[PRCo] Centre Avenue operation

[George W. Gula]

I would have to check through the PAT timetables in the archives to review
this but there may have been streetcar reroutings in East Liberty in the
1960's as the old buildings were torn down and streets repositioned during
urban renewal. East Liberty was once the 3rd largest transit destination in
the state and had an amazing amount of stores and theaters on and near the
Penn Avenue/Centre Avenue corridors. It was surrounded by lots of old
housing built in the 1800's. In the early 1960's, much of this was replaced
by those new, ugly housing developments and Penn Avenue was eventually made
into a bus and pesdestrian-only mall and the character of the neighborhood
also began to change at the time. As a result, by the time I arrived here in
1975, East Liberty's retail district was a shadow of what it once was and
the road network was very confusing. Currently, autos have once more been
allowed to to use Penn Avenue and the area has made a comeback o f sorts but
will never be what it once was because of the numerous regional malls that
have been erected here during the last 25 years.


George