My recent visit to Pittsburgh (Philadelphia, Duquesne: apartments, lofts, condo)

[Pine to Vine]

I recently made a 3 day visit to Pittsburgh and thought I would share some of my experience and impressions with local CDers. First, a brief background: I retired to Philadelphia 7+ years ago from Houston. My DH recently retired himself, which gives us more time to spend traveling. We were finally able to visit Pittsburgh, a place we have heard many good things about, and not use precious vacation hours to do so.

Before I share some impressions, I'll first share how we spent our time. Upon arrival, we parked our bags at the Hotel Monaco and set out exploring. We took a two hour tour hop-on/off bus tour to get the lay of the land. The trip started and ended on the South Side. The bus took us along the Monongahela, crossed the Ohio through the sports arenas, and back across the Allegheny. After meandering downtown, the bus traveled through the Strip and wound its way through the CMU and Pitt campuses before returning back to the South Side.

After wrapping up the tour, we walked back downtown though we were unable to find much of a path along the Monongahela. We wrapped up the first day by exploring the nooks and crannies of downtown and ended the day with a nice dinner at Pizzaiolo Prima. On Day 2, we spent our time at the Duquesne Incline, the Point State Park and Warhol Museum with dinner at Tako. On day 3, we poked along the Strip and took an Uber to the Phipps Conservatory, finishing with dinner at Meat & Potatoes (much enjoyed).

I realize though we only spent 3 days and saw just a slice of the city, my overall impression was quite positive. There were a few neighborhoods that we were buzzing with activity, and the city has some great bones. Overall there are plenty of examples of pre-war architecture – some already rehabbed and some waiting for the right time to be reclaimed. I must say for the most part, however, I found much of the post-1960 architecture unattractive (e.g., the UPMC tower).

While the South Side, the Strip and the university campuses were fairly buzzing with folks, the downtown, outside of Market Square, does not seem to have a large residential population. I also did not see a shopping corridor or district downtown – (just a Brooks Brothers and a Burlington), so I'm guessing much of the shopping is at nearby malls. Perhaps we missed it?

I found plenty of 4 - 6 story buildings under construction/rehab, but if there are any high-rises being built, I missed the cranes. Nevertheless, I find all the components in place for a residential upswing downtown, with numerous buildings awaiting conversion to lofts, when market conditions support such development.

I am sure there is much I missed, but finally have at least some first-hand knowledge about Philly's sister to the west. It is a city with some great neighborhoods, a fantastic collection of pre-war architecture, a fine dining scene, located in a beautiful setting on the banks of three rivers with more than enough activity to keep its residents busy.

Hope you enjoy reading my impressions. I am eager to learn more about what I may have overlooked.

[eschaton]

Glad to hear you enjoyed your stay!

Originally Posted by Pine to Vine

While the South Side, the Strip and the university campuses were fairly buzzing with folks, the downtown, outside of Market Square, does not seem to have a large residential population. I also did not see a shopping corridor or district downtown – (just a Brooks Brothers and a Burlington), so I'm guessing much of the shopping is at nearby malls. Perhaps we missed it?

Pittsburgh's downtown is much more of a traditional CBD(e.g., employment center) than Center City. The residential population has grown significantly in recent years, but there's still only a couple thousand people who live downtown, with a goodly number of those students of Point Park University.

There are no traditional shopping malls in city limits any longer, and many of the suburban shopping malls are in decline. In terms of urban retail, it's mostly in Lawrenceville, Shadyside, and East Liberty.

Originally Posted by Pine to Vine

I found plenty of 4 - 6 story buildings under construction/rehab, but if there are any high-rises being built, I missed the cranes. Nevertheless, I find all the components in place for a residential upswing downtown, with numerous buildings awaiting conversion to lofts, when market conditions support such development.

There are a few buildings. Most notable is The Lumiere at 350 Oliver Avenue, which is an 86-unit condo building being built atop a brand new 580-space parking garage. There's also the Penn 8th project, which is partial rehab, partial new construction. That will add about 135 units of residential. There was a much larger development which was supposed to take place a block up from it, but it just failed yet again for reasons too complicated to detail here.

Still, in general, Downtown isn't really where the new construction is focused in Pittsburgh right now. It's mostly in Oakland, the Baum-Centre Corridor, East Liberty, and Lawrenceville.

Next time you visit the city, you should try to spend some time in the East End to get the full flavor of the area. It's much more important as a "second downtown" than University City is for Philly,

[PGH423]

Originally Posted by eschaton

Glad to hear you enjoyed your stay!



Pittsburgh's downtown is much more of a traditional CBD(e.g., employment center) than Center City. The residential population has grown significantly in recent years, but there's still only a couple thousand people who live downtown, with a goodly number of those students of Point Park University.

There are no traditional shopping malls in city limits any longer, and many of the suburban shopping malls are in decline. In terms of urban retail, it's mostly in Lawrenceville, Shadyside, and East Liberty.



There are a few buildings. Most notable is The Lumiere at 350 Oliver Avenue, which is an 86-unit condo building being built atop a brand new 580-space parking garage. There's also the Penn 8th project, which is partial rehab, partial new construction. That will add about 135 units of residential. There was a much larger development which was supposed to take place a block up from it, but it just failed yet again for reasons too complicated to detail here.

Still, in general, Downtown isn't really where the new construction is focused in Pittsburgh right now. It's mostly in Oakland, the Baum-Centre Corridor, East Liberty, and Lawrenceville.

Next time you visit the city, you should try to spend some time in the East End to get the full flavor of the area. It's much more important as a "second downtown" than University City is for Philly,

Yes, and also go to the lower north side (especially Mexican War Streets and Allegheny West).

I agree with the OP's comments about post 1960 architecture but I rarely like post 1960 (or even post 1940s) architecture anywhere. It has to be really superb for me to like it.

If the OP wants a large shopping area and malls, Ross is not too far away. They can take McKnight Road to the Ross Park Mall.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by PGH423

Yes, and also go to the lower north side (especially Mexican War Streets and Allegheny West).

It wasn't clear to me if they made it up there or not. However, the Mexican War Streets/Allegheny West are probably the most "Philly looking" parts of Pittsburgh (e.g., a cute, gentrified area full of rowhouses) so I wasn't thinking it would be a major draw for the O.P.

[PGH423]

Originally Posted by eschaton

It wasn't clear to me if they made it up there or not. However, the Mexican War Streets/Allegheny West are probably the most "Philly looking" parts of Pittsburgh (e.g., a cute, gentrified area full of rowhouses) so I wasn't thinking it would be a major draw for the O.P.

Oh I see what you mean. That's a good point.

[svband76]

You missed the Omni William Penn Hotel downtown. The crown jewel of out city's architecture. Come back.

[fleetiebelle]

Originally Posted by eschaton

Glad to hear you enjoyed your stay!

There are no traditional shopping malls in city limits any longer, and many of the suburban shopping malls are in decline. In terms of urban retail, it's mostly in Lawrenceville, Shadyside, and East Liberty.

There's also the Strip District not far from Downtown where there are some shopping, mostly food markets, restaurants, and some craft-related shops.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by fleetiebelle

There's also the Strip District not far from Downtown where there are some shopping, mostly food markets, restaurants, and some craft-related shops.

Yes, but they made it to The Strip on their trip. Plus it sounds like they're looking for more upscale/boutique shopping options. Aside from Kindred Bikes, I don't think The Strip has much of that.

[fleetiebelle]

Originally Posted by eschaton

Yes, but they made it to The Strip on their trip. Plus it sounds like they're looking for more upscale/boutique shopping options. Aside from Kindred Bikes, I don't think The Strip has much of that.

Ah, d'oh--I skimmed too quickly and missed that. There were some boutique-y places on the South Side as well, but I know several of them closed.

[szug-bot]

it might be suggested they visit Merante Gifts in Bloomfield. It is definitely unique for this city.