one grandview revised plan (Pittsburgh, Shiloh: 2015, home, weddings)

[NYCTelevisionWriter]

Originally Posted by szug-bot

Mt. Washington, apparently not a favorite in this thread, is taken for granted, it seems. Grandview Avenue is a fantastic asset.

I think the point here, though, is that Grandview Avenue is its ONLY "asset".

And THAT is pretty much locked up and out of the reach of everyone except the richest who can afford dropping a million bucks on a dumpy Archie Bunker-type Queens house (with a jaw-dropping view for its backyard).

Grandview Avenue aside, Mt. Washington is no more remarkable than Greenfield.

[SteelCityRising]

I think Mt. Washington is "deccent" in its current state and WILL transition for the better in the coming years. It's a neighborhood I'm considering for the purchase of my first home---midway between my partner's office on the North Shore and my future office in Beechview. If I were to buy on the "back side" of Mt. Washington, let's say down near Palm Gardens, we could both walk to the "T" each morning and take it to work.

Mt. Washington is rare because aside from Grandview Avenue it is mostly a true old-school working-class "yinzer" Pittsburgh neighborhood within the urban core of the city, whereas most of the rest of the neighborhoods contiguous with Downtown are gentrified or are heavily-gentrifying. I like Shiloh Street and Virginia Avenue. There's a grocery store (not Whole Foods, of course, but adequate); a PNC Bank (for me to make ATM cash deposits when I need to); a wine & spirits store; a few mid-range casual dining options (we really like Redbeard's and Shiloh Grill); a good ice cream parlor; a bakery; and more. We don't have much use for the upscale restaurants on the western half of Grandview.

I think the neighborhood is somewhat unappealing to many because, like Beechview, the roads can tend to be rather steeply-graded and haphazard, and the business district isn't a quick and easy walk for the majority of people in the neighborhood. Shadyside, for example, has three main business districts---Walnut Street, South Highland Avenue, and Ellsworth Avenue---that are within an easy walk of probably 2/3 of the neighborhood while those in the western 1/3 of the neighborhood are a quick walk to the South Craig Street business district or the improving business district along Baum Boulevard. Mt. Washington would improve greatly if a few more businesses would open outside of that Shiloh & Virginia area. A few restaurants, a coffee shop, and maybe a small grocer somewhere near Boggs & Lelia, for example, would make that "back side" of Mt. Washington a much more desirable place to live.

I agree with eschaton that the housing stock is sort of "meh", too. Grandview Avenue's architecture, with rare exception, is wasted potential. Those gated newer brick-fronted vinyl-sided townhouses just west of P.J. McArdle along Grandview, across from Amabell Street, look so bland, for example. A nice Victorian right near the corner of Grandview & P.J. McArdle continues to rot and decay. There are some shining examples of nice architecture along Grandview, too---the Carnegie Library; the ornate Victorian on the corner of Kearsarge; a cute little 1800s-looking bungalow about three doors down from Kearsarge; the turreted duplex rowhouses on the corner of Maple Terrace; and St. Mary of the Mount Church. Much of the rest of Grandview is just a mish-mash of different eras of building styles, though, with much of that architecture being downright uninteristing.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by szug-bot

I really like the Duquesne Heights that I am aware of. I would definitely consider buying/living there. There seems to be a tad more breathing room between houses, between cars...Despite it's being perched on a small mountain, it isn't too far removed from things. And I don't believe it experiences a lot of cross-traffic.

To me Duquense Heights has all of the negatives of Mount Washington and none of the positives. No business district at all. Totally unwalkable. Mostly ugly 19th century frame and blah early/mid 20th century styles like cape cods, ranches, and "colonials."

Then again, I know from your past posting history you like suburban-style neighborhoods, whereas I loathe them, which is probably why we don't see eye-to-eye on this.

Originally Posted by NYCTelevisionWriter

Grandview Avenue aside, Mt. Washington is no more remarkable than Greenfield.

I think this is underselling it. I mean, in the area around Shiloh Street, you have...

Food/Dining: Shiloh Grill, DiFiore’s Ice Cream Delite, Grand Brew (coffee shop), The Summit PGH (cocktail bar), Golden Palace (Chinese food), Café Nikos (bar), Redbeard's Bar & Grill, Sloppy Joe’s (bar), Micro Diner, Grandview Bakery, J.J’s Restaurant, Scarpaci’s Saloon, and Kavsar Uzbek Restaurant

Shopping: Shop 'N Save, Wine & Spirits, two florists, a jewelry store, a dollar store, and a gas station/convenience store

Services: A tailor, three banks, two hair salons, a tattoo/barber shop, a dentist, a gym, a karate academy, and a pet grooming place.

This is way more than Greenfield has to offer in either of its business districts - hell, it's probably more than in both districts put together. That said, as I said upthread, most of the neighborhood is not really a quick walk to this area.

[jea6321]

agreed that the being walkable to shiloh and the mon incline is the most desirable area of the neighborhood. Shiloh is a great little business district and quite honestly I would live here with or without grandview ave. Its nice to go for a walk jog and look at the view, but shiloh and the ease of commute is why I like the area. I drive all over the region all the time and Its one of the best places for minimizing drive time/traffic.

I drive to oakland almost daily and its a 10 min drive, 15 if I hit traffic. 15 min to lawrenceville, 20min to highland park, 20-25 min to the airport ( non rush hour). 10-15 min to bellevue/avalon. Not too many places in the city that are as convenient for people that drive all over the place.

[NYCTelevisionWriter]

Originally Posted by jea6321

I drive to oakland almost daily and its a 10 min drive, 15 if I hit traffic. 15 min to lawrenceville, 20min to highland park, 20-25 min to the airport ( non rush hour). 10-15 min to bellevue/avalon. Not too many places in the city that are as convenient for people that drive all over the place.

So now Lawrenceville is actually a destination??

[doo dah]

Originally Posted by NYCTelevisionWriter

So now Lawrenceville is actually a destination??

Um, yeah.

[NYCTelevisionWriter]

Originally Posted by doo dah

Um, yeah.

What's there?

[UKyank]

Originally Posted by NYCTelevisionWriter

So now Lawrenceville is actually a destination??

& has been for awhile now...

[StayLucky]

I think both Eschaton and SCR nailed it. Everytime I'm back in the Burgh, I try and make a trip up to Mt. Washington, because I really like the Virginia/Shiloh business district, and I'm still a tourist at heart, I guess, because the view from Grandview never ceases to amaze me.

However, when I was looking for a potential neighborhood to live in back in 2013, I drew a pretty mixed conclusion on Mt Wash. I think the Mon incline provides an excellent commuting option, but only if you live within like a 5 minute walk (which isn't a whole lot of people), and either work right by a T station or somewhere on the southern end of Downtown, because let's face it, who wants to walk across the Smithfield St. Bridge and trek halfway across downtown when it's 10 degrees and windy outside in January. Or maybe i'm just lazy. Additionally, i think the T station(s) on the southern end of the Mount are bizarrely underutilized. I'm not familiar with that end of the hill, but in a city with such mediocre public transit, I'd think there would be some effort for revitalization around that part of the neighborhood (although I realize that's the "sketchier" part, and is near some not-so-good neighborhoods.

With all that said, I agree with everyone who has mentioned that it's mostly a touristy neighborhood, although I agree with SCR that there is massive upside for the neighborhood. I'd have no qualms living somewhere around Shiloh if I worked downtown and more importantly, the price was right. It's not as desirable as the East End for the stated reasons (it's out of the way and confusing as hell to navigate, poor transit if you work anywhere that's not on the T line, mediocre at best housing stock, etc), but I think it has the potential to be a great neighborhood with some investment as people get priced out of the East End and South Side. I don't see it becoming trendy overnight, though - not even close.

[doo dah]

Originally Posted by NYCTelevisionWriter

What's there?

The new Children's Hospital
all the robotics companies
the hipster foodie restaurants
the hipster shops
the music venues
other stuff that I don't follow because I am old and not trendy any more

Lawrenceville is the Williamsburg of Pittsburgh.