[Brandon716]

Instead of leaving these photos in the Braddock thread, thought it could use its own section. Here's a tour of Pittsburgh courtesy of www.pittsburghskyline.com. Enjoy.

Neighborhoods like Lawrenceville:

Downtown:

North Side:

Bloomfield:

East Liberty, with both commie blocks, and the 300ft Presbyterian Cathedral:

East Liberty Presbyterian, closer up. Top is at 300ft. Forms the central block of East Liberty, one of the more rundown neighborhoods in Pgh.

Wikipedia article, has link to a larger resolution image.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Liberty_(Pittsburgh)

Somewhere, can't quite picture the community as of yet.

Lots of old Churches, like this Ukranian Catholic Church temple built in 1895, that are more old world than new

http://www.phlf.org/spotlightonmainstreet/buildings/building02.html

 

[khris]

No Squirrel Hill photos? :O

 

[adma]

First time I noticed the US Steel Tower is sporting UPMC lettering. (Detracts IMO.)

From those overhead residential-area shots, I find something oddly blue-collar-industrial-heartland oppressive about Pittsburgh urbanity--a little like Northern England in that regard, I suppose. An acquired taste for the gentrifier...

 

[Brandon716]

Today I spent a lot of time going through several neighborhoods, jogged in Schenley Park, and then went to Mt. Washington to capture this for your enjoyment. Fear not the cold!

So here's Pittsburgh at 7F or -14C, depending on your flavor.
Taken Jan 15, 2009

 

[Long Island Mike]

Good Pittsburgh pics!

Brandon: Good Pittsburgh pics-of Matt Robinson's as well as your own!
Grandview is always good...but as Adma mentions also when did the UPMC sign be placed atop the US Steel Building?
In your Grandview pic I noticed that parking lot next to Heinz Field on the E side-the former location of Three Rivers Stadium.

My favorite old building was Gulf Oil-I recall back in the 70s when the top used to be lit up in some sort of weather color coding. Do they still do this today?

Have you ever been to the Philadelphia neighborhood on the Schuylkill River named Manayunk? It reminds me of western PA because of its particularly hilly geography and rowhouse hillside neighborhoods.
LI MIKE

 

[Brandon716]

I've been to eastern New Jersey, but never Philadelphia.

 

[Brandon716]

First time I noticed the US Steel Tower is sporting UPMC lettering. (Detracts IMO.)

From those overhead residential-area shots, I find something oddly blue-collar-industrial-heartland oppressive about Pittsburgh urbanity--a little like Northern England in that regard, I suppose. An acquired taste for the gentrifier...

That's because Pittsburgh grew up as a blue collar industrial giant. Its certainly not Brooklyn.

 

[Hipster Duck]

Pittsburgh sure looks like it has big city bones. If it had its pre-war population and the streets were vibrant I'm sure it would be up there with the first tier of great urban American cities.

 

[Brandon716]

I think it happens to be fairly up there relative to what most cities in the range are. Pittsburgh has some of the strongest Eastern European influence of any major American city, so its got a blue collar ethic about it, but its also quite urban and has a lot of life. It feels less sleepy here than when I was in Portland, there are always major events going on.

 

[jks]

Ok, not to sound ignorant, as I've never actually been to the US, but WOW Pittsburgh has a suprisingly large skyline!

 

[Long Island Mike]

The most eastern European city in the US-CHICAGO!

Brandon: From my travels to Chicago I will mention that it has the largest population of Eastern European origin in the USA-for example one of the largest Polish-descent populations in the World in a city-second only to Warsaw.

Buffalo has the second highest Polish-American population and many other Great Lakes cities have high concentrations of Eastern Europeans. Another interesting example is that Milwaukee has the highest percentage German-American population.

Yes-the Steel City is quite interesting for its ethnic variation-not going too much off topic. LI MIKE

 

[Brandon716]

In actual number, Chicago might have more actual eastern euro immigrants, but as a proportion of how many make up the entire region, Pittsburgh tops Chicago. Every other person here has a name that ends in ...cek, ...yak, ...ski, ...vich, etc. Everyone talks about their eastern euro heritage as well, and its not just the city its the entire region.

In Chicago I'd say its so big there's probably more people, but not as a proportion of the metro because Chicago has a lot of hispanics and etc.

 

[Brandon716]

BTW, to continue with some other photography, here is more of Pittsburgh between Oakland and Point Breeze.

 

[adma]

Looks less oppressive (and more Hamilton-like) at street level than from up above.

But oooh, more reason to despise EIFS stucco...

 

[Brandon716]

Those photos are from vastly different neighborhoods than the aerials you saw in the beginning of this thread.

Oakland is a university and medical district. Shadyside and Point Breeze certainly aren't blue collar.

The photos in the beginning were Lawrenceville and Bloomfield, very blue collar communities. Lawrenceville still hasn't become too gentrified, its got a lot of rough areas and drug sales, but as you go up the hill toward the hospital it gets better.