Pittsburrgh equivalents (Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Reading: lease, live, prices)

[pman]

are there Pittsburgh equivalents for the Reading Terminal Market (Reading Terminal Market › Home )or ninth st market
(Philadelphia's 9th Street Italian Market Everything from Seafood, Cheeses, Meats, Poultry to fresh and frozen pasta.)

[W-B proud]

Originally Posted by pman

are there Pittsburgh equivalents for the Reading Terminal Market (Reading Terminal Market › Home )or ninth st market
(Philadelphia's 9th Street Italian Market Everything from Seafood, Cheeses, Meats, Poultry to fresh and frozen pasta.)

Yah, My grill in my backyard on Memorial Day

[CaptainObvious]

Indeed there is...it is called the Strip District.

Pittsburgh’s Strip District | Bucky's Barbecue and Bread

enjoy!
Cap

[jinxd_13]

Originally Posted by W-B proud

Yah, My grill in my backyard on Memorial Day

I am sooo there.

[pman]

W-B proud, you dry age your own meats, make your own mozzarella, bake amish pretzels, sell imported cheeses and oils, and bake fresh bread for your BBQ's?
The strip District looks like an equivalent of the 9th st market (whose real history is that it became popular aas a black market for Italian immigrants during food rationing in WWI). I take it there's no central market (Reading terminal equivalent). the Reading Terminal is the reincarnation of the old front st farmer's market (down by the riverfront-ports). It was paved over for a trolley turnaround and moved to the then new Reading Terminal (c 1894). It's been in existence continuously since then but has begun to thrive as the residential population in cc has swelled and the convention center nearby as well. It's noow a top tourist destination (which can make it almost unbearable on weekends for real shopping) but if you live or work downtown it's really convenient. anyways, thanks, I'll add "strip" to my list of must-sees when in town.
It's interesting to hear you have your own version of "you'se," the Philly equivalent of "y'uns." It's also weird to see Philly lumped in with NYC. People here cite the fact that they are close to NY and have many of the urban benefits of a major city but enjoy the slower pace of life. It's all relative I guess.

[BrianTH]

pman,

The Strip is actually somewhat convenient to Downtown Pittsburgh as well, and indeed is directly adjacent to Downtown (with Downtown Pittsburgh itself being a relatively compact area). Accordingly, I'd say it is somewhere between the Reading Terminal and Ninth Street markets in terms of convenience relative to the respective downtowns (although the cities have such different downtown areas it is hard to compare).

Also, I've only been to the Ninth Street market once (Reading Terminal more often), but I'd say The Strip is less Italian-focused than Ninth Street, and thus again more like Reading Terminal in that sense.

Finally, of course today Reading Terminal is enclosed and compact and The Strip is open-air and sprawling by comparison. But The Strip is actually sort of the equivalent in Pittsburgh to those open-air markets that used to stretch all the way from the Delaware River along Market Street, with the Allegheny River and trains serving the same purpose for The Strip (meaning providing a way to bring goods to the markets).

[pman]

Thanks Brian. How far is the walk from downtown to the Strip?

Also, found this interesting. Perhaps trains will again be important in food distribution just as they are in other goods these days. I know the the local markets here have been able to keep prices lower than the supermarkets now that the price of fuel has gone up.

He said rising costs, including the cost of transportation from Lancaster County, are driving more Amish merchants out of farmers markets.
Rising costs, in general, are also on the minds of other merchants.
"The thing that's getting harder is the cost of everything -- bread, cooking oil and transportation to get it here," said Carmen DiGulielmo, owner of Carmen's Famous Italian Hoagies.

Despite turmoil, city market enjoys steady diet of visitors - Philadelphia Business Journal:

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by pman

Thanks Brian. How far is the walk from downtown to the Strip?

Just to orient you, imagine a capital letter A sitting on its side and pointing to the west. The triangle part of that A would be Downtown, and the top leg of that A would be The Strip. So, the closest part of Downtown is actually no walk at all from The Strip, since they share a border. And since Downtown is compact, no part of Downtown is more than about a mile from where The Strip starts, and most of Downtown is around a half a mile or less. But The Strip itself is long--about two miles total--and all that length it is heading away from Downtown.

So, it basically depends on where you are going in The Strip, and a bit on where you start Downtown. For example, if you wanted to see just the heart of The Strip, you could walk out from the middle of Downtown and back for a total roundtrip of around 2.5 miles. But to walk the whole Strip from Downtown, you are talking more like a roundtrip of 5 miles.

Perhaps trains will again be important in food distribution just as they are in other goods these days. I know the the local markets here have been able to keep prices lower than the supermarkets now that the price of fuel has gone up.

And perhaps inland waterways as well, which are even more fuel efficient than trains.

[pman]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

And perhaps inland waterways as well, which are even more fuel efficient than trains.

yep (I hope you aren't recomending building the main line of public works though ).
Personally, I'd like to see electrified train service between Pitt and Philadelphia with 7-10 trains/day (trip time under 5 hours) but unless we toll I80 and lease the turnpike that ain't happening I guess.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by pman

Personally, I'd like to see electrified train service between Pitt and Philadelphia with 7-10 trains/day (trip time under 5 hours) but unless we toll I80 and lease the turnpike that ain't happening I guess.

It is hard to say what changes permanently higher gasoline prices might bring, and I don't think investing in high speed railways for intermediate trips (200-600 miles or so) is out of the question--it just requires a change of mindset from cars and airplanes being the only two major travel options. My guess, though, is that first would come a high speed rail network out of Chicago, which would stretch out to Pittsburgh. At that point, it would make sense to link up the Northeast Corridor to this Midwest network via Philly and Pittsburgh.