Admittedly, this is a rather dull and brief collection. These photos are for an academic project I'm doing... and are hardly a comprehensive representation of the community and certainly do not contain any artistic merit... but perhaps some of you might be interested in seeing a glimpse Southwestern Pennsylvania suburbia.
All three communities are located in the "South Hills"... just a few miles south of Downtown Pittsburgh... and all 3 share borders with the city of Pittsburgh. All 3 communities are along the Port Authority's 42-S LRT line.
Dormont is the first suburb on the LRT line... it has a population of about 9000 and is the "most densely" populated municipality in Allegheny County. It was incorporated as a borough in 1909 and its name means "Mountain of Gold". Most of its housing stock is 1920-40s. It has a pretty decent business district. Its convenient access to much of Pittsburgh and urban layout has attracted renewed interest.
LRT stop in downtown Dormont
early 20th century apartment buildings
LRT heading towards Pittsburgh's Beechview neighborhood
Potomac Ave... a delightful human-scaled street in downtown Dormont
"mixed-use"
Mt. Lebanon has a population of 33,000 and was incorporated as a First Class Township (urban township) in 1912. It is a large, suprisingly diverse suburb that is not adequately represented by my meager photos. It is regarded as a very wealthy place... but contains varied housing... rentals and owner-occupied... luxurious mansions and modest homes... and has several business districts. It's renowned for having the top school district in the Pittsburgh area. Famous people from Mt. Lebanon include: Ming-Na, Matt Kennedy Gould (Joe Schmoe), Kurt Angle, Orrin Hatch and Mark Cuban.
I thought Ex-Ithacan would appreciated this
Washington Road is a thriving business district
modest apartment buildings
typical Mt. Lebanon residential... lots of attention to details like shadetrees, sidewalks, etc.
lots of apartment buildings like these beauties
cul-de-sac luxury
Castle Shannon is the next community along the LRT line. While it shares a small border with Pittsburgh... I would consider this more of a "middle ring" suburb... it's main period of development was the 1960s. It has a much more automobile-suburban feel and function than Mt. Lebanon and Dormont. There is less cohesion and there are no sidewalks. Housing is plain and modest. It was incorporated as a borough in 1919, has a population of 9000 and is the boyhood home of Dennis Miller.
I loathe these types of developments...
The LRT traveling through Castle Shannon's tiny downtown
The American Dream, circa 1961
duplexes
yay