A Walk on the Wild Side

[guylocke]

There is a vibrant and growing nightlife in southern East Liberty. Sharp Edge has been there seemingly forever; Shadow Lounge (local indie/rap/soul/R&B/funk venue); Kelly's Lounge; Red Room Cafe; Royal Carribean restaurant, etc. And as the development goes forward, there are only going to be more such places.

Quite shocking PApisces, but he's right. Some parts of E.Lib are really being renovated and there is a lot of investment going on. It truly is becoming an up-and-coming place and not a bad idea for a veggie restaurant. I didn't believe it for myself until I saw it.

[PApisces]

Originally Posted by boylocke

Quite shocking PApisces, but he's right. Some parts of E.Lib are really being renovated and there is a lot of investment going on. It truly is becoming an up-and-coming place and not a bad idea for a veggie restaurant. I didn't believe it for myself until I saw it.

If I am not mistaken, didn't East Liberty used to be one of the nicer areas of town at one time? I thought I heard that there were theatres(stage) and so forth there at one time.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by PApisces

I have not. That is wonderful news to hear, however. Even the "bad" parts had some very architecturally beautiful buildings. I imagine that there are whole new areas to explore when I get home!

Yeah, if you haven't seen the area around Penn Circle in the last couple/few years, you're in for an eye-opener.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by PApisces

If I am not mistaken, didn't East Liberty used to be one of the nicer areas of town at one time? I thought I heard that there were theatres(stage) and so forth there at one time.

East Liberty used to be a mix of middle-class to fairly posh, but this goes all the way back to the 50s, early 60s at the latest. Think of the nice part of Highland Park, up around the zoo-like. That poshness used to extend all the way through East Liberty. Even today you can see some how some of the houses that have been divided into 3 or 4 or 5 units used to be rather nice single-family homes. The combination of concentrations of public housing and particularly the creation of Penn Circle -- which basically killed the East Liberty core business district -- really did in the neighborhood.

[guylocke]

If I am not mistaken, didn't East Liberty used to be one of the nicer areas of town at one time? I thought I heard that there were theatres(stage) and so forth there at one time.

Not sure about the theater and such, but yes, once upon a time it was a nice area. Before my life, though.

[la_torquemada]

There's already a number of restaurants on Highland near Centre (right near the Whole Foods) that people I know go to at night -- Abay Ethiopian, Kelly's Bar, and the Red Room come to mind immediately. I think a veggie restaurant would fit right in there. There's also a little section of restaurants just south of there on Highland which might be a good spot, though probably more expensive. In addition, they are building lofts in the former Nabisco bakery just east of there on Penn Ave.

If I had money, East Liberty is definitely where I would invest.