McKeesport Photo Tour (new) (Pittsburgh, Wilkinsburg: renting, new home, find a job)

[PreservationPioneer]

I had a great time walking around McKeesport and photographing some of the notable historic buildings. In spite of what has been said about the community, McKeesport felt very safe and I met a lot of nice people on the street, who expressed concern about the fate of the many abandoned historic buildings in the city.

You can see the McKeesport Photo Tour here:

Discovering Historic Pittsburgh: McKeesport: "Long-Abandoned Ruins of the Dreams You Left Behind"

[Caladium]

Love it!

[ML North]

Nice work. I've always been somewhat interested in McKeesport. A lot of my ancestors immigrated to McKeesport from Sicily in the 20th century. Most of the houses in which they lived are now gone, but I still have a great aunt living there that is in her nineties. She's probably the only member of my family left that came from the "Old Country."

[BrianTH]

It is too bad we can't lock away places like McKeesport in amber--some day we will be redeveloping them, but it won't be soon enough to save more than a tiny fraction of the historic structures.

[cowboyxjon]

This is a great photo tour. I wish I could be independently wealthy or have some sort of work-from-home job so that I could afford to restore one of these homes and not have to worry about where to find a job.

[stburr91]

Great job on the photo tour.

It's depressing to see neighborhoods like this literally falling apart. Reminds me of some parts of Wilkinsburg. I've got some pics of Wilkinsburg, I may have to put together a photo tour thread.

[Geeo]

So sad to see these grand houses falling apart. You can almost picture what they must have been like, and what the neighborhood was like, during the boom times.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

It is too bad we can't lock away places like McKeesport in amber--some day we will be redeveloping them, but it won't be soon enough to save more than a tiny fraction of the historic structures.

Exactly my sentiments. Once these historic treasures are gone they can't be replicated.

[MathmanMathman]

One of those buildings, the mansion at 626 Market Street, must be deteriorating fast. I don't know how long ago Google recorded it but the house looked in much much better shape then.

626 Market Street, McKeesport, PA - Google Maps

McKeesport, Braddock,... just how bad off is the Mon Valley?

[Geeo]

It was a slow decline for the Mon Valley that started after World War II with new home developments being built in the hills above these towns. Many people had the money to buy new homes outside the towns with more space, a garage, yard, etc. Then shopping centers started to pop up in the 50s, which drained retail from the towns. Property values started to stagnate, "investors" bought houses and started renting them out to lower-income people, which caused more of the middle class to flee. By the time the steel industry collapsed in the 80s, a good part of the damage had already been done. Most of these towns had been losing population since the 1950 cencus. So it's false when we see these national news stories that say the demise of Big Steel caused all this. It really starrted long before that as lifestyles changed, shopping habits changed, and people had the means to leave cramped conditions for more space.