<html><head><style type='text/css'>p { margin: 0; }</style></head><body><div style='font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; color: #000000'><P>Fred,</P>
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<P>While you're remembering Fifth and Liberty Avenues, don't forget Frank & Seder, Spear and May Stern department/furniture stores. Also 5&10's G.C. Murphy and Grants; the Brass Rail and Bards (similar to Isaly's, but Bard stores were in the neighborhoods, not downtown).</P>
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<P>My grandmother worked at Rosenbaums before she was married. The Rosenbaum building was a solid structure, and it took months to demolish it before they could start building the parking garage that's on the site now. My grandfather worked at Boggs & Buhl and was an office boy for R.H. Boggs, but his family encouraged him to leave the store and learn a trade. The R.H. Boggs home on the Mexican War Streets is now a B&B.</P>
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<P>My paternal great grandfather was fire engineer at the City of Allegheny fire station No. 2 on Concord St. from 1868 to the early 1900's (see attached photo). I also have a photo of him working in Johnstown after the 1889 flood (I assume that Allegheny sent fireman to Johnstown to help out). And I have copies of his Civil War records and pension.</P>
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<P>About the Brass Rail: the restaurants had a large (probably 5'X10') copy of a painting behind the bar. The painting depicted a 1930-style bus, but the bus was <U>five</U> stories tall and looked like a cruise ship on wheels. The title of the painting was, "A bus salesman's dream in 1960". I wonder if that painting survived the restaurants.</P>
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<P>Bob<BR></P>
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<P><B>From: </B>"Fred Schneider" <fwschneider@comcast.net><BR><B>To: </B>"Western PA Trolley discussion" <pittsburgh-railways@mailman.dementix.org><BR><B>Sent: </B>Monday, April 8, 2013 10:43:23 AM<BR><B>Subject: </B>Re: [PRCo] Facebook page for posting photos of old and abandoned buildings in Western Pa.<BR><BR>You know you are old, Bob, when someone asks "What's a McCrorys?" Think of all those old store names that are no longer there. I will confine myself to western Pennsylvania … Woolworths, Gimbels, Kaufmans, Joseph Horne, Rosenbaums, Boggs and Buhl, Isalys.<BR><BR>Yup…. And you now have to be in your 40s to understand what communism was like in eastern Europe. In a way, I guess I am rather glad that I vacationed in East Germany before the wall came down and saw it. I guess, as ugly as history can be, I guess it was also good for me that I experienced the segregated southern states … black and white drinking fountains, toilets, restaurants, etc. <BR><BR>Now, how the hell do I explain to my granddaughter and her husband, who is of African descent, what it would have been like living in this country 60 or more years ago? <BR><BR><BR>On Apr 4, 2013, at 1:19 PM, Bob Rathke wrote:<BR><BR>> <BR>> <BR>> <BR>> Here's a Facebook page containing photos of old and abondoned structures in Western Pa. It contains a few rail photos. I've posted some of my 1956-82 photos in the section for, "Recent posts by others". <BR>> <BR>> <BR>> <BR>> See: <BR>> <BR>> <BR>> <BR>> <BR>> <BR>> https://www.facebook.com/pages/Abandoned-Old-Interesting-Places-Western-PA/237114536307967?sk=photos#!/pages/Abandoned-Old-Interesting-Places-Western-PA/237114536307967 <BR>> <BR>> <BR>> <BR>> -------------- next part --------------<BR>> An HTML attachment was scrubbed...<BR>> URL: http://mailman.dementix.org/pipermail/pittsburgh-railways/attachments/20130404/4c24eaae/attachment.html <BR>> _______________________________________________<BR>> Pittsburgh-railways mailing list<BR>> Pittsburgh-railways@mailman.dementix.org<BR>> https://mailman.dementix.org/mailman/listinfo/pittsburgh-railways<BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR>_______________________________________________<BR>Pittsburgh-railways mailing list<BR>Pittsburgh-railways@mailman.dementix.org<BR>https://mailman.dementix.org/mailman/listinfo/pittsburgh-railways<BR></P></div>
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