Garfield

Garfield is located on the East end of Pittsburgh next to Friendship, Bloomfield, and East Liberty and Stanton Heights. Similarly to Friendship and Bloomfield, Garfield was also owned by Winebiddle. The name Garfield is actually after the late President James Garfield!

Garfields earliest settlers were blue collar Irish laborers and their families who worked in the mills along the Allegheny River. A modest neighborhood for modest families and most everyone in the neighborhood was steel workers, repairmen, and  all around just extremely blue-collar. Around the 1960’s though Garfield residents started to leave the city to move to nicer suburbs such as Penn Hills and Shaler. While this was all going on is about the time the city decided to change East Liberty into an Urban shopping area to try to bring in more upper-class people to the neighborhood, unfortunately if you know anything about Pittsburgh history you would know that the plan was a complete waste which cost the city a ton of money and almost completely ruined East Liberty. In turn since so many people were moving out of Garfield and East Liberty the city decided to put in a public housing facility named “Garfield Borders” and changed the housing policy so old houses would need to be improved to meet the cities new demands which caused a lot of older residents to flee rather than spend tons of money adding pointless additions to their childhood home.

From 1970-2000s Garfield went from 10,000 residents to 5,000 residents. All the jobs that the Irish settlers had are but gone and the neighborhood is now full of renters, most of which are either working in a nearby neighborhood or apart of the public housing. Some of the neighborhood’s current traditions are negative ones such as drug dealing, prostitution, and illegitimacy are common nowadays in Garfield, and children attending the neighborhoods cchool often fall behind the PA average in grades.

It’s unfortunate that one of the best neighborhoods went from being a subtle middle-class blue-collar town right outside of the glam runoff of East Liberty.

Personally I would not suggest this neighborhood, though I do strangely love it in Garfield the neighborhood is now riddled with crime and homicide, drugs, and gangs. I believe anything Pittsburgh tries to do to it will only make things worse as it had in East Liberty when they first tried to revitalize it.

A few noteworthy places to visit in Garfield though would be Garfield artworks on Penn Avenue which is an art studio as well as a music venue where musicians and artists go to perform. I would also recommend Roboto Project which may technically be in Bloomfield/Friendship area but it is very close to the Garfield line. If you are looking for great Indian food “People’s” also located on Penn Avenue is the best Indian food in the city (in my opinion at least!)

So be careful if you’re looking to move around the Friendship and Bloomfield areas because a lot will advertise as one and end up being in Garfield, my best advice is to avoid going past Penn Ave in Garfield if you do decide to visit.

Munhall

This week i’m going to review a neighborhood outside of the city limits (just barely) but I think more people should learn about it and consider it because its one of the coolest neighborhoods near Pittsburgh and that neighborhood would be “Munhall”. Nearly apart of Homestead Munhall has been apart of Pittsburghs plan to revitalize Homestead. Back in 1910 Munhall had a population of a little over 5,000 and the only products produced in Munhall were Steel products. Home of the “Steel Valley School District” Munhall has only been growing. Riddled full of basketball courts and even an indoor pool I consider Munhall to be one of the best neighborhoods to move to at the moment. On top of being a beautiful residential neighborhood Munhall also is within walking distance to all the new businesses placed in via the Homestead revitalization. If you ever take a trip down to the Waterfront you will still see some of the brick buildings which once stood a strong Steel Industry.
Surrounded by Homestead, West Mifflin, and Whitaker Munhall is full of middle class blue-collared workers who want to be close to the city without dealing with the city problems. One of the original seven townships in Pennsylvania. If you ever get a chance to go down near the Waterworks and Munhall area you will find endless amounts of fun including “The Improv” which is a comedy club next to Dave and Busters and consistantly has some of the most popular acts and is essentially the only notable comedy club in the city. Also make sure you check out Dave and Busters, especially if you’re trying to have a nice meal whilst keeping your kids distracted.
In my opinion Munhall is awesome and if you are looking for a nice place close to the city to raise a family and to have things to do then make your way to Munhall.

Regent

Regent Square is a neighborhood located in the east end of Pittsburgh. For anyone who has ever been to Regent Square it is a really nice place to visit, Located next to Edgewood and Wilkinsburg please don’t let this lead you to believe it is a dangerous neighborhood because in actuality its really not. Know for a strong cultural identity it truly is a humble neighborhood. The neighborhood is unique in that three sides are bordered by steep valleys of Fern Hollow Creek to the west and Nine Mile Run to the south and east.
Now full of a lot of upper-middle class residents who attend/teach at Carnegie Mellon University as well as the other schools and hospitals it also is very close to Frick Park. One of my favorite qualities of Regent Square is the Victorian architecture in the houses and how friendly everyone seems to be there. If you ever get a chance to visit check out the movie theater as well as well as some of the awesome bars. If you ever get a chance to check it out also try to make a trip to “The Map Room” as it is one of my favorite bars in the city as well as stopping by “Le Mix” for some very unique items.
All in all I would highly suggest Regrent Square for the fact that it almost feels to friendly (which is a good thing) and you will surely feel very welcome when you visit.

Shadyside

this weeks blog post is going to be about the ritziest neighborhood in Pittsburgh (at least in the city limits) which is Shadyside. Shadyside is considered the richest part of the city and the safest neighborhood as well. Located between Oakland, Friendship, Squirrel Hill, and various other neighbors it is the home to the famous “Chatham University” (the former all girls school). Shadyside is well known for its Walnut street located parallel to 5th avenue it starts at Walnut and Aiken and goes on down Walnut for quite a bit, if you ever get a chance to see Walnut st you will notice some really high brand stores such as the Mac store, Starbucks, Walnut Grille, and Kawaii Gifts. Shadyside is also home to the Shadyside Hospital which is world renown for having some of the best Brain Surgeons in the world and a lot of the folks living within Shadyside are employed through the Hospital. Back during the summit when President Barack Obama came into the city the Pamela’s Diner in Shadyside actually cooked food for the President, his wife Michelle, and his bodyguards! Another street to lay focus to is Ellsworth street which is considered “Pittsburgh Key West” for being home to a lot of gay bars and alcohol. On top of all that Ellsworth is also home to many of the private stores via local businesses and great Japanese Grocery store. There is a lot of great things within Shadyside and when you get a chance(and money) you should consider checking it out. If you’re considering living here keep in mind a small 1br apartment will run you almost $900/mo.

Friendship

This week I am going to talk about one of the cutest neighborhoods in Pittsburgh, Friendship! Friendship originally came to be when Conrad Winebiddle was given this land and decided he wanted an upper-class neighborhood next to the beloved East Liberty. If you ever take a tour through Friendship you will see how nice the places are, unfortunately almost all the properties have been turned into apartments but nonetheless the people within those apartments take good care of their neighborhood and the place in which they live. If you live in friendship you will notice that it is a residential only neighborhood, but that’s not stopping you from taking a short stroll towards Garfield, East Liberty, Shadyside, or Bloomfield to get some bar/club/food going. Originally inhabited by German immigrants then to upper-class businessmen I believe it is still inhabited by fairly wealthy young professionals and anyone willing to deal with the swing of “safe neighborhood, unsafe neighborhood” swing this place has gone through. You will notice a lot of the streets are named after clan members of the Winebiddle clan in honor of them. I would highly suggest this area to anyone with the money as it is the friendliest

neighborhood in Pittsburgh in my opinion and if I could I would move there in a heartbeat, though I wouldn’t purchase a house because the way the neighborhoods go in the east end it is quite a gamble.

Spring Hill / Troy Hill

This week I am going to talk about a decent neighborhood that I personally have spend a pretty decent amount of time in. I wanted to talk about Spring Hill but didn’t have enough to say about it because it’s so tiny so I will be talking about Spring Hill and Troy Hill. Firstly Spring Hill, in my Opinion Spring Hill is an extremely interesting neighborhood to me and it always tends to fascinate me; located Northeast of the Northside adjacent to the Strip and above Troy Hill Spring Hill has one of the best views of the city and one of the smallest populations within a city in the US. In 1970s Spring Hill had about 8,000 people residing there. In ’74 it dropped to 4,900 and in 2010 that number is all the way down to 2,900. Its almost considered a ghost town anymore because its so hard to people to commute from without a vehicle, a lot of the houses have water damage, and most of the original folks living in them moved out when the steel mills crashed. Now as far as Troy Hill goes I have unfortunately very little good to say about Troy Hill. If you wander around Troy Hill you will really meet some public characters, only problem is you may not want to meet these public characters. I noticed a bit of substance abuse problem in the area on top of weird crimes such as arson and theft. I have a few good friends whom live in Troy Hill and aside from their Oktoberfest I would really have no reason to visit this area. In my opinion if you’re looking for a nice place to live within the city, or a nice place to visit I would avoid Troy Hill unless you are visiting a friend who lives there. There is not much this area h as to offer except some weird experiences and a lot of people hussling for your wallet.

Strip District

One of my favorite parts of pittsburgh would have to be the Strip District. Located between The Hill District and the river and between 11th and 33rd street.

The Strip is a central hub in which a lot of whole food and grocery stores have set up shop to sell authentic meats, vegetables, etc. Strip District is also home to a lot of shops that sell Penguins, Steelers, and Pirates Memorabilia. My favorite experience in the strip is a place called “Pepe’s”. Of all the knockoff Philly Cheesesteak places that litter Pittsburgh “Pepe’s” is in my opinion the best of the best. Though it’s booming now it used to be the location of many mills and factories yet in the 1920’s it was the economical center of Pittsburgh. After the collapse of the steel mill market even this neighborhood took a heavy hit. Luckily it still had the river to import/export for a while and then it had no problem maintaining its status as a sort of business district of Pittsburgh.

Usually in my blog posts I tend to rate the neighborhood on if I would suggest people move to the area as well as suggest age ranges that would get the most of the area, unfortunately the Strip is mostly businesses with very few apartments or houses, so for this neighborhood I would suggest trying to look elsewhere.

Now if you are ever in the area be sure to swing by the strip to get some authentic food, some gifts for your family, and enjoy the nightlife that various clubs! And its much safer than Southside!

This week I am going to discuss one of my least favorite neighborhoods in Pittsburgh, Mount Washington. formally know as Coal Hill because Pittsburgh had allowed several mines to open up there. This blog post I am not going to go too deep into why Mount Washington is what it is. After a while Coal Hill was renamed Mount Washington and started to become well known for having a great view of the city and many wealthy people had gotten houses built along the hillside for a great city view. As stated before I am personally not a big fan of this neighborhood, ride the incline and you will notice it’s beautiful and great to travel up and down between station square and the cute shops at the top. My problem with mount Washington is everyone believes it’s very adorable but after they tore down Arlington Heights and St. Clair Village a lot of the crime started to get pushed towards Mount Washington started having a lot of issues with crime. You don’t have to take my word for it, take a trip up to Mount Washington up to Warrington avenue and you will see. Many times I would have people around this area walk in front of my car and ask me for money and many more interesting requests. In conclusion I hope people are aware that what appears to be an inner city suburbia is in my opinion a dwindling neighborhood.

Northside

This week my post is about Pittsburgh North side and it’s absolutely amazing history,  this neighborhood has some serious history and I will show you how it was and it’s somewhat steady decline.
First I would like to mention how great I think North Side is, originally it was called Allegheny city back in 1840 before that it was just a district for people from all walks of life settled. During the 1840s so much had happened! In 1845 a man named John Roebling created the first successful suspension bridge. In 1848 the Mexican war streets came to be due to the mayor having served in the Mexican War and naming each street off of it now one of the prettiest parts of the North side. In 1893 a man named George Washington Gale Ferris created the first Ferris wheel in envy of the Eiffel tower in France,  hell even Jehovah witnesses set up shop in Allegheny!
The city always took pride in its many ethnicities and it was known later too that the underground railroad ran through the city back in the day. Even the first world series occurred in 1903 between the Pirates and Boston!

Unfortunately in 1904 the city of Allegheny was taken by Pittsburgh. Since the city was taken over maybe people claimed their great city was stolen from them and since then the North Side had been on a downward spiral. Many of the great classic roads and been destroyed for expressways as well as just because the city of Pittsburgh felt like it.  The current layout of former Allegheny is Allegheny Center, Allegheny West, Brighton Heights, California-Kirkbride, Central Northside, Chateau, East Allegheny, Fineview, Manchester, Marshall-Shadeland, North Shore, Northview Heights, Perry North, Perry South, Spring Garden, Spring Hill–City View, Summer Hill, and Troy Hill. The North Side also has seven hills (Observatory, Monument, Troy, Spring, Seminary, Fineview, and Mt. Troy).

Now a days the North side has been transformed quite a bit. Bellevue for starters has become a cheap place for people working both in Cranberry and the city to live with a short commute both ways. Perry North and South are both very nice areas in my opinion and I would totally move there,  it’s close to the city yet quiet enough and within a great school district.  Heading south around Brighton Heights I would say that place is decent,  I had lived here on the part and had some trouble with the neighbors and drugs but it’s not the worst part of the North side at all. When you get to central North Side specifically near the Crazy Mocha and the hill heading north it can get extremely dangerous,  I have had friends followed, jumped, and robbed in this area and I would not recommend it.  Lastly the Northshore is on my opinion the best part of the Northside, the shore has the Rivers Casino,  Carnegie Science Center, Pirates and Steelers Stadiums,  tons of food.. Sadly you can’t really live in this section and the closest things are Mexican war streets (pricey)  and central Northside which I wouldn’t recommend. Spring Hill and Troy Hill are also pretty decent areas, Spring Hill being much nicer because Troy Hill has had a few drug and arson problems. All in all I wouldn’t recommend moving here, through it had a great history it all died when Pittsburgh seized it. If you can’t resist moving to the north side for whatever reason I would suggest moving to Bellevue because it is pretty beautiful there, or possibly Spring Hill.

My review of Cory Newberrs “A Newcomers Guide To Pittsburgh”

I have decided for my blog post this week to review one of my fellow classmate’s blogs called “A Newcomers Guide to Pittsburgh” (corynewberry.wordpress.com). I specifically am going to review on his most recent post “The Bad, Ugly, and the Worse”. I personally found this blog rather interesting because I understand where he is coming from. I have lived in the Oakland neighborhood on two different occasions for about 2 years total and I would have to say that if you’re living in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh you are really going to have nothing too good to say about the area. The way I see Pittsburgh is there are various different neighborhoods and each neighborhood I feel caters to different types of people (if you don’t believe me take a look at my current blog and you will understand). I had recently moved out of the neighborhood about a week ago and I must say that it was one of the best decisions I had ever made. Oakland in the daytime is a great neighborhood with all the hospitals, tons of amazing food, and the sprawling student life at every turn, but when night falls it becomes a whole other territory.

Oakland aside I know the same sort of stuff happens in the Northside and other various spots within the city, I believe the way Pittsburgh is laid out does not help because it’s so tightly packed that it’s easy for a beggar to travel quickly to various places and set up shop and hustle unsuspecting people into paying them money, that being said I still think this happens only in select areas. My advice, though it does feel really hard sometimes to do because if you’re anything like me you can’t help but feel bad for the people asking you for money, is to completely ignore them, I know this sounds terrible but in my experience I have also been scammed out of money too many times to be fooled again. By all means if you believe that the person begging needs the money more than you do than you have free will in this decision but so many times that not have I given a beggar money outside of the Rite Aid in Atwood street and they have asked for more money, and when I deny them any more than I get harassed as I walk away.

If anyone has ever been to the 711 in the Northside after about 11pm or anywhere that is close to the casino you will see that conning happens so often that it is almost disheartening. I personally had an incident where I was biking and someone was on the bike trail off to the side with a really inadequate bicycle trying to flag me down. The time was about midnight and I believe it was a Thursday, I thought I would be the face of friendly Pittsburgh and pull over to give him a hand (I believed he may have had a flat tire). After pulling to the side to help him he asked me to follow him over to the bushes and then attempts to rob me without any firearm or knife or anything, luckily for me this man was heavily intoxicated so I was able to just get on my bike and pedal as fast as I could to avoid any possible danger.

I must say I am glad that this blog has some positive things to say about Pittsburgh in that the people are generally nice, I have been living here for quite some time now and through it all I have some negative things to say about this city but a lot of positive.