The Dirty Bird is Gone (Oakland: live, law, legal)

[doo dah]

Originally Posted by Geeo

I lived near here in the early 80s. Extra points to anyone who remembers what store was in the BASEMENT of the Giant Eagle. You accessed from the Melwood side down a flight of steps. Definitely not ADA-compliant today. (Answer at the end)

And I'll bet the new CVS will be a sub-urban piece of crap, too. Looks like the company has no conception of esthetics and just spits out the exact same model wherever they set up shop. I would love to be proven wrong.

ANSWER: Rite Aid drug store

Aw, I had the answer! Do you remember Rite Aid's OLD name?

[RyanR]

Originally Posted by Copanut

Is there such a thing as a rural piece of crap?

Nope. We don't have drug stores in the sticks. We need to go into town.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by doo dah

My understanding is that the building will be at the corner, though I doubt that the entrance will be on the sidewalk-facing side. It is supposed to be 24 hours, with a drive-up prescription window. Apparently it will be smaller, at 13,000 sq ft, than the current store, at 16,245. More parking spaces though (29 now, to 46).

Meh. Not quite as bad as I had imagined, but it's also not what I was hoping for. If that typical bland beige box will front right up to the street corner instead of hiding in the opposite corner on the rear of the parcel behind a huge front-facing parking lot, then that's most certainly a plus. I can almost stomach that "suburban piece of crap" box-styled concept if the parking is indeed arranged to be mostly to the rear. I'm actually going to go out on a limb and say CVS may get "bold" for a change and actually put a door facing the parking lot AND a door angled into the cornice right at the street corner with their store name above it.

I don't know why on Earth they need almost 50 parking spaces. Most people don't spend more than 20 minutes, tops, at a CVS, unless the pharmacy counter is especially busy, and they're waiting to have something filled. Most people run in, grab toilet paper, a greeting card, Twizzlers, or whatever else they needed, and run out (after paying, of course!) I'd also hazard a guess to say half their business will be walk-in given the dense nature of the surrounding neighborhood (hence my suspicion there WILL be a sidewalk-facing door).

My ideal design would actually be more like the new Aldi at Baum & Roup. A street-facing entrance on the corner, an attached parking garage, an attached coffeeshop (where's the closest Starbucks or Crazy Mocha to here, anyways?), and some offices or apartments. Oh well. A boy can dream!

[doo dah]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

Meh. Not quite as bad as I had imagined, but it's also not what I was hoping for. If that typical bland beige box will front right up to the street corner instead of hiding in the opposite corner on the rear of the parcel behind a huge front-facing parking lot, then that's most certainly a plus. I can almost stomach that "suburban piece of crap" box-styled concept if the parking is indeed arranged to be mostly to the rear. I'm actually going to go out on a limb and say CVS may get "bold" for a change and actually put a door facing the parking lot AND a door angled into the cornice right at the street corner with their store name above it.

I don't think CVS will be bold. I think that they will have a "prepared foods" cooler, like the main downtown store, with pre-made sandwiches and salads, to take advantage of our lack of groceries (though Bombay Market and Salim's are God-sends).

I don't know why on Earth they need almost 50 parking spaces. Most people don't spend more than 20 minutes, tops, at a CVS, unless the pharmacy counter is especially busy, and they're waiting to have something filled. Most people run in, grab toilet paper, a greeting card, Twizzlers, or whatever else they needed, and run out (after paying, of course!) I'd also hazard a guess to say half their business will be walk-in given the dense nature of the surrounding neighborhood (hence my suspicion there WILL be a sidewalk-facing door).

My ideal design would actually be more like the new Aldi at Baum & Roup. A street-facing entrance on the corner, an attached parking garage, an attached coffeeshop (where's the closest Starbucks or Crazy Mocha to here, anyways?), and some offices or apartments. Oh well. A boy can dream!

There.are.no.coffee.shops. Starbucks? Centre and S. Aiken, next to West Penn in Bloomfield, or Craig and Forbes. Crazy Mocha? Next to Aldi; Ellsworth Avenue and way down Liberty. Oh, there is that place inside Filmmakers, Monday-Friday, 10:00-7:00. It is incomprehensible that, with the *hundreds* of apartments and condos in the immediate area, that it hasn't occurred to a chain or indie owner that there might be an opportunity.

[Geeo]

As to what the Rite Aid under the Giant Eagle was before it was a Rite Aid - I'm going to take a stab and say Sun Drug.

[jay5835]

Originally Posted by Copanut

Is there such a thing as an "urban piece of crap"?

The Rite-Aid at the corner of Forbes & Murray. There was a perfectly nice low-slung, mid-century Gulf station at that corner for decades, until Rite-Aid came in, closed it down for three years and let weeds grow, then finally built that monstrosity. Ugliest building in Pgh, in my opinion. You can't even see the JCC clock anymore from Forbes Avenue unless you're standing in front of Rite-Aid's POS building.

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

My ideal design would actually be more like the new Aldi at Baum & Roup. A street-facing entrance on the corner, an attached parking garage, an attached coffeeshop (where's the closest Starbucks or Crazy Mocha to here, anyways?)

I thought Crazy Mocha was attached to Aldi at that location. No? The closest CMs otherwise are IIRC on Ellsworth across from the Bagel Factory (used to be Dancing Goats) and on Liberty near the Bloomfield Bridge. Starbucks is in the Shadyside Hospital Marriott, where Centre and Aiken and Liberty and Baum all meet.

[doo dah]

Originally Posted by Geeo

As to what the Rite Aid under the Giant Eagle was before it was a Rite Aid - I'm going to take a stab and say Sun Drug.

Nope, Red Shield: The Pittsburgh Press - Google News Archive Search

I didn't realize they were Giant Eagle division; explains why they were below the Centre/Craig Store!

Edited to add: I think Sun Drug->Revco->CVS?

[doo dah]

Originally Posted by jay5835

The Rite-Aid at the corner of Forbes & Murray. There was a perfectly nice low-slung, mid-century Gulf station at that corner for decades, until Rite-Aid came in, closed it down for three years and let weeds grow, then finally built that monstrosity. Ugliest building in Pgh, in my opinion. You can't even see the JCC clock anymore from Forbes Avenue unless you're standing in front of Rite-Aid's POS building.

I thought Crazy Mocha was attached to Aldi at that location. No? The closest CMs otherwise are IIRC on Ellsworth across from the Bagel Factory (used to be Dancing Goats) and on Liberty near the Bloomfield Bridge. Starbucks is in the Shadyside Hospital Marriott, where Centre and Aiken and Liberty and Baum all meet.

Crazy Mocha is a different building, though cheek-by-jowl with the Aldi building. Still wasn't open on July 3, when I went by.

[Copanut]

I'd say the McDonalds in the Strip is an urban piece of crap. Ruins the look of that area.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by doo dah

Crazy Mocha is a different building, though cheek-by-jowl with the Aldi building. Still wasn't open on July 3, when I went by.

It's open now.