10 things I hate about Pittsburgh! (Denver, Liberty: hotels, pharmacy, living in) - Pennsylvania (PA) - Page 15 - City-Data Forum

BrianTH · 07-20-2010, 07:29 AM

I agree that the South Side is just a bit out of reach for visitors Downtown--I consider it walkable, but I don't think that most visitors would.

greg42 · 07-20-2010, 08:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nuwaver88

People always want to go to a place for breakfast on Saturday outside of the hotel. They do not want to take a cab. Pamelas and Delucas are a good haul and a good wait on Saturday. Where do I send them? The only place I know is Smithfield Cafe.

Cherries Diner on Forbes just off Market Square.

Yeah, there used to be more sit-down breakfast places in the city. Anyone else remember Palmer's? Was still here through the mid-90s at least, more than one location downtown. Sit-down breakfast comes more with residential or shopping than the office crowd, I suppose, outside of the hotel restaurants.

Drover · 07-20-2010, 10:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ferrarisnowday

I agree for residents, but visitors to the city are often quickly turned off by the relative lack of night-life downtown. This is because in most cities, downtown is the be all end all of night life.

And that's exactly what I hope doesn't happen. I realize this isn't a tourist-friendly opinion, but frankly I have no sympathy whatsoever for visitors who visit a city, expect to have the whole thing delivered to their hotel doorstep, and are let down that it isn't. If you want to experience a city, then go out into the city and experience it. That's the beauty of having different vibes in different parts of town. Having everything right downtown just seems so unimaginative and sterile.

As for business travelers, how many of them are looking for a South Side-type experience versus what they can get in and near the Cultural District? For those few who would, they can hop a cab on the corporate card and have at it.

BrianTH · 07-20-2010, 10:30 AM

I guess I wouldn't see it as a bad thing if there were more "tourist class" amenities Downtown (although not so much in the Station Square way--more in a local/organic way). I understand the point about getting around the city more, but I think there is something to be said for being able to walk to places from your hotel.

DaBurgh · 07-20-2010, 10:34 AM

The bus is another option, it's probably "3 times cheaper" than a cab

Blackbeauty212 · 07-20-2010, 11:04 AM

Why do I get the feeling that most people that complain about downtown, dont understand that Pittsburgh is a city about its neighborhoods...that all entertainment and nightlife is NOT all concentraded within downtown like many other cities...I LOVE THIS About the BURGH that I can live in a Shadyside, L'ville or South Side and have everything around me....I love that I can have lunch in Sq Hill and Shop on Walnut it much more relaxing than having to scramble to get downtown..I love that Pittsburgh's neighborhoods are not boring 100% residentials like many other cities. I love that even Pittsburgh's inner suburbs have lives of their own that doesnt resemble the typical suburan sprawl of endless strip malls and traffic.

I've always said Pittsburgh's biggest problem is the self-hate of its natives, that think anywhere is better than the burgh but they only draw that claim from what they see in the media because they've never expreienced life outside Pittsburgh...

Why do you think there's soo many boomeranging stories out there now were publications such as Pop City, the PG, Trib and other have weekly stories of natives longing to come home. Hint its not because they miss Pramanti's....

and Oh - the Wendy's on 5th in Oakland closed around the same time 5 guys opened behind the O...could that have been a reason to Wendy's demise....Give me 5 guys over Wendy's anyday....

TelecasterBlues · 07-20-2010, 11:06 AM

Yeah I never really quite understood the "walkable" thing with Pittsburgh. The individual neighborhoods are walkable for sure and some bleed into others nicely for a good setup, but the city itself and all of its ammenities are so scattered and disconnected that you couldn't possibly call "Pittsburgh" walkable. If anything it's the opposite and you're screwed if you don't have a car. I mean...I'm definately not walking from the North Shore to the South Side, or from Lawrenceville to Oakland.

But as for downtown...this is what people are talking about when they say "downtown is dead after 6:00":

YouTube - Sundance Square

We really don't have anything in the way of a downtown scene at all, and a few people crowding around the Benedum doesn't count. I would absolutely LOVE to see the Civic Arena site turned into something like Sundance Square above...Fort Worth doesn't have half of the ammenities or urban location that Pittsburgh has, just imagine how amazing it would be to have something like that at night in Pittsburgh with the city backdrop and everything around it. Watch the video though..you'll have to suffer through your typical cheese and PR stuff, but this is 100% exactly the type of thing that could be done in downtown without a hitch. But that's what people are talking about when they say that they want Pittsburgh to become more active with its downtown scene.

trotter_rej · 07-20-2010, 11:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blackbeauty212

and Oh - the Wendy's on 5th in Oakland closed around the same time 5 guys opened behind the O...could that have been a reason to Wendy's demise....Give me 5 guys over Wendy's anyday....

5 Guys certainly may have contributed to the Wendy's closing, but it was open for at least a year-and-a-half before the Wendy's closed. I like 5 Guys too, but that location has never impressed me for service or cleanliness.

Blackbeauty212 · 07-20-2010, 11:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TelecasterBlues

Yeah I never really quite understood the "walkable" thing with Pittsburgh. The individual neighborhoods are walkable for sure and some bleed into others nicely for a good setup, but the city itself and all of its ammenities are so scattered and disconnected that you couldn't possibly call "Pittsburgh" walkable. If anything it's the opposite and you're screwed if you don't have a car. I mean...I'm definately not walking from the North Shore to the South Side, or from Lawrenceville to Oakland.

But as for downtown...this is what people are talking about when they say "downtown is dead after 6:00":

YouTube - Sundance Square

We really don't have anything in the way of a downtown scene at all, and a few people crowding around the Benedum doesn't count. I would absolutely LOVE to see the Civic Arena site turned into something like Sundance Square above...Fort Worth doesn't have half of the ammenities or urban location that Pittsburgh has, just imagine how amazing it would be to have something like that at night in Pittsburgh with the city backdrop and everything around it. Watch the video though..you'll have to suffer through your typical cheese and PR stuff, but this is 100% exactly the type of thing that could be done in downtown without a hitch. But that's what people are talking about when they say that they want Pittsburgh to become more active with its downtown scene.

But if you bring all of those things downtown - which much of is already in the neighborhoods of Pittsburgh...dont you run the risk of distroying what the neighborhoods have built up because you're taking their away vibrancy in order to turn downtown Pittsburgh into every other city's downtown....

I think Pittsburgh needs to be very careful about what they put downtown not to distroy/take away from whats already in the Neighborhoods...What needs to be downtown are things that cannot be found/duplicated already by the 'hoods...Until Downtown has a sizeable population to call it's own all it's doing is competing with the 'hoods and Pittsburghers has proven they prefer the neighborhoods to coming downtown...

BrianTH · 07-20-2010, 11:57 AM

The Cultural District is turning into a little more than just people milling around the theaters, in part because people are starting to live there, and also the density of nice places to go is getting higher. If they ever did something like RiverParc it would likely become even more vibrant.

But anyway, I'd also like to see the former Mellon site/Consol Arena area turn into an entertainment/nightlife district (my personal model is the area around the Verizon Center in DC).

I think the new Market Square and the area around it has lots of potential . . . the new configuration lends itself to bigger crowds, and there is underutilized retail space in close proximity.

By the way, if I am reading their map correctly, the Sundance Square area is roughly the same size as the Cultural District plus the area immediately around Market Square combined.