Pittsburgh  - May 11 & 12, 2007

 

All Photos Copyright © 2007-2011 by Robert E Pence

 

On Friday, May 11, I drove to Banksville, just down the hill on Potomac from Dormont, and

checked into my room at the Comfort Inn & Suites on Banksville Road, in preparation for the

Skyscraperpage.com meet on Saturday. The first few photos show the area surrounding the

motel. It's not a fancy area, but the motel is affordable, clean and comfortable and a good value.

 

 

 

 

 

It's barely half a mile to the T (light rail) Potomac stop, but the walk starts out like this and the

steepness doesn't diminish much until the last couple of blocks. Last year I walked the round trip

twice in one day, and after the second time I found the free park-and-ride lot.

 

 

This part of Banksville Road is mostly commercial, largely car-care related businesses.

 

 

I didn't know that the T service to downtown had been interrupted by reconstruction of the Palm Garden bridge. When the trolley reached

Fallowfield, I had to detrain and transfer to a bus to continue my trip. I shot this while waiting for the bus. I learned that to ride light rail

downtown, I had to board a southbound trolley at Potomac and ride to Overbrook, and then take a short walkway to the Willow Station and

catch an inbound trolley on that line. The transfers aren't well-coordinated, and each time I did it, the trolley I wanted departed just as my

trolley was arriving. Service only runs every 21 minutes on weekends, so it made some slow trips. Still, I preferred that to the bus transfer;

the ride is more comfortable, and the overall time wasn't much different

 

 

The Allegheny County Courthouse is more than Richardsonian. It was designed by the man,

himself -- Henry Hobson Richardson -- and completed in 1886, the year that Richardson died.

 

 

The courthouse is connected with the jail via the Bridge of Sighs.

 

 

 

 

The courtyard inside the Allegheny County Courthouse

 

 

 

 

Some evening shots downtown -- Pittsburgh has a good mix of contemporary architecture and

vintage classics lining canyon streets.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Construction of the light rail subway downtown made use of much preexisting railroad infrastructure, and parts of it show through in places.

 

 

 

I boarded the T at First Avenue and rode to Station Square, where I caught a 51C bus to South Side Flats, the popular night-life area on

Carson Street.

 

 

 

 

As much as I love the neon and the commotion, when it comes to partying, for me this is probably a better idea.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reconstruction of the Palm Garden bridge has interrupted light rail service from Dormont to downtown, so on Saturday morning I had to board

a trolley at Potomac and ride south to Overbrook, and then transfer to Willow (just a short walk) and a 47S train to downtown. It makes a long

ride, but the day was pleasant and the route is scenic. This is the 44S trolley at Overbrook.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A couple of neighborhood shots while waiting for the trolley. Technically it's light rail in contemporary terms, but I heard most riders referring

to it as the trolley.

 

 

 

 

I walked around downtown and took photos for a while before going to the meet location atMellon Square.

 

 

There's something ironic about this. The elegant Granite Building is defaced at street level

by an ugly sign over the entrance, identifying a "beauty supply" company

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is one of my favorite Pittsburgh street vistas. It's even better on a weekday, when the streetand sidewalks are busy.

 

 

Mellon Square is a nice public space that could benefit from a sprucing-up. I have yet to see the fountains operating, and it's overrun with

pigeons because people feed them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Railroad bridge spanning the Allegheny River and leading to Pennsylvania Station

 

 

 

 

Daniel Burnham's 1903 Pennsylvania Station still serves Amtrak trains. Long in severe disrepair,

the building has been restored to provide residential space in the former hotel tower.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Federal Reserve Pittsburgh branch

 

 

 

 

 

 

Convention Center

 

 

Megabus provides <a href="http://www.megabus.com/us/">low-cost transportation</a> between major cities in the Midwest

 

 

 

 

Heading into the Strip District

 

 

 

16th Street Bridge

 

 

 

 

The pictures say more than I could about the Strip. I've heard that the best time to go is Saturday morning.

 

 

 

 

Old-school retail

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Pennsylvania Railroad Fruit Auction and freight terminal building was built in 1926 and still serves as a produce market on a much-reduced

scale. There has been discussion of reviving it as a marketplace to attract more people to the Strip.

 

 

 

 

 

Heading back downtown

 

 

 

Very nice Rob...I've come to expect nothing less from you!

yes very nice.  its funny, I was just in Pitt and you and I took some VERY similar angles of certain buildings in downtown! 

Fantastic shots.  You know, like I told you in another forum, the first couple of shots could pass for rural West Virginia.

Wonderful stuff!

 

Is the building in -042 abandoned?

...  You know, like I told you in another forum, the first couple of shots could pass for rural West Virginia.

 

Well, West Virginia isn't that far away. Despite their best efforts, for as long as I can remember, southwestern Pennsylvania has had a lot of undocumented West Virginians. That may be one of the areas where kinfolk provide sanctuary for them.

 

Is the building in -042 abandoned?

 

Ink, I that building looks underutilized, but I don't think it's abandoned. It looked like there were a few lights on, and it was secure and untagged and unvandalized. Restored, it would be a beauty.

Stellar job. You always get interesting angles. I like the night shots the best, particularly the one with The Bar at 2132 in the background.

Good pics Rob. Actually, the area you photographed around the motel is not Dormont, but the city neighborhood of Banksville. As for the West Virginia comments, since Pittsburgh and a large chunk of West Virginia are part of the same geographic region, it should not surprise that the areas look alike. That's why they call WV "almost heaven". It's almost Pittsburgh.

Good pics Rob. Actually, the area you photographed around the motel is not Dormont, but the city neighborhood of Banksville. As for the West Virginia comments, since Pittsburgh and a large chunk of West Virginia are part of the same geographic region, it should not surprise that the areas look alike. That's why they call WV "almost heaven". It's almost Pittsburgh.

 

Thanks for the info on Banksville. I'll fix my comments in the thread.

 

Also, thanks for the clarification on West Virginia. I've been there and agree with the "Almost Heaven" thing, and now I know what was missing. :wink:

That County Courthouse is a definate looker.  I've never seen the Southside Flats area before... thanks for sharing!

Their county courthouse and jail complex is one of my altime favorites.  And I love what they did with the courtyard.  Great pics Rob - all of them.

Bump - fixed long-broken links and tuned up the photos.

I think I saw this thread way back.  I recognized some of the photos.  But anyway, I'm very happy this was bumped.  Such a great tour of Pittsburgh! Thanks Rob!

Awesome thread!!! I love The Burgh!!

 

I missed this the first time around because I just left for Europe for 17 days when you posted this.