of character to the city. I hope that they don't only survive the arena development, but also begin to thrive. That seems like it could be an awesome area to hang out at before and after games and hopefully someday even on non-game days.

Yep, that's exactly what I was thinking. One the one hand, it could become a reality more so now with a new arena on one side and an expanding Duquesne University on the other. However, having two giant neighbors could also overwhelm those smaller parcels. Not that Duquesne would do it, but look at some of the horrible, brutalistic behemoths Pitt plunked down in Oakland back in the 70's - Forbes Quadrangle, the Towers Dormitories. Pitt had the money and the need to build, so it did. Of course building could only be accomplished by wiping out anything in its path.