North City Coffee Talk

MONTEREY PUB--We're glad to have the Garden back, but in a lerger sense its time to ask "Now What?" What should become of the Garden Theater? Here's one idea...

Pittsburgh is a triumph of the better than average place. Excelling at all of the nine categories once again put Pittsburgh at the top of the Places Rated Almanac. It's the first time any city has been at the top twice, the first being 1985. Pittsburgh's worst ranking since 1981 has been 14th. The guide is traditionally published every four years. The last edition, however was eight years ago. San Francisco ranked number two and Philadelphia five. MORE

East Ohio Street is now home to the Fein Art Gallery. Stop in at 519 East Ohio beside Pittsburgh Custom Darkroom. The Park House now has an expanded--dare we say eclectic menu that includes some middle-eatern favorites.

The URA has settled with the owners of the Garden Theater that is expected to lead to the redevelopment of the cinema. Currently civic leaders are busy pondering how to rearrange the marque lettering while we wait for responses to an RFP.

Big changes are coming to Western Avenue including new sidewalks and other streetscaping. Muriel's is also now open in the space formerly occupied by Roxellana's. Franco Harris plans to have his Middle Eastern restaurant open at North and Federal this fall.

Meanwhile a new library is in the works for Federal Street, but neighbors are asking if a one-story building will be a good fit.

Planning continues on a food co-op (imagine an off-Penn organic location!). You can keep up to date at this link. Reports indicate a Western Avenue location is a top contender.

The North Shore could soon be home to another major office building. And East Ohio Street is home to a new art gallery attached to the Pittsburgh Custom Darkroom.

The Discover Pittsburgh page is now at NorthCityNews.com!

Spring Hill Wins!

ITIN STREET-Spring Hill was the favorite neighborhood in our recent North City "best neighborhood" poll. Initially Deutschtown had been on top, but for the bulk of the poll, the Mexican War Streets had the contest to lose. The remaining twenty or so votes made the difference however as Spring Hill residents chimed in to bring their neighborhood into the spotlight. With 103 votes counted, Spring Hill Had 28; Mexican War Streets 24; Deutschtown 11; Allegheny West, Brighton Heights, Observatory Hill and Troy Hill each with seven; Fineview, Manchester and Perry Hilltop with 4,3,2 in that order; Charles Street, Spring Garden and North Shore each had one; Allegheny Center and Marshall-Shadeland didn't receive any votes. Visit our neighborhood photo gallery.

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What Is North City?

ALLEGHENY CENTER--North City is the "foot print" area easily accessible to those who live in one of the many urban neighborhoods in the North parts of Pittsburgh.

North City includes what's commonly referred to as the "Northside," but North City goes beyond that. When you think about North City, imagine you live in say Central Northside. How far can you go on foot? Where do you shop? Where do common transportation routes take you? North City then is the daily footprint for those in Pittsburgh's North neighborhoods.

Urban life makes it easy to have a smaller footprint. That's good for health (because you walk more), good for the planet (because you drive less) and good in terms of creating a sustainable, energetic city! We encourage urban life, bicycling, walking, higher density and retail development (even neighborhood farming!)

North City includes areas where those living in Northern neighborhoods can easily access including downtown, Station Square, North Shore and McKnight Road. We may even from time-to-time include information on nearby suburbs with an urban feel such as Bellevue and Millvale.

The term "Northside" is really a generic term used to describe a rich variety of Pittsburgh's northernmost neighborhoods from Troy Hill to Brighton Heights and Deutschtown. As downtown expands to include the North Shore, it would seem that using the specific names of neighborhoods have much better connotations to visitors than the generic term "Northside."

North City News encourages the refinement if individual neighborhood character that creates the beautiful urban mosaic not adequately described by a all-encompassing generic term. Just think, it's far more fun to think of going to "Shadyside" or "Squirrel Hill" than "East End." From a marketing perspective, it s also easier to create a vivid image of the place we're wanting to go.

Thanks for visiting North City News. Your comments are welcome and appreciated.

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