[PRCo] Re: 1965 PAT fantrip

[Harold Geissenheimer]

Greetings

The Fort Pitt Hotel was on 10th street at Penn Ave.  It was across the 
street from the
Harmony Short :line bus terminal where I worked from 1951 to l961..

It was a simple business man's hotel.  The Pgh Rotary Club met there.  
It later
moved to the Wm Penn.

The Harmony building was an old furniture store.  Their office was on 
the 2d
floor.  Upstairs was a warehouse area connected to the building next on 
Penn Ave.
My desk was at the large window third from the alley.  I looked out at
the hotel.  Our buses stopped on the street from Liberty to Penn.  Allegheny
Valley buses to New Kensington stopped across the allley.  Long distance and
suburban buses stopped in front of the terminal.

The waiting room, tckets and coffee counter were on the ground floor.  When
Harmony abandoned, the terminal was taken over by Continental American
Trailways.  Community Transit buses stopped across the alley but did not use
the waiting room.

The building still stands.  It is diagonal to the new convention 
center.  Entire area
being redevloped.  Courtyard by Marriott has opened a new hotel down 
Penn Ave
toward 9th street.  May Sterns furniture  on Penn Ave toward  9th.

Anew hotel stands where the Fort Pitt was,

Each time I return to Pgh  I go back to this area.  I worked there 10 
years, longer than
any other building I ever worked in.   Pgh Rys (and PAT) was down Penn 
on 7th Streetr
toward Ft Pitt Bkvd,.  That building is also still there

The Roosevelt Hotel on Penn Ave at 6th Street in now a senior apt.

The entire Penn Ave area is a nice bit of Pittsburgh history.

Trolleys on Penn southbound (one way then), on Liberty two way and on on 
9th, 7th
and 6th.  No trolleys on 10th.   Freight trains once ran on Liberty   
There was a PRR
elevated structure for freight on the Blvd.

Once again, thanks for pleasant memories,

And to Boris, when you come to visit, we will check out where all
the old bus terminals were.   PRC interurban tickets were sold
nearby at the Greyhound termina at Liberty and Grant.

Harold Geissenheimer





Bob Rathke wrote:

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>Another find while looking for the Fineview painting: attached is a scan =
>of a flyer for a private fantrip organized by Joe Jessel on November 14, =
>1965. =20
>
>The flyers were individually typed by Joe on stationery from the Ft. =
>Pitt Hotel which was on Penn Ave, at 10th Street (most Pittsburgh hotels =
>offered rooms with a view of trolley lines).
>
>It was an all-day fantrip using M-454 on routes 64 and 67. Fare was a =
>reasonable $5.
>
>
>Bob 3/14/04
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>-- Attached file removed by Ecartis and put at URL below --
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>-- Size: 719k (736721 bytes)
>-- URL : http://lists.dementia.org/files/pittsburgh-railways/TrolleyFantrip111465.JPG
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