[PRCo] A Few Observations Of Pittsburgh on 1/17/2013

[Herb Brannon]

Halket Street::
Halket is closed from Forbes to Fifth and the car tracks are being removed.
The old PRCo rails are laying along the sides of Halket while the street is
rebuilt from the ground up.

Soho::
I took a look at the old Shanahan warehouse which is being converted to
apartments for people 62 years and older. It looks like it will be great
building to live in. As for Soho District, I would call it, at best, as
"Liberally Diverse" and "Exciting To Be In".

The Strip::
When I lived and worked in Pittsburgh The Strip District was basically from
32nd St Bridge to 12th Street along Smallman and Penn. Most activities back
then were related to the wholesaling of produce and many light-industrial
businesses with Robert Wholey Fish Market and Primanti Brothers restaurant
as the two big draws for the "non-vegetable" crowd. Today it runs from 32nd
Street along Smallman, Penn, and Liberty. It is packed with traffic and
people from one end to the other and contains very few produce wholesalers
but lots and lots and restaurants, bars, dives, fast food places,
low-priced goods emporiums, and several fish markets. It looks, sounds, and
smells like a mix of an Arabian Souq, the Bangkok Central Market, New
York's Bowery markets of 1919, San Francisco Chinatown during Chinese New
Year and Mardi Gras all rolled into one. Definitely a place to get lost in.

Brookline::
Still looks the same as it did 50 years ago. The only things missing are
the car tracks, the overhead wires and the PCCs. The PRCo silver poles
still line Brookline Blvd on both sides. Most of the storefronts are open
and doing business. Still one of the Old Pittsburgh areas to look at.

North Side::
Looking a bit worn and dirty North of the railroad tracks. AGH still has it
Christmas Tree over the North Avenue doorways and the old Allegheny Center
is still the Robert Moses unimaginative, dull, boring boxes it has been
since the day it opened.. However, South of the railroad tracks is a
vibrant area extending from the railroad to the Allegheny River which has
scores of restaurants, museums, decent night spots, PNC Park, Heinz Field,
Rivers Casino, The Science Center and many other great things. Definitely
worth spending time in. Plus the PATransit light rail serves the area now.

Brighton Heights::
This area has weathered the march of time very nicely. Homes are kept up,
people are walking on the streets, and it seems ok.

Oakland::
Traffic, people, crowded sidewalks, stores, universities, hospitals,
libraries, museums, and of course, traffic. You know you are in a big city
when you are in Oakland. The only thing missing is a trolley subway
connecting it to downtown.

Downtown::
A mighty metropolis indeed. Not as much shopping as in the past but it
appears three times more crowded today than 30 years ago.

That's it for my January 17 observations.


Of course, no email would be complete without a word or two from
"Tiger--The Trolley Cat".

Tiger says,
I just had to tell everyone that Zelda, The Library Cat, passed away on
January 6.  Her lifespan was March 12, 1991 to January 6, 2013 and was
nearly 22 years old.


-- 
Herb Brannon
In Cuyahoga Valley National Park



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