Seeing Pittsburgh Project

Another Review

2009-02-10T17:31:00.001-05:00

"Banana Split" in the Hill District. This photo was taken by Amber Adkins for "Seeing Pittsburgh."" rel="lightbox[947993]" href="http://www.postgazette.com/pg/images/200902/20090210ho_bananasplit_500.jpg">

"Poppy on Hill" in Beechview. The photo was taken by Max Hurwitz, Poppy's father." rel="lightbox[947993]" href="http://www.postgazette.com/pg/images/200902/poppy0205_500.jpg">

"In the Study" in Central North Side, a photo by Terrence Murphy, shows underground poet Chris Burns, left, and entertainer Johnny Wu Tang in a formerly abandoned house." rel="lightbox[947993]" href="http://www.postgazette.com/pg/images/200902/inthestudy_500.jpg">

Our town: Pittsburghers' snapshots capture what's important in their neighborhoods

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

By Maria Sciullo, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Amber Adkins

"Banana Split" in the Hill District. This photo was taken by Amber Adkins for "Seeing Pittsburgh."

Anyone who claims to really know Pittsburgh, its neighborhoods, its suburbs, its not-far-off rural areas, is probably kidding himself.

Pittsburgh is the sum of its parts, a stitched-together Terrible Towel of shared loves and hates, a place where the best way to give directions often involves mentioning places that don't exist anymore.

There are sincere little towns and hamlets and bustling city streets, but how many residents of the collective areas known as Western Pennsylvania actually ever wander beyond the boundaries of those little towns or city streets?

Part of the charm of "Seeing Pittsburgh," a project launched more than a year ago to help celebrate the city's 250th birthday, is its grass-roots effort to capture what's important in any particular neighborhood.

Ron Baraff and Tiffani Emig of the Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area in Homestead gave cameras to 44 people from various walks of life. The directions were simple: shoot photos of what's important to you in your neighborhood. They shot buildings, friends, pets, ladies making pierogies, wrestling matches, gardens, squirrels, weeds, traffic ...

"One person was a professional photographer and some folks had never shot anything before," said Mr. Baraff, Rivers of Steel director of museum collections and archives. "The equipment varied; some of the best [photos] came to us from the people using disposable cameras."

Participants were recruited from 11 communities ranging from large bustling areas such as Squirrel Hill and Mt. Lebanon to tiny Presston -- a small community within Stowe -- and the Mount Washington co-op of Chatham Village.

Organizers found some photographers through community organizations. Others were found in coffee shops or other local gathering places. They offered disposable cameras, although some of the participants chose to use their own cameras and Christine Bethea, who lives in the Hill District, even used the tiny camera in her cell phone.

The resulting photographs, more than 300, were displayed at the Rivers of Steel center in an exhibit that closed recently. The project also yielded a book, "Seeing Pittsburgh," which can be found in local stores and online, as well as a slideshow on the center's blog on the Web site at riversofsteel.com.

"Seeing Pittsburgh" is about the grit of reality. One of the youngest photographers, Beechview Elementary student Nick Darke, submitted a photo of his neighborhood's abandoned public swimming pool.

"It was not just the positive," said Mt. Lebanon's Nita Fandray, whose favorite photo is a white Honda parked with its passenger-side wheels nearly on the sidewalk.

"Parking on sidewalks, curbs, grass (even front yards!) runs rampant in Mt. Lebanon," she wrote in the caption.

Amber Adkins, a teen who lives on the Hill, shot a photo of her friends goofing around on the swings. But she also took one of a boarded-over theater, and in the caption lamented the lack of recreation options for young people.

Not surprisingly, some of the kids chose to shoot their schools. In the book, Colfax student Madeline Colker has a strong photo of dismissal time at the Squirrel Hill elementary school.

Newlyweds Melanie Rankin Groves and her husband, Steve Groves, had a different take on Squirrel Hill. Her featured photo shows the bright reflection of fruits and vegetables in the plate-glass window of a market on Murray Avenue. Mr. Groves' photo shows the neon sign for Little's Shoes, an icon in the area. Both grew up in rural Butler County and found themselves drawn to the city, she said.

Mr. Baraff refers to himself as a "gumbander," someone who grows up in Pittsburgh, leaves in early adulthood but chooses to return. He attended Mt. Lebanon schools and now lives in Squirrel Hill.

"We wanted to know what makes Squirrel Hill Squirrel Hill? What is the North Side?" he said.

He cited Presston, a company town built around the manufacturing of railroad cars and sandwiched between railroad tracks and the Ohio River.

"I lived here a good portion of my life without knowing it exists," he said. "You could see it from Route 65, only two streets but four blocks long. And every roof line is exactly the same.

Jim Levendosky of McKees Rocks is a self-employed artist who took some striking photographs of neighbors at work and play. Although he has a 35mm camera, he chose to use a disposable one to shoot mostly candids.

"One of my favorites is the pierogi ladies,'' he said.

The photo, which is included in the book, shows a line of hair-netted women and a couple of men working the floury assembly line. Two other photos are striking portraits of musicians: one, a disheveled drummer, the other, an accordion player.

"The only thing I regretted was not being able to include more people," Mr. Levendosky said.

If there is a signature display in the book, however, it's Nate Boguszewski's side-by-side photographs of a studio-wrestling-style bout in Lawrenceville. On the left, a referee checks out what appears to be a free-for-all. On the right is a shot of the crowd sitting dispassionately on folding chairs.

Mr. Baraff said that while the exhibit has closed in Homestead, it will likely travel. Folks in Chatham Village have planned workshops around the photos and the concept they represent, and a Downtown gallery also might have a display.

"This project was never really meant to end," Mr. Baraff said. "What we're hoping is that pieces of the exhibit can travel, and, hopefully, other neighborhoods will want to be part of it."

Maria Sciullo can be reached at msciullo@post-gazette.com or 412-851-1867.

First published on February 10, 2009 at 12:00 am

another review for Seeing Pittsburgh!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-11-15T14:00:00.000-05:00

"Seeing Pittsburgh" through foreign eyes

From: pittsburghdish.typepad.com

New book helps answer one woman's questions about her adopted city

by Silvia Duarte

When you are a foreigner, it doesn’t matter where you go, you are asked common questions. Where are you from? How long have you been here? What are you doing here? Questions that people from almost anyone around the world could ask.

After I came from Guatemala to Pittsburgh the questions were the same. But one of them surprised me until now. Bus drivers, academics, waiters, my English teachers, and other foreigners often ask: “Do you like Pittsburgh?” and not just once, many times.

Oh my God, what do you answer when you have had a bad day after only living here one week? What do you answer one month after if an employee – from Pittsburgh – of a fast food restaurant shouts at you because they can’t understand your “sort of English.” I like where I live, my neighbors, Downtown streets, the bridges, the parks, but how can I really know each neighborhood? How can I speak in general about the city when it has so many particulars?

What is a city if not the neighbors’ perceptions? And can I understand those perceptions if I’m not there?

Many times I thought that it would be nice to visit different neighborhoods, share with the people, discover what they think about Pittsburgh and, just after that, give my opinion.

Voila! Two weeks ago I was handed the book “Seeing Pittsburgh” that allowed me to visually explore corners of the city that I didn’t know. It also presented me faces and people’s perceptions, contemporaries like you and me.

The book is part of the Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area exhibit called "Seeing Pittsburgh." It also includes video and archival footage.

On one hand the book is a tribute to the celebration of Pittsburgh’s 250th anniversary yet is also a walk through 11 of the city’s 90 neighborhoods. The introduction explains its mission: “armed only with cameras – digital, film, disposable and even camera phone - and the instructions to show us what defines their neighborhood, 44 Pittsburghers became the Seeing Pittsburgh Project.”

A little more than a year ago, the editors – Ron Baraff and Tiffani Emig – contacted residents of different neighborhoods through community groups. Children and adults were chosen to shoot and summarize their photos in few words. The result? Magnificent pictures of the collective imagination.

Is it a risk that the neighbors just capture only the beautiful and hide the dirty clothes? Yes, it’s a risk. But who can say that perception about your surroundings is more than one invention of your experience and your personal belonging?

With “Seeing Pittsburgh” I walked through “my city” from east to west, from north to south. I looked at scenes that could belong to all the neighborhoods – which doesn’t have beautiful trees and squirrels that eat there. And others that show big differences – such as how to escape to the historical background of the North Side.

Do you want to know about some of the images that the Pittsburghers photographed? And how they describe their image? Let’s go neighborhood by neighborhood. In alphabetical order, like they appear in the book.

In Beechview, a girl who captured her school road wrote that her neighborhood “is a great place for families.” Another photographer there described Evelia, who works in Tienda La Jimenez, as making “the best tamales in all Pittsburgh.” Also, a boy laments because the swimming pool where he used to swim, “now all it is used for is graffiti.”

In Forest Hills, the “atom smasher” (a former Westinghouse facility) stands out against cottony sky and some mothers formed an informal club while they await their children’s’ buses.

The jazz flows out of the windows of an historical building on Centre Avenue in the Hill District. And while a man waits for the bus, a woman relaxes on her porch on a typical American evening. A couple of pages after, a group of teenagers transform a swing into a human banana split. The young photographer writes, “it’s a way to show our friendship as young people.”

In Lawrenceville, a neighbor remembers the stone streets of his childhood. Another neighbor attempts to take care of an abandoned next door while the fall comes to dress up the 40th Street Bridge.

Good music plus community life plus Ukrainians and Polish traditions -mass, priests and periogies- abound in Mckees Rocks.

The Mt. Lebanon's photographers chose to capture schools -Lincoln and Herbert Clark Hoover - traffic rush-hour at Washington Road, badly parked cars and a play area that the neighbors defend from construction machines.

Chatham Village was captured in full bloom: beautiful flowers, a sweet squirrel and a nice courtyard. The neighborhood’s “oldest resident” and children celebrating Independence Day show strong community spirit.

And then comes Central Northside, Dish's neighborhood, my neighborhood. Five photographers (Dish's Frank Kownacki among them) captured this diverse, polemic, nice, tranquil and sometimes dangerous place that I like so much. Maybe I'm wrong, but the Central Northside photographers stand out from the others thanks to their honesty. They found images and used blunt words even if some people might not like their point of shoot.

There is the beautiful Tabernacle Baptist Church and the man who describes himself as "hungry, ugly and broke.” He doesn't have a home, but he has dozens of streets and an entire world in his sleeping bag. Just two pages divide a house restoration from the teenager who spits her soul and says: "We like our neighborhood because it is pretty and fun. But it’s dangerous over here, people shoot.” Together are the girl at the children’s garden and the polemic corridor – the site of the Masonic Hall and the Garden Theater. There is the modern Mattress Factory and a vacant lot on Jacksonia Street. Contrast and beauty, that is Northside.

The book’s trip leads to Point Breeze and a stained glass artwork piece on the side of the Point Brugge Cafe restaurant. One page after is the Frick Museum and, at the end, the Frick park where “it’s almost like a peek into another world”.

The cameras’ lenses shoot South Side in the morning although for me it's difficult not to imagine its streets at night. While a priest captured his congregation, another photographer shows T&T;, one of the oldest hardware stores. The beautiful mural at the Terminal Building puts a nice period on the South Side visit.

The last neighborhood is Squirrel Hill. Between the images you can see the Big Blue Slide at the playground in Frick Park, “a central role in the childhoods (or adult hoods, as the case may be) of many Pittsburghers.” A colorful vegetable store, Forbes Avenue businesses and one of the oldest houses in the neighborhood finish our Pittsburgh view.

“Seeing Pittsburgh” offers a large slice of the city and its people. And when I leave here to return home I will bring back my own images of this city - the diaspora and the reunion, the strong feeling of neighborhood, garden grills, libraries, museums, amazing architecture, icee balls, people who say hello while they enjoy summer evenings in their stoops, corner stores, parks, farmers’ markets, concerts, people helping others, season changes, Strip District and fun.

Yes, folks, I like what I have seen of Pittsburgh!

For information on purchasing the book and seeing the exhibit go here. Read their bloghere.

Journalist Silvia Duarte was born in Guatemala and currently resides one block from Dish headquarters. Read her stories here and here.

Great New Pittsburgh History Sites

2008-10-27T07:54:00.003-04:00

New web and blog sites for Charlie McCollester and his new book - The Point of Pittsburgh

http://thepointofpittsburgh.vox.com/

http://www.pointofpittsburgh.com/

Check them out - might learn a little something.

GOTV and bonus material

2008-10-26T10:23:00.006-04:00

Sometimes it is important to nudge people a bit so...

GO VOTE ON THE 4th of November

I am not telling who to vote for, just that it is your right, your duty and your privilege to do so.

Now that the call of citizenship is out of the way - here is a glimpse of our regions industrial history as a reward.

Beechview Community Paint Day

2008-09-22T07:52:00.004-04:00

On Saturday 9/20, Beechview community members came out to help paint Beechview’s newest mural at Sip N Spin Laundromat on Broadway Avenue. It was a fun event with a great turn-out.

Thanks to Ryder Henry for all of his artistic endeavors and patience and of course to Rep. Chelsea Wagner and her staff for all of their enthusiastic backing and coordination of the mural project.

Happenings Abound!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-09-12T13:37:00.001-04:00

Seeing Pittsburgh @ The Bost Building
Now through January 31, 2009 In celebration of Pittsburgh's 250th anniversary, Rivers of Steel worked with 44 Pittsburgher's from eleven neighborhoods to produce the Seeing Pittsburgh project. Armed with cameras and instructions to show us what defines their community, these residents photographed the good, the bad, the new, the old, the physical, the emotional...everything that defines their neighborhood.
Visit http://www.riversofsteel.com/ for hours and directions.

Bring a copy of this email when you visit the exhibit in September and receive 10% off the Seeing Pittsburgh book.

Pittsburgh Project REMIX @ The Pump House
One weekend only! Thursday, September 18 - Saturday, September 20 @ 7:30 pm
Sunday, September 21 @ 3:00 pm A performance by award-winning director and playwright Megan Carney. Join us to hear stories about civic identity, changing neighborhoods, and the promise of the future in a new play performed by a ensemble of professional Pittsburgh actors. Each performance includes a community conversation with special guests and a chance to add your own story to the project.
For more information, visit http://www.mcarneyprojects.com/Pittsburgh_Project_REMIX.html.

Wheeling Through History @ Heinz History Center
Saturday, September 20 @ 9:00 am - Noon As part of the Young Preservationists Association's Pittsburgh Regional Youth Heritage Festival, Wheeling Through History Bike Tours feature Pittsburgh neighborhoods, history, and the progressive sport of cycling. Join Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area and Venture Outdoors for a bike tour of Pittsburgh's rich industrial history through the South Side and Four Mile Run.
Visit http://www.youngpreservationists.org/youth-heritage-festival for more information.

Pittsburgh Neighborhood Narratives Screening @ The Pump House
Friday, October 3 @ 7:30 pm Greetings from Pittsburgh: Neighborhood Narratives is a series of nine short films produced as part of the Pittsburgh 250 celebration. Each of the films takes place in a different neighborhood, offering a unique portrait of the culture, history and character of their setting.
For more information about the Narratives, please visit http://www.pghneighborhoodnarratives.com/.

Another review

2008-09-03T08:04:00.002-04:00

From the Pitt News:

Neighborhoods shown in Homestead exhibit

Giles Howard

Contributing Editor

Published: Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Updated: Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Located on Homestead’s Eighth Avenue is a national historic landmark operated by the Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area. Known as the Bost building, it was built as a hotel in the late 19th century and served as the headquarters of striking steelworkers during the Homestead Strike in 1892.

But today, it is home to a regional museum that recently opened a new exhibit entitled, “Seeing Pittsburgh.”

Since it opened to the public on July 9, Seeing Pittsburgh has featured photographs, artwork and audio recordings from 11 different Pittsburgh neighborhoods.

“This actually evolved over a number of years of really observing those small and very interesting and often topographically defined neighborhoods in the city,” said Ron Baraff, director of museum collections and archives at Rivers of Steel.

Baraff, along with co-organizer Tiffani Emig, said they thought about including Oakland in the exhibit, but it just didn’t work out.

“We picked certain types of communities that we really wanted, and once we were able to get into those communities, we had to follow that path,” he said.

They wanted to profile post-industrial and industrial neighborhoods, white-collar suburbs and blue-collar suburbs as well as neighborhoods that had remained “fairly constant” throughout the years, he said.

Once they decided on the 11 types of neighborhoods they wanted to profile, Baraff and Emig approached community groups in each neighborhood to find photographers.

“We didn’t want to pick the photographers, what we wanted to do was to have the community decide who should be involved,” said Baraff.

Stephen Grebinski, a Pitt senior living in Squirrel Hill, was one of the 44 photographers who contributed to the project.

Grebinski said he learned of Rivers of Steel in an architectural preservation class he was taking and started work on the project in February or March.

It took about three weeks of going through old photos and taking new ones for him to finish his part of the project.

“I just submitted some stuff., I wasn’t sure what they were looking for,” said Grebinski.

Grebinski, like the other photographers, had to fill out a log explaining his entries. This included what the photo was of and how it represented the photographer’s neighborhood.

Grebinski’s photo of a gate in a chain-link fence made it into the Squirrel Hill portion of the exhibit. He said the photo represents how people have such small yards in Squirrel Hill that they feel the need to put up a fence and cherish it.

“I wish it was deeper than that, but it’s not,” said Grebinski.

He said he’s participated in photo exhibitions before, but never in this way.

“I haven’t really collaborated with some giant group organization [before], and I kind of liked it.”

Admission to the Bost building is free to the public, and the Seeing Pittsburgh exhibit will remain there until Jan.31, but the Bost building is not its final stop. Baraff wants to take the exhibit around to different neighborhoods in Pittsburgh.

“What we hope is that this becomes much more of an open-ended project and that other communities want to be involved,” said Baraff.

A book is being released to coincide with the exhibit, and Rivers of Steel is also involved in creating a series of cellphone tours for neighborhoods in the Pittsburgh area.

“We want [Pittsburghers] to understand themselves a little better, to understand their neighbors a little better,” said Baraff.

Pittsburgh Sights

2008-09-01T08:42:00.004-04:00

City Steps in 4-Mile Run

Entrance to Panther Hollow Trail

Barge on the Mon

Now for a bit of shameless promotion

2008-08-25T06:55:00.001-04:00

Exhibit shows neighborhoods through neighbors' eyes

By Kurt Shaw
TRIBUNE-REVIEW ART CRITIC
Sunday, August 24, 2008

"Seeing Pittsburgh" is a photography exhibit like none before. It focuses on Pittsburgh and its neighborhoods, but from the perspective of everyday inhabitants -- in essence, making a few neighbors among many photojournalists for a day. story continues below

Forty-four in all were assigned the project of capturing the unique qualities of each specific locale. Some of the results among the nearly 100 images on display are historically significant, some cultural and others simply a slice of life. "We made a real attempt to find different types of Pittsburghers to participate -- children and senior citizens, those who have been in the community for their entire lives and those who have recently arrived," says Ron Baraff, director of Museum Collections and Archives. "The focus wasn't on who could take the best picture, but on how average residents view their neighborhood and their city." Case in point, Christine Bethea's grainy photographs of her Hill District neighborhood, eight in all, are nowhere near the high-quality prints one would expect to find in an art exhibit. But that's because they were all taken with her cell phone. Beautifully arranged, one atop the other in almost film-like fashion, they allow the eye to move from various vignettes captured in and around Bethea's neighborhood as if watching a documentary video: three boys on bicycles, a pit bull sleeping on a porch, a chained up security door. Although it was impossible to include all 90 Pittsburgh neighborhoods in the bordering suburban communities, the goal was to present a diverse sampling of the types of neighborhoods found in the region. Post-industrial neighborhoods like Lawrenceville and the South Side are represented in kitsch-like fashion. Lawrenceville is seen through candy-colored images, such as an interior shot of a shop selling tchochkes by Elise Deluca or a group of passionate priests, taken by fellow Father Don Ware. South Side is seen via vibrant snapshots of equally vibrant stops along Carson Street, taken by Joyce Baronett and Cyril Esser. Point Breeze is representative of the early "suburb within the city" for which it was known. Its identity is further emphasized with a fall shot of Frick Park by Julina Golze. Forest Hills, once a very working-class suburb, is set in a historical light via Sam Lee's foreboding photograph of the atom smasher at the former Westinghouse facility. Looking at the exhibit from a holistic perspective, some threads of consistency seem to rise above others. Some are basic, like the Belgium block streets that run through many Pittsburgh neighborhoods, presented here in images of both Lawrenceville and Beechview captured by Langston MacDiarmid and Max Hurwitz, respectively. Some are more complex, such as the inner workings of a successful community as seen in Sandy Saban's "Fire Truck Blessing," taken at a McKees Rocks firehouse. Here, a priest with piercing eyes makes for a compelling focal point among a few proud fire chiefs. A real standout among all the images on display are Terrence Murphy's photographs of the hard living and the semi-homeless life of a few folks on the North Side, mainly because they represent a different perspective of life on Pittsburgh's streets. In one, a young homeless man named "Dano" holds a cardboard sign on which he wrote "Hungry, Ugly, Broke. Anything Helps," offering both poignant commentary and a bit of wry wit. The exhibit itself is further enhanced by displays created by Ashley Hodder and Michelle Gregio that represent each of the neighborhoods presented. For example, photographs of McKees Rocks are surrounded by railroad tracks. Images of Squirrel Hill -- among which is a shot of a fruit stand by Melanie Groves -- are dispersed among a makeshift fruit stand made with fake fruit. All of the Beechview shots are tastefully arranged on a mock trolley, smaller than a real one, but rather sizable nonetheless. Interspersed among these various displays are supplemental video clips of interviews with the photographers. The interviews allow visitors to hear more about the photographers' ideas about Pittsburgh and their individual neighborhoods. "It's more of a sociological story than an art exhibit," says Tiffani Emig, curator of collections at Rivers of Steel. She, along with Baraff, put together a remarkable catalog for this exhibition that features nearly every photograph in the exhibition along with quotes by each of the amateur photographers. Their portraits and short bios are included. Available for $15.95 at the Bost Building or online, it's almost as good as this must-see exhibit, which will remain on view well past the holidays. Kurt Shaw can be reached at kshaw@tribweb.com.

Very Cool Post Gazette op-ed

2008-08-25T06:45:00.001-04:00

What I learned in college

Absence makes the heart grow fonder for Pittsburgh

Saturday, August 23, 2008

By Sam Hornak

When I left Pittsburgh four short years ago for college in Washington, D.C., I could not wait to leave town. As a native Pittsburgher, I have always -- and will always -- love my hometown. But I was eager to see something different. I was hungry for something new.

As I drove to the nation's capital in a minivan full of clothes, kitchen appliances and two apprehensive parents, I had no idea what awaited me in a new city. I left home in search of a new perspective, and I learned many things about life and myself during my time at college. What I never expected was that in my four years in Washington, I would learn so much about Pittsburgh. For instance:

I learned that the Steelers are my team, win or lose.

After four years of riding the efficient and convenient Washington Metro, I learned that Pittsburgh's residents will never get anywhere, literally or metaphorically, until the region updates its transportation infrastructure.

I learned that salaries tend to be higher in the nation's capital, but there is no low-cost lifestyle like that of Pittsburgh. Eat'n Park is great because you do not have to pay an arm and a leg for a decent dinner out. Plus, there are no smiley cookies in Washington.

I learned during four years of class discussions that people from other parts of the country do not truly understand Pittsburgh. Their image is either a mistaken view of a city full of elderly people or a time-frozen portrait of a smoky steel town. Obviously they have seen neither Sidney Crosby's Penguins nor the South Side on a Friday night.

I learned that we as Pittsburghers do not do enough to market the truth about our city. In reality, marketing should be easy, because ...

I have learned that virtually everyone has an aunt, cousin or friend from Western Pennsylvania. I cannot describe how many people I have met who have a tangential relationship with our region. After a holiday visit to Pittsburgh, the most common refrain I hear from these individuals is, "Wow, I was really surprised to see how cool your city is ..."

I always thought that you needed to live in our city to love it. I have learned that a weekend in the 'Burgh is enough to convince many folks that it would be a great place to live.

I have learned that our city is peopled with ... well, great people. Having spent my whole life in the Steel City, I took it as a matter of course that you should smile at people on the street and hold the door for a stranger. I always learned that you must help someone if they drop their wallet, and you should actually care about the views of the person on the opposite side of a conversation. I thought these concepts were natural. But these kindnesses are not to be taken for granted -- they are the essence of Pittsburgh.

A lot of things about our town make me proud. But nothing makes me happier than hearing about what great people live in our city. That should make us all proud.

I have learned that for all the talk about a city that is aging and in decline, Pittsburgh has a lot of assets in its favor. I have learned that I want to move back to Pittsburgh and spend my life at home -- and I have learned that there are many more young Pittsburghers who feel the same way. I have learned that we have a lot of reasons to be proud of ourselves and our town. We just need to regain a sense of confidence in the future of our city.

I have learned that only time will tell whether Pittsburgh is really stagnating and facing decline, as so many of its critics contend. But I have learned that we live in an amazing place, and it is the duty of every Pittsburgher to make sure that the future of our city is bright.

Sam Hornak, who grew up in Upper St. Clair, graduated from Georgetown University in May with a history degree (sah44@georgetown.edu). He is entering University of Pittsburgh School of Law.

First published on August 23, 2008 at 12:00 am

Check out the happenings in Beechview

2008-08-18T08:19:00.003-04:00

There are some doings in Beechview. To check them out, go to the following sites:

http://beechview.wordpress.com/

http://cleanupbeechview.blogspot.com/

rb

Morningside

2008-07-27T22:16:00.003-04:00

Not a native of Pittsburgh, I always imagined a city void of trees, grass, or green of any type. This, however, could not be further from the truth. Within the small neighborhood of Morningside, where I have been living for the past several months, every house has a garden with flowers, trees, and even produce. Many of the residents, including the large Italian population, have sacrificed the little lawn space allotted to maintain the tradition of growing their own vegetables and herbs. It is a charming aspect of the neighborhood; and one that, as I become more familiar with the city, I realize is not isolated to this small community. The gardens and green spaces make this city unique.

Beth

2008-07-27T10:50:00.003-04:00

Greenfield and the Big Snow of 1950

Excerpts from a memoir by Karen Cain

Greenfield Avenue starts on the edge of town at Second Avenue and goes up hill for a mile and a half ending at Calvary Cemetery (as do many Greenfielders). My life in Pittsburgh, all eighteen years of it, was spent living on or near an assortment of points on the avenue. On Deely Street, we played games in the middle of the street. In the summer, the local fire department came by and opened the fire hydrant where we cooled off playing in the gushing water. We stayed outside until the streetlights came on. We moved a few doors down to Delevan Street, where we experienced the "Big Snow" of 1950 (pix below). Winter in Pittsburgh offers plenty of snow but nothing like 1950, five feet as we tell it but it was probably more like three feet, a record for the city and the only time I remember them closing schools. My father had to abandon his car on the Homestead Bridge trying to get home from work. It wouldn't move another inch even with heavy chains. My dad mentally noted its location for retrieval another day and walked the rest of the way home. People hunkered down inside their warm homes, ate comfort food, watched the world turn whiter. When the snow finally stopped, all of the neighbors on our street came out with shovels and began to dig out. My twin brothers made igloos and snow tunnels in the alley that ran along the side of the house. My dad playfully threw them off of the porch and they disappeared where they fell under the snow, hooting with laughter. We took our sleds up to Deely Street and started at the top of Delevan and rode our sleds straight down Delevan Street. We were pretty good at stopping before we got to Greenfield Avenue but if we overshot, we had to tolerate the honking and window opened screaming from the driver that had to break suddenly. Traffic was light enough and the few drivers that ventured out knew to look out for us clueless kids.

The Big Snow of 1950

The Book is Here!

2008-07-17T09:24:00.003-04:00

Rivers of Steel is happy to announce that the Seeing Pittsburgh book is done and currently on sale at the Bost Building Gift Shop (623 E. 8th Avenue, Homestead, PA) and on-line at www.riversofsteel.com.

Please come and see the exhibit and peruse the book

Exhibit hours are M-F: 10-4 and Sat: 11-3

rb

Really nice feedback

2008-07-17T08:10:00.001-04:00

For those of you who missed this comment, I decided to post it here. Wow, good stuff:

Jim said...

Hello,

My complements to the curators of the "Seeing Pittsburgh" exhibit on a job very well done!

I was a guest of one of your exhibited photographers last evening. The exhibit was not only well done, it was also a fascinating look at how amateur and neophyte photographers (and non-photographers) view not just their neighborhoods, but how they see photographically. I found it to be a unique examination of the aesthetics of both the knowledgeable and the untrained photographer alike--very intriguing and enlightening!

I will definitely be back to view the exhibit in less crowded circumstances.

You may be interested to know that I have an entry concerning the exhibit on my blog. That post is here.

Some of what I wrote includes: "...That's what I found so interesting about the photographs in the exhibit. Although they were all exposed by amateur photographers (and some of them were given disposable cameras in order to participate!), there was a visual quality about the images that one does not often see: many of these images captured the essence of the scene or subject. That's why they were not merely snapshots by neophytes, some of whom do not even own a camera...it is my opinion that the exhibit is interesting and its photographs are captivating as well as intriguing; thus, it is a success and well worth your time to visit if you live anywhere near the southwestern Pennsylvania region. The curators did an excellent job not only selecting the images that would be exhibitied, and preparing and mounting the photographs for presentation, but also in designing, constructing, and arranging the displays in the exhibit space that complemented the visual interest of the photographs themselves..."

Jim Moore
Elizabeth, PA

July 10, 2008 5:03 PM

Whew!!!!!!!

2008-07-09T22:43:00.003-04:00

The Seeing Pittsburgh opening has just ended and it went really well. Thanks to all of the wonderful photographers and community folks who helped to make this project so successful.

Huge thanks to Sharon, Michelle, Ashley, Kate, and of course our interns Beth and Ashley and the ROS staff. All of you guys were terrific and truly clutch.

Thanks to all of the folks who came to the event - we really appreciate your support.

The book will be in early next week

Remember, we want you to add your own thoughts and comments, or even better send images of your neighborhood (with commentary) to me so that I can post them - rbaraff@riversofsteel.com or rbaraff.riversofsteel@blogger.com

Almost There!

2008-07-08T06:57:00.004-04:00

The Seeing Pittsburgh exhibit opens and the book will be released, on Wednesday July 9th. Exciting times indeed - hope you can make it to the exhibit and purchase the book for all of your friends, family, enemies or casual acquaintances.

In case you missed it, the Post-Gazette ran a really nice article about the project (front page of the A section, no less). Thanks Diana and Andy!

Here are the links to the article and the multimedia piece they are running on their website.
http://www.postgazette.com/pg/08189/895275-53.stm
http://www.postgazette.com/multimedia/?videoid=100735

Remember, we want you to add your own thoughts and comments, or even better send images of your neighborhood (with commentary) to me so that I can post them - rbaraff@riversofsteel.com or rbaraff.riversofsteel@blogger.com

rb

My Neighborhood - Beechview

2008-06-05T11:14:00.008-04:00

My neighborhood of Beechview is located just south of the Liberty Tubes. There is a lot going on in my neighborhood right now. A number of really good folks are working hard to clean things up and build for the future. The neighborhood has incredibly good bones and the residents have a huge heart.

We also have what is reputed to to be the steepest paved residential slope in the world. At a grade of 37%, Canton Avenue is certainly the steepest in the city. It is a challenge to walk, frightening to drive and an all-out yang experience to bicycle.

rb

see also: http://cleanupbeechview.blogspot.com/

(image courtesy of: http://walkingpittsburgh.wordpress.com/
- a great website for discovering the real Pittsburgh)