Old Pittsburgh (Washington, Duquesne: hotels, bankrupt, catholic schools)

[JRTurner]

What a horrible loss it was to see the Syria Mosque go too!!!

You folks might enjoy this YouTube video I posted there of the Mellon Arena.

Video Details: A time-lapse video montage of the Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania setting-up for the Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins home opener of the 2009-2010 season

(I don't know how to embed this video so you may have to follow the link)



Link:
YouTube - Mellon Arena Set Up Home Opener 2009-2010 Season

Something very few people realize is that Pittsburgh was a forerunner in hockey. Pittsburgh was the first place to actually PAY hockey players to play! At the time, even the Canadians were all amateurs.

Because Westinghouse invented modern refrigeration, Pittsburgh was the 1st place to have INDOOR ice as well as being the 1st place to use a motorized ice cleaner (forerunner of the Zamboni).

I also uploaded to YouTube a series of videos "borrowed" from FOX Sports Pittsburgh called "Pittsburgh is Hockeytahn". The 1st of the 4 video series:



Link: YouTube - Pittsburgh = Hockeytahn Part 1 of 4



I don't know all the names of the streets to tell you exactly what the new arena is replacing, however it is right across the street from the Mellon Arena and kind of land-locks the old church.

The best place to go to see information about the new arena would be the Penguins website where they have links to the architects drawings inside and outside, maps, and even a "construction cam" which monitors construction in real time. You will also find videos about it by following the "Pens TV" link.

Originally Posted by Mr. Humble

do you think it will generate retail business in the Uptown area?

Along at least one side of the new arena (CONSOL ENERGY ARENA) there will be retails shops at street level which will be accessible even when there are no games.

On the hill above the present Mellon Arena, all those blighted houses have been replaced by modern row-style townhouses.

It's still a rather rough area however.....parking there on the street during an event is at your own risk.

I'm hopeful yet I'm not going to hold my breath.

[Mr. Humble]

Originally Posted by JRTurner

Something very few people realize is that Pittsburgh was a forerunner in hockey. Pittsburgh was the first place to actually PAY hockey players to play! At the time, even the Canadians were all amateurs.

Because Westinghouse invented modern refrigeration, Pittsburgh was the 1st place to have INDOOR ice as well as being the 1st place to use a motorized ice cleaner (forerunner of the Zamboni).

I also uploaded to YouTube a series of videos "borrowed" from FOX Sports Pittsburgh called "Pittsburgh is Hockeytahn". The 1st of the 4 video series:



Link:
YouTube - Pittsburgh = Hockeytahn Part 1 of 4

I had no idea this was the case. It's remarkable how many "firsts" there have been in Pittsburgh.

[JRTurner]

http://pittsburghhockey.net/Common/OpenIMAGES/Casino-Positive500.jpg (broken link)

When the Schenley Park Casino opened on May 29, 1895 it was North America's first indoor skating rink. The ice at the Casino lured many young Canadian players to the city and attracted Pittsburgh residents to hockey.

The Casino did not last long – it was destroyed by fire 18 months after it opened – but it sparked an interest in hockey for Pittsburgh that has lasted 114 years

http://pittsburghhockey.net/]Pittsburgh Hockey History - Pittsburgh Hockey.Net[/url]

[BrianTH]

The Syria Mosque was definitely one of those situations where the building should have been preserved for future use, even if no one had a use for it at the time.

Anyway, the new Consol Energy Center is between Fifth and Center, crossing over where Colwell used to be. This is a decent picture of the location:

http://pittsburghhockey.net/PensPages/00-presERA/00-PresART/Consol-580.jpg (broken link)

The plan is to demolish Mellon Arena and use it for parking in the short term, but eventually redevelop it. Here is one such plan:

http://pittsburghhockey.net/Common/NewArena/Over1.jpg (broken link)

I'm not opposed to saving Mellon Arena, but only subject to it having a viable use and not interfering with such a redevelopment of that area, and I'm not sure those conditions really can be met.

I'm also not sure what the long term parking plan might be, but that area is way too valuable for large surface parking lots. Speaking of which, I absolutely think the new arena, perhaps coupled with upgraded public transit, could spark a dramatic renovation of that area. The model I would have in mind is the Verizon (formerly MCI) Center in Washington, DC, which helped spark a bunch of commercial development in that part of DC.

[Copanut]

I really hope someone like Brian O'Neil or Jim O'Brien or someone with local ties solicits stories from people to write a history of the Civic Arena.

I remember going there first on a school field trip after it was built. My first concert, please don't tell anyone, was Herb Alpert and the TJB, but my best memory of all time was the Pgh Pipers winning the first ever ABA title.

Someone needs to write all that stuff down.

[JRTurner]

The street in front of the present Mellon Arena was renamed Mario Lemieux Place.

When the Penguins move into the new arena, I have wondered what will happen there? Will they rename a present street or leave things the way they are?

[Mr. Humble]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

The Syria Mosque was definitely one of those situations where the building should have been preserved for future use, even if no one had a use for it at the time.

Anyway, the new Consol Energy Center is between Fifth and Center, crossing over where Colwell used to be. This is a decent picture of the location:



The plan is to demolish Mellon Arena and use it for parking in the short term, but eventually redevelop it. Here is one such plan:



I'm not opposed to saving Mellon Arena, but only subject to it having a viable use and not interfering with such a redevelopment of that area, and I'm not sure those conditions really can be met.

I'm also not sure what the long term parking plan might be, but that area is way too valuable for large surface parking lots. Speaking of which, I absolutely think the new arena, perhaps coupled with upgraded public transit, could spark a dramatic renovation of that area. The model I would have in mind is the Verizon (formerly MCI) Center in Washington, DC, which helped spark a bunch of commercial development in that part of DC.

What a great shot of the two arenas, and there's the Epiphany still standing, so interesting. At a time when so many old buildings are being renovated and there is such a rush to move people back into downtown, you'd think that a high rise apartment building in that area would be a natural. I think what we're seeing here in such an illuminated way is the back end of the great urban flight of the '50's and '60's and beyond. I used to love downtown Pittsburgh. I went to college there and parked cars in Market Square, which was a thoroughly jumpin' area at that time. Corner to corner clubs, what a nightlife. Last time I was in Pittsburgh I stayed at the Gateway Towers for a few months, and I was shocked at how dead the town was at night. Most of the movie theatres along Sixth Street gone, just a few clubs, and not that many more shot and a beer joints, and on Sundays, just terrible.

How is the "living" in downtown Pittsburgh going? Is there life after dark?

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by Mr. Humble

How is the "living" in downtown Pittsburgh going? Is there life after dark?

So as of 2000 or so, Downtown as a residential neighborhood had pretty much hit rock bottom. But since then, people have started doing condo conversions and other new residential unit projects, and there are a lot more in the pipeline in various stages, including student housing (Point Park in particular has some very ambitious plans) and an increasing move toward having more affordable units. So in percentage terms, the Downtown residential population has been growing at a pretty rapid rate in recent years.

Still, it has a long way to come before it really hits anything close to its full residential potential, and that does keep the nightlife a little muted (the new residents are starting to support more and more restaurants specifically, but not so much the real late night stuff). The good news is that I think this all feeds on itself: more residents mean more demand for amenities for residents, and more amenities for residents means more demand for residential units, and back and forth.

It is just going to take time, particularly since financing for developing new residential units is pretty tight these days, even though in Pittsburgh specifically most of these projects have been doing quite well. And there are a lot of other underdeveloped areas in the City also competing for financing--in the long run I think they will all help support each other, but in the short run the limits on available financing will likely keep things from taking off too quickly in any one neighborhood.

That said, you never know--with the recession shaking up the national economy and migration patterns, and central urban housing remaining pretty expensive in a lot of coastal cities despite the housing bubble bursting, and higher energy prices, and renewed interest in urban living, and so forth, it isn't entirely crazy to think that when the economy is in full recovery that there could be a mini-boom in the City of Pittsburgh. I'm not necessarily predicting that, but if it happened I think neighborhoods like Downtown, Uptown, the lower Hill, and the Strip could be developed a lot faster than one might otherwise think.

[Mr. Humble]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

So as of 2000 or so, Downtown as a residential neighborhood had pretty much hit rock bottom. But since then, people have started doing condo conversions and other new residential unit projects, and there are a lot more in the pipeline in various stages, including student housing (Point Park in particular has some very ambitious plans) and an increasing move toward having more affordable units. So in percentage terms, the Downtown residential population has been growing at a pretty rapid rate in recent years.

Still, it has a long way to come before it really hits anything close to its full residential potential, and that does keep the nightlife a little muted (the new residents are starting to support more and more restaurants specifically, but not so much the real late night stuff). The good news is that I think this all feeds on itself: more residents mean more demand for amenities for residents, and more amenities for residents means more demand for residential units, and back and forth.

It is just going to take time, particularly since financing for developing new residential units is pretty tight these days, even though in Pittsburgh specifically most of these projects have been doing quite well. And there are a lot of other underdeveloped areas in the City also competing for financing--in the long run I think they will all help support each other, but in the short run the limits on available financing will likely keep things from taking off too quickly in any one neighborhood.

That said, you never know--with the recession shaking up the national economy and migration patterns, and central urban housing remaining pretty expensive in a lot of coastal cities despite the housing bubble bursting, and higher energy prices, and renewed interest in urban living, and so forth, it isn't entirely crazy to think that when the economy is in full recovery that there could be a mini-boom in the City of Pittsburgh. I'm not necessarily predicting that, but if it happened I think neighborhoods like Downtown, Uptown, the lower Hill, and the Strip could be developed a lot faster than one might otherwise think.

Thanks so much for this generous post. I'd love to see downtown become a bustling residential area. I agree that the timing is not so good given the housing bust, the banks tightening their purse strings, the general economic downturn, but I do think it will happen anyway, if not at an accelerated pace. When they were considering the Lower Hill for the Casino I thought that would have been a good spot for it. Not only would it have sparked other activity, but it would have been more accessible to 9 to 5'ers downtown.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by Mr. Humble

When they were considering the Lower Hill for the Casino I thought that would have been a good spot for it. Not only would it have sparked other activity, but it would have been more accessible to 9 to 5'ers downtown.

Don't get me started. There is a small group of people who have a vested interest in North Shore development. Through undue political influence, they not only located the casino there, but also directed a large amount of precious public transit funding to building a light rail line there, instead of the many other places it would have been better used.