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November 11th, 2008
01:05 am - It's a mess, it's a start, It's a flawed work of art
The South Side of Pittsburgh cut its teeth as the industrialized, working-class boroughs of Monongahela, South Pittsburgh, Birmingham, East Birmingham, and Ormsby. A keen observer will notice discontinuity in street width, grids, and land use at the boundaries.
With coal mines just beyond the edge, inclines connecting both those materials and people above, a river below and eventually 2 railroads passing through, it's little wonder the South Side became the industrial workhorse it did. Iron, steel, and glass were focal industries, but other businesses were scattered throughout. The South Side retains its gritty industrial nature while at the same time settling into a role as a residential community as well as what's being called a hospitality district.
 At the start of the day, the sky over the city is bright. The eastern edge of the South Side houses a substation which was part of the original high voltage electrical ring around Pittsburgh, dating from around 1930.
 USX Tower, with its recently-acquired UPMC sign, dominates the horizon to the west.
 The notary public, in an office a block from busy East Carson St., presents a neat appearance.
 Just a block away, morning traffic is making its way into the city, and weary folks are getting their morning coffee before heading into work.
 New construction on the site of the former J&L Pittsburgh Works has created a site with offices, retail, and residential space in a variety of buildings.
 Real estate continues to be in demand, and some long-time South Side businesses and residents have decided to move on while the demand is there.
 Hidden in the new development are public spaces including an interior courtyard accessible via this well-lit passage.
 While lacking the historic nature of the long-gone Arcade Theater, the theater at South Side Works has vintage touches to its marquee.
 Among the South Side's benefits are easy accessibility to Oakland, at least when the bridges separating the neighborhoods are open.
 Just beyond East Carson St., Goodwill is now housed in the former J&L "company store". The South Side Slopes neighborhood is visible just beyond the railroad bridge.
 The owners of Zovko's Garage decorate their house for every season.
 Election day. The polls are not yet open but there's already a line to vote.
 This colorful mural is on the side of the Green Front Inn. Another, new, mural is on a building behind the photographer.
 Best pretzels around, if you ask me.
Beyond the library, a building which now houses elderly residents bears reminders of its past as a hospital.
If you're restoring an old home nearby, T&T Hardware no doubt has whatever odd thing you might be missing, and they know where it is, too.
 The clock on the former Duquesne Brewery, once the largest single face clock in the world, has shilled for many folks. As recently as 2000, it was broken, its face blacked out.
The former J&L warehouse outlasted the mill by 22 years before finally getting a new face this summer.
 In an area with infamously scarce parking, the parking chair is not an uncommon sight.
 Among the restored homes a block off Carson St. is the Morning Glory Inn B&B.
 The corner of East Carson and South 21st at one time housed meatpackers and a cereal dealer astride the railroad line which ran along the street. A gym and an optician are new tenants in a building whose appearance has changed in just 8 years.
 "Uncle John" Brashear was memorialized after his death by Edgar Kaufman and others. He really was my great-great-great uncle, incidentally.
 For the moment, the South Side still has a local hospital.
 B.M. Kramer's building still features its original gorgeous arched windows.
 The occasional empty house does still exist in the neighborhood.
 Streets get tighter as you move west toward downtown.
 Built by Henry W. Oliver, who owned Oliver Iron and Steel across the street, Oliver Bath House is the city's only indoor public pool.
 The Salvation Army's sign contrasts with that of Nicholas K.'s studio.
 While Pittsburgh's famous ethnic neighborhoods are much less homogenous, the culture has thankfully stuck around. In the background is Cupples Stadium, home of all the Pittsburgh Public Schools sports teams.
 Social clubs of several Eastern European nationalities dot the area.
 Seeking the Lord's blessing on the city.
 My favorite landmark, the former Duquesne Brewery. The older building is an artists' community. The newer one, with the clock, has had its exterior refurbished but is not yet occupied. In 2000 a small curved building in the area between the railroad track which wrapped around the new building and the corner as well as bridge connecting the old and new buildings still existed.
 Touches of the area's industrial past remain, such as the siding under the Birmingham Bridge to serve businesses at the foot of South 23rd St.
 In looking to the future, the South Side has embraced its past, reusing everything from churches to gas stations while retaining the character of those structures in sometimes whimsical ways.
I tagged all the photos in the album with locations, incidentally, which means you can use the "view thumbnails in a map" feature here. There are many more photos in the album than I shared in the walk here.
n.b. Yes, Google will help if you don't "get" the title of the post.
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Comments:
Very well done. I enjoyed reading that! I realized how little I know about the South Side.
I'd like to participate in the Neighborhood Walk as well. I'd like to blog about this forthcoming yuppie project about a block from my house that I oppose. However, I lack a working camera right now and I am about to leave town for 9 days.
I noticed as I passed it yesterday that:
- The Poli building is still for sale. Either they didn't bother to buy it yet, or they're ignoring it.
- The building on the corner is already mostly empty.
I read something somewhere recently where people pointed out to them that they should make a provision for Tango Cafe, and it started a dialog which resulted in them "getting it" at least a little. One can only hope if they do go forward that they "get it" some more. Also, camera phone?
Thank you for the excellent tour of your neighborhood. Like so many, I'm drawn to the South Side for it's combination of history and new life. You've captured that well.
Looking at what other people have posted, maybe I went overboard. Oops.
| From: | (Anonymous) |
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| Date: | November 11th, 2008 08:12 pm (UTC) |
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| | Not Overboard at All | (Link) |
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I think this is exactly what they had in mind when the idea of the Neighborhood Walk was hatched. This is a great resource for people already in the South Side, or those thinking of visiting / moving there.
Thanks for posting so much! Maybe it'll spur others to get competitive in the volume of their images. :)
Cheers,
Justin Kownacki
http://justinkownacki.blogspot.com/
Is that yellow brick house the 'empty' one? They've done an ok job of making it look a little lived-in (the stuff upstairs looked like books at first glance). Where is it and is it for sale that you know of?
What may not be obvious from the lighting is the windows which are open or missing. On a day as warm as yesterday.
It's between 17th and 18th on the south side of Sidney St, I think. The picture should have a location tag if you go to picasaweb.
This is very cool, thanks for posting it!
I was just at The Pretzel Shop over the weekend, bought a dozen and put most of them in the freezer. Not as good as getting them while they're still warm and eating them right away, but still better than any alternative I'm aware of. Definitely best pretzels in the area. ;-)
For what they cost, I often get a dozen and use them as buns for a week.
All hail the parking chair.
Very cool!
And you reminded me I still have to try the Pretzel Shop. |
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