Pittsburgh | PGH is the new PDX

cityscapes · #1 Posted **Mar 10, 2018, 12:35 AM**

In 2009 I moved to Portland looking for the polar opposite of South Florida. Looking for a city with a good food scene, character, a unique local identity and culture, decent transit and walkability Portland seemed to fit the bill. Fast forward roughly 10 years Portland no longer felt like the city I had once fallen in love with.

With the influx of new people changed the culture and I felt like all the "New Portland" restaurants and bars felt pretentious and uptight. My rent went up by $600 a month in a year and my wages lagged far behind the average for an urban planner. Traffic became insane and transit unreliable. My commute often pushed two hours to drive the 9 miles from Tigard to inner SE Portland. Many of my friends were priced out or had to work so much to afford to remain in Portland my social life became abysmal. I had enough and decided to make a change.

While I didn't want to leave the Pacific Northwest, no jobs seemed to work out for me in the region so I expanded my search nationwide and ended up moving to Columbus, Ohio. I thought moving to Columbus would give me an opportunity to explore a new part of the country I've never seen before. The first city I wanted to check out was Pittsburgh.

Growing up in South Florida, there are a ton of Pittsburgh transplants and I was always struck by their unique way of speaking . In planning school it was used as a case study of how to decline gracefully then bounce back revitalizing the city through tech, healthcare, and higher education. The historic neighborhoods always looked appealing with many retail main streets similar to Portland along with pretty topography. The food scene is great and after visiting the people were awesome and the city definitely has a local culture that sets it apart from the average American city of a similar size. I think I've found my new Portland, but the only thing that worries me is that if Amazon picks Pittsburgh it will have the same problems Portland is going through down the road with affordability and out of control homelessness and gentrification. Whatever happens, lets all wish the best for Pittsburgh because it really is a special place.

• Video Link

Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr

by Philip Bradford, on Flickr

Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr

Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr

I can't wait to go back and explore the city even more. These photos are what I was able to capture on a short weekend trip. Hope you all enjoyed.

DZH22 · #2 Posted **Mar 10, 2018, 4:06 AM**

Thanks for the nice, comprehensive-feeling set. I agree that Pittsburgh is a heck of a city... A real gem! It reminds me of a slightly smaller, substantially more affordable version of Boston, except instead of coastal it's out in the riverlands. The skyline view from Mount Washington is the best I have ever seen of any city! I'm always impressed when I drive out to Pittsburgh.

cabasse · #3 Posted **Mar 10, 2018, 4:20 AM**

it's kind of hard to live in atlanta where there are so many other awesome places in the US to live in, case in point.

great shots - it's cool seeing the new interspersed with the old in places like this.

subterranean · #4 Posted **Mar 10, 2018, 6:38 AM**

+1 for the traffic. Took me 40 minutes to drive the 6.6 miles home from work today. Would be faster to bike but I don’t trust the drivers on Baseline.

Anyway, Pittsburgh is nice, and thanks for the tour.

EastSideHBG · #5 Posted **Mar 10, 2018, 4:17 PM**

Great pics! I will always have a special place in my heart for PGH and it is one of the most unique cities in the U.S. IMO. And it's isolation keeps it from becoming "too cool" which I think works in its favor.

How do you like Columbus? I haven't been there for a while but I have been hearing great things.

Quote:

Originally Posted by subterranean

+1 for the traffic. Took me 40 minutes to drive the 6.6 miles home from work today. Would be faster to bike but I don’t trust the drivers on Baseline.

Seems to be the plight of big city life, though, and I can share daily horror stories with my commute here in the Philly area.

shappy · #6 Posted **Mar 10, 2018, 7:14 AM**

This was a weekend tour? Damn that's dedication.

The US has so many structurally solid and attractive cities - Pittsburgh is definitely no exception.

Murphy de la Sucre · #7 Posted **Mar 10, 2018, 11:59 AM**

The first picture the angle and the downtown scene are exactly the same as 20 years ago, which means our Dear Pitts hasn't moved any step forward since then. No Good.

tdawg · #8 Posted **Mar 10, 2018, 2:03 PM**

Just wow! I fell in love with Pittsburgh from afar after reading every Michael Chabon novel or story set there and my first trip didn’t disappoint. Because of the rivers and dense downtown it really does feel like a mini-Manhattan.

themaguffin · #9 Posted **Mar 10, 2018, 2:57 PM**

Quote:

The first picture the angle and the downtown scene are exactly the same as 20 years ago, which means our Dear Pitts hasn't moved any step forward since then. No Good.

Well, not exactly. Yes, that angle hasn't changed much (though a new tower is visible), other towers have been built in the last 20 years, but are not visible from that angle.

lhueaglesphan · #10 Posted **May 22, 2018, 1:25 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Murphy de la Sucre

The first picture the angle and the downtown scene are exactly the same as 20 years ago, which means our Dear Pitts hasn't moved any step forward since then. No Good.

They have only really built PNC building since then.

wpipkins2 · #11 Posted **May 22, 2018, 4:51 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by lhueaglesphan

They have only really built PNC building since then.

No true at all.

Tower Two Sixty

The tower @ PNC Plaza

Three PNC Plaza

PNC First Side Center

Mellon Client Service Center

David L Lawrence Convention Center

We had a lot of historic preservation over the past 20 years as well. The streets and sidewalks were enhanced with granite, red brick and street trees. Smithfield St is the last major street in need of an upgrade.

lhueaglesphan · #12 Posted **May 24, 2018, 1:28 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by wpipkins2

No true at all.

Tower Two Sixty

The tower @ PNC Plaza

Three PNC Plaza

PNC First Side Center

Mellon Client Service Center

David L Lawrence Convention Center

We had a lot of historic preservation over the past 20 years as well. The streets and sidewalks were enhanced with granite, red brick and street trees. Smithfield St is the last major street in need of an upgrade.

I meant anything of significant height.

pj3000 · #13 Posted **May 22, 2018, 9:25 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by lhueaglesphan

They have only really built PNC building since then.

It's the only building of significant height (something that's going to make a mark on the skyline) built in the last couple decades, but Pittsburgh has certainly built much more since then, with much of it being in neighborhoods outside the core downtown.

Much more impressive is what Pittsburgh has done down at the ground level anyway. I couldn't give a fuck if another 50+story tower ever gets built here or not. I'm much more happy to see infill/reuse/revitalization anyway. And considering the types of firms coming to Pittsburgh for significant operations centers like Google, Apple, Facebook, SAP, CSC, Uber, Bosch, Argo AI, etc. (i.e., tech), office towers aren't really what these companies look for anymore because they know they're employees generally don't want to work in a cubicle on the 46th floor.

Because working in a skyscraper sucks for the most part.

jmecklenborg · #14 Posted **May 22, 2018, 10:43 PM**

Come visit Cincinnati next. Similar rugged topography with all kinds of stuff from the 1800s still around.

audiomuse · #15 Posted **Mar 10, 2018, 3:50 PM**

You've convinced me to visit Pittsburgh. Amazing density and "blue collar" urbanism

Spheyr · #16 Posted **Mar 10, 2018, 4:10 PM**

Please don't encourage more Portlanders to come to Pittsburgh.

volguus zildrohar · #17 Posted **Mar 11, 2018, 11:42 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spheyr

Please don't encourage more Portlanders to come to Pittsburgh.

ColDayMan · #18 Posted **Mar 12, 2018, 7:01 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spheyr

Please don't encourage more Portlanders to come to Pittsburgh.

This.

mousquet · #19 Posted **Mar 12, 2018, 7:13 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by ColDayMan

This.

I don't exactly know how obnoxious Portlanders can be, but if they moved their urban streetcar up there, it'd even be better.

mello · #20 Posted **Mar 12, 2018, 10:18 PM**

Amazing coverage for one weekend was it 2 or 3 days? You must have gotten up super early and walked 20 miles per day lol. I like some of the new stuff they have mixed in. Blue Collar urbanism really does seem to fit this city yet it doesn't seem run down. How much has Pittsburgh changed in the last 10 years?