3 ms·

It is exciting, and I have mixed feelings. For instance, there is a lot of new development down along the Strip. I don't see how this won't end up eventually p

by Isamu 10y ago

It is exciting, and I have mixed feelings. For instance, there is a lot of new development down along the Strip. I don't see how this won't end up eventually pushing out many of the old-Pittsburgh businesses that make the Strip awesome for everyone, replacing them with higher-end stuff. Rather like how the enormous cobblestone plaza in front of St Stanislaus Church in the Strip was asphalted over since my student days. But I get it, it was uneven, it had an old trolley track, nobody wants to maintain cobblestone. So yeah, I would like to see Pittsburgh continue to develop, I just hope people are not in a hurry to displace what makes it cool.

keiferski 10y ago
I'd agree, overall it's a mixed bag. The new-ish Bakery Square complex (which is home to Google) is pretty hideous. Pittsburgh more-or-less has the same type of architecture as large parts of New York, specifically huge (previously) empty warehouse spaces. I'd really like to see more old warehouses kept and retro-fitted, rather than replaced with Bakery Square-esque architecture.
- cfallin 10y ago
  Wasn't the Bakery Square building itself an old Nabisco factory? I agree that all the new apartment buildings around it are pretty out-of-place, but I do think there are plenty of reasonable attempts at keeping historical bits around...
  - Isamu 10y ago
    The bakery itself is cool, maybe the parent doesn't like the stuff added around it. The bakery building still has the NBC sign, in terracotta, above the original entrance.
  - intrasight 10y ago
    The original building is an architectural marvel and gem. So glad they left it alone for the most part during the renovation. I remember for years driving by when it had the sign: "For lease - 500,000 square feet"
doktrin 10y ago
> I just hope people are not in a hurry to displace what makes it cool They probably are, but only because everyone has a different perspective on what things like "culture" and "cool" mean. I personally think tearing down the East Liberty high rise projects was largely positive - but many people disagree.
- throwaway6rusm2 10y ago
  It's great if you are a white person making 60k+ a year (a good bit of money in this city). There was a huge string of neglectful decisions to lower income families who have lived there for decades being forced out. These aren't "bad" people or criminals either. You guessed it: An overwhelming majority are African American. I can already hear someone typing "well that's just life, they should get over it." This would perfectly represent the ignorance around a lot of the city-wide issues. So much of today is around the hype-cycle issues presented from the upper-class/startup/city officials perspective. It isn't all bad, by any means, and I apologize if I sound jaded. To declare the city or an area wholly on the up-and-up or "largely positive" is certainly a sheltered perspective though.
  - doktrin 10y ago
    > It's great if you are a white person I'm not white > To declare the city or an area wholly on the up-and-up or "largely positive" is certainly a sheltered perspective though. Ironically, your perspective strikes me as a bit sheltered. Have you ever lived in or spent any time around a highrise project? Anywhere? They fucking suck, are incredibly difficult to police & govern, and almost invariably become hotbeds of shit. Tearing them down and distributing its residents to saner public housing is most definitely defensible as compared to just letting a bad situation fester uncontrollably.
deleted 10y ago
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by Isamu 10y ago

keiferski 10y ago

I'd agree, overall it's a mixed bag. The new-ish Bakery Square complex (which is home to Google) is pretty hideous. Pittsburgh more-or-less has the same type of architecture as large parts of New York, specifically huge (previously) empty warehouse spaces. I'd really like to see more old warehouses kept and retro-fitted, rather than replaced with Bakery Square-esque architecture.

cfallin 10y ago
Wasn't the Bakery Square building itself an old Nabisco factory? I agree that all the new apartment buildings around it are pretty out-of-place, but I do think there are plenty of reasonable attempts at keeping historical bits around...
- Isamu 10y ago
  The bakery itself is cool, maybe the parent doesn't like the stuff added around it. The bakery building still has the NBC sign, in terracotta, above the original entrance.
- intrasight 10y ago
  The original building is an architectural marvel and gem. So glad they left it alone for the most part during the renovation. I remember for years driving by when it had the sign: "For lease - 500,000 square feet"

doktrin 10y ago

> I just hope people are not in a hurry to displace what makes it cool They probably are, but only because everyone has a different perspective on what things like "culture" and "cool" mean. I personally think tearing down the East Liberty high rise projects was largely positive - but many people disagree.

throwaway6rusm2 10y ago
It's great if you are a white person making 60k+ a year (a good bit of money in this city). There was a huge string of neglectful decisions to lower income families who have lived there for decades being forced out. These aren't "bad" people or criminals either. You guessed it: An overwhelming majority are African American. I can already hear someone typing "well that's just life, they should get over it." This would perfectly represent the ignorance around a lot of the city-wide issues. So much of today is around the hype-cycle issues presented from the upper-class/startup/city officials perspective. It isn't all bad, by any means, and I apologize if I sound jaded. To declare the city or an area wholly on the up-and-up or "largely positive" is certainly a sheltered perspective though.
- doktrin 10y ago
  > It's great if you are a white person I'm not white > To declare the city or an area wholly on the up-and-up or "largely positive" is certainly a sheltered perspective though. Ironically, your perspective strikes me as a bit sheltered. Have you ever lived in or spent any time around a highrise project? Anywhere? They fucking suck, are incredibly difficult to police & govern, and almost invariably become hotbeds of shit. Tearing them down and distributing its residents to saner public housing is most definitely defensible as compared to just letting a bad situation fester uncontrollably.

deleted 10y ago

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