New NYT "36 hours in..." feature on Pittsburgh (Philadelphia: real estate, neighborhood)

[PreservationPioneer]

Originally Posted by Sciulli

so what was Lawrenceville like before the "hipsters" moved in? You want to go back to that?

Lawrenceville seemed pretty stable. Houses were affordable. It was just unfashionable to live there, for reasons that are mystifying now. But pretty much any depressed neighborhood or town around the city with a decent business district could catch on and gentrify, and I would find myself wondering why it wasn't always fashionable. I guess what gets me is the fickleness of Pittsburghers, who twenty years ago wouldn't be caught dead in Lawrenceville, and now that it's trendy they are all about it. But they wouldn't hang out in Sharpsburg, which is the Lawrenceville of twenty years ago. Seriously, what is the difference between Lawrenceville and Sharpsburg?

[charisb]

Originally Posted by PreservationPioneer

Seriously, what is the difference between Lawrenceville and Sharpsburg?

Crossing a river to get into downtown/Oakland.

[doo dah]

Originally Posted by PreservationPioneer

Lawrenceville seemed pretty stable. Houses were affordable. It was just unfashionable to live there, for reasons that are mystifying now. But pretty much any depressed neighborhood or town around the city with a decent business district could catch on and gentrify, and I would find myself wondering why it wasn't always fashionable. I guess what gets me is the fickleness of Pittsburghers, who twenty years ago wouldn't be caught dead in Lawrenceville, and now that it's trendy they are all about it. But they wouldn't hang out in Sharpsburg, which is the Lawrenceville of twenty years ago. Seriously, what is the difference between Lawrenceville and Sharpsburg?

Twenty years ago, the Lawrenceville Urban Pioneers were moving in and restoring/renovating houses. They weren't hipsters though. More like "This Old House" types.
(As an aside, for pete's sake, someone made a movie about the progressive dinner )

[bluecarebear]

Originally Posted by Sciulli

so what was Lawrenceville like before the "hipsters" moved in? You want to go back to that? It's such a tiny pocket of the city it's weird to see someone get so passionate about not liking it. Pretty damn easy to avoid if you don't like the crowd. Every big city has all different kinds of neighborhoods, no reason Pittsburgh shouldn't.

Plus I've been there plenty, and while there's certainly people around that could be called hipsters, it feels more to me like a decent mix of people from all walks of life to me. The only person I know who owns a home there is a lawyer, so certainly not a hipster.

I do avoid Lawrenceville as much as possible (which is actually getting easier now that it is no longer the trendy place to live and more things are happening in other neighborhoods). Yes, Lawrenceville is a tiny pocket of the city and I wish the media would stop focusing on it. Pittsburgh in no way is represented correctly by Lawrenceville.

[I_Like_Spam]

Originally Posted by charisb

Crossing a river to get into downtown/Oakland.

You can get to town faster from Sharpsburg on 28 than you can from L'ville.

[charisb]

Originally Posted by I_Like_Spam

You can get to town faster from Sharpsburg on 28 than you can from L'ville.

It's psychological.

[theta_sigma]

I've lived here for the better part of 40 years and I like Lawrenceville just fine. And as a teenager I was an early regular patron of the Beehive, which was Pittsburgh's first trendy coffee house back in the early 90s. I'm sure people griped about it and its weird-looking clientele too.

[bradjl2009]

Originally Posted by bluecarebear

I do avoid Lawrenceville as much as possible (which is actually getting easier now that it is no longer the trendy place to live and more things are happening in other neighborhoods). Yes, Lawrenceville is a tiny pocket of the city and I wish the media would stop focusing on it. Pittsburgh in no way is represented correctly by Lawrenceville.

Good! Glad I won't have to hear to complain about it on the streets of my neighborhood. By the way, I grew up here and am grateful for the changes that happened here.

[that412]

Originally Posted by PreservationPioneer

Seriously, what is the difference between Lawrenceville and Sharpsburg?

Ease of access to Downtown/Oakland?

[_Buster]

Originally Posted by PreservationPioneer

Lawrenceville seemed pretty stable. Houses were affordable. It was just unfashionable to live there, for reasons that are mystifying now. But pretty much any depressed neighborhood or town around the city with a decent business district could catch on and gentrify, and I would find myself wondering why it wasn't always fashionable. I guess what gets me is the fickleness of Pittsburghers, who twenty years ago wouldn't be caught dead in Lawrenceville, and now that it's trendy they are all about it. But they wouldn't hang out in Sharpsburg, which is the Lawrenceville of twenty years ago. Seriously, what is the difference between Lawrenceville and Sharpsburg?

This isn't particular to Pittsburgh, any large city has neighborhoods that change in reputation. Once a previously neglected hood reaches a critical mass of renovators and new interesting businesses, it is a tipping point which garners media attention and hence more interest. It's not totally unreasonable though - there is a financial element to it where people see an opportunity for profit once the reputation of a place turns around. either short or long term profit.

there is also the factor that the gentrifying neighborhoods are pretty much always ones with high quality housing stock - these are the only ones that are worth renovation.