Suburb of the week: Brackenridge (New Kensington, Harrison Township: 2015, houses, inspectors)

[eschaton]

Brackenridge is a river borough up the Allegheny, more or less a "suburb" of Tarentum. This whole area of Allegheny County is in some ways the most isolated built up area in the county, actually to the north and east of New Kensington, well away from the Springdale/Cheswick area, which feels pretty isolated already. Brackenridge has the distinction of being a mill town where the mill (an Allegheny Ludlum facility) is actually still open, although the mill is technically just across the borough line in Harrison Township.

The borough is split into two portions by active fright tracks. The area between the tracks and the river is a bit more mixed use, while the larger area to the north is more strictly residential. Almost all of the housing is detached wood-frame single-family built between roughly 1900 and 1930, although there are a few blocks with newer suburban-style housing. There's not really a true business district, although there more storefronts on the end of Brackenridge Avenue close to the mill, a few of which are still occupied. On the whole, like much of the upper Allegheny Valley, it seems like an area in quiet decline.

[PreservationPioneer]

I really like the Brackenridge / Tarentum / Natrona area. My favorite part is the big riverfront park that spans part of Tarentum and Brackenridge. The houses are affordable, and some have beautiful river views. From what I can tell, the area is generally safe. It's also not a terrible commute down 28, is it? While the homes in Brackenridge are probably post 1890s, there are many pre-Civil War era homes in Natrona and Tarentum. It's a historic and very scenic area.

[guy2073]

Originally Posted by PreservationPioneer

I really like the Brackenridge / Tarentum / Natrona area. My favorite part is the big riverfront park that spans part of Tarentum and Brackenridge. The houses are affordable, and some have beautiful river views. From what I can tell, the area is generally safe. It's also not a terrible commute down 28, is it? While the homes in Brackenridge are probably post 1890s, there are many pre-Civil War era homes in Natrona and Tarentum. It's a historic and very scenic area.

That area is not safe, I am warning everyone. One spring day seven years ago I was minding my own business digging deck posts. After digging the posts my Mo was to reach into the hole and use my hand to clean out the bottom so the inspectors tape measure would go all the way to the bottom. On this day my process had changed forever. I reached into the hole and I pulled out three hornets, they were the size of hummingbirds. I thought my guys were playing a joke on me placing toys in the hole, but they were alive. I have never found anything out about these creatures and I will never work comfortably in Breckenridge again.

[Benzman66]

http://www.wnd.com/2015/05/hornets-4...eadly-rampage/

[guy2073]

Originally Posted by Benzman66

http://www.wnd.com/2015/05/hornets-4...eadly-rampage/

They were that size if not bigger but they were black and yellow

[gmagoo]

If there are better chicken wings than those served up at Brackenridge`s Parkview Tavern, I`ve never had them.

[wpipkins2]

Originally Posted by guy2073

They were that size if not bigger but they were black and yellow

The black and yellow version hovered over my head when I was 8 or 9 years old. I was living in Clairton PA (Go Bears!) at the time. It literally looked me in the eyes as if it was curious. I screamed and ran. Nobody believed me. I avoided that section of the back yard until we moved to the city. I am still traumatized and will never forget the loud buzzing sound.

[guy2073]

When they flew away they made a very loud low pitched buzzing sound. I will never reach into the ground again.

[Pat Answers]

Those hornets must be all over. We had a very very angry one beside our front porch steps many summers in a row and it would chase me up the street if I came down those steps - in Brighton Heights where I grew up. It was yellow and black.

[Goinback2011]

There is a species called the Asian Giant Hornet that fits the description, but they aren't in the US yet. You probably saw Carpenter Bees. They're big, slow and loud.