City Exploration: Pittsburgh

I haven’t been to Pittsburgh in a few years. And when I did visit my sister (who lived there for a little over 10 years), we stayed mostly in the North Hills area where she lived, save for a baseball game or two at PNC Park. I never really explored “dahntahn.”

After my three days, I realized I need more than that — I nearly exhausted myself on just the first day. Before I get into the “What Mel Did” aspect of my visit, first I have a few comments on Pittsburgh:

Downtown is BUSY! There is so much going on in downtown. There is traffic, there is an expected city noise and there are a lot of buses. More so, there are people. People are EVERYWHERE — walking, waiting for buses, hustling to work, hanging around the public spaces (ahem, jaywalking… but that’s something else entirely). There is a similar combination to Cleveland of old and new buildings — and the old being renewed. There are several areas with construction, but it’s unassuming. And like The Cleve, I am obsessed with the bridges. In Pitt, there are six, one of which they close to cars and such and open to only pedestrians during baseball games at PNC Park. I LOVE THIS.

Old vs. New. By the by, I saw a billboard that read something like, “Pittsburgh: a city based on steel but moving towards science.” Again, not verbatim, but my general thought is that the city has accepted they can NO LONGER be reliant on the dated steel industry, and have moved toward embracing new technology — in this case, “science,” as the focus of its renaissance. Genius. Accept. Move on. Thrive.

Walkability / Bike-ability / Cab-ability. I walked for the majority of my three day visit. (We cabbed to bars/restaurants that were outside the downtown vicinity). There are nice sidewalks leading to all points of the city — wide enough for several pedestrians and unbroken. There are also a LOT of bike commuters (and several parking garages with bike spaces). With cabs, there is still some difficulty similar to Cleveland in hailing one just by standing on a street, unless you’re outside a hotel. But after calling for one, an actual cab shows up within 15-20 minutes. I live in downtown Cleveland, and sometimes after calling a cab, you can wait an HOUR. Worse so, in the suburbs.

And on that note of movement, People here know how to freakin’ drive with an certain level of aggressiveness. It’s beautiful.

The Strip, from what I understand, begins around the 12th block (east of downtown) and continues through 28th. Imagine the West Side Market vendors spread out into separate storefronts. While gritty, it’s incredibly vibrant and friendly. There are street vendors on every corner — and street food.

There is construction/renovation being done on downtown’s Market Square, which is surrounded by multi-level businesses and restaurants. GREAT open space (or what will soon be after construction is completed), with a good mix of chain and independent spaces.

South Side, while seemingly geared to a younger clientele, is a fun place to explore — with quirky clothing shops and bars and restaurants, scattered with a few tattoo places. There are a lot of “kids” walking around. It reminds me of Ohio City’s West 25th Street… if it were inclusive of about 20 more city blocks. Situated at the end of the neighborhood is a lifestyle center reminiscent of Crocker Park (read: chains and chains galore, with many high-end shops as well, and jealously, an REI).

Then, there is the North Side — which you need to cross the bridge to get to. And you can do that no matter if you are on wheels or appendages. Here you will find the stadiums and another selection of bars and restaurants, mostly geared toward the sports crowd, but by my memory seems to be renovated since my last visit a few years ago. The area was very, very clean and… proper, for lack of a better word. Likely very different during tailgating season.

These are areas that seem to blend into one another, that I definitely need to return to explore: Shadyside / North Oakland / Friendship. The Friendship/Shadyside area reminded me of Baltimore or Philly, especially with the tight-knit housing and one-way streets.

Again, it is near impossible to do and see everything in just a couple days, so I look forward to my next visit(s).

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