Each borough and municipality in this northeastern corner of Allegheny County contains surprises. To those who live along the river’s edge, they’re familiar, hometown destinations and sights; to visitors, they’re spots worth making the drive out along (the finally construction-free) Route 28. Make a day trip to explore a chunk of the region off the beaten path — you might get so attached that you start thinking about a permanent move up the river.
While driving southbound on Interstate 79, don’t be scared to take an exit and explore. These townships and boroughs range from scenic farmland to busy main streets. Regardless of the surroundings, the areas in this region all offer plenty to experience.
When people talk about the revitalization of Pittsburgh, it usually involves the tagline meds and eds — and meds and eds it is in College Town. You’ll find the sprawling buildings of Carnegie Mellon University, Carlow University and the University of Pittsburgh as well as several UPMC medical complexes. Here, you can climb to the top of the second-tallest educational building in the world. Whether you’re working on your degree or visiting someone who is, you’ll never be bored, thanks to a wealth of cultural opportunities.
Green Pittsburgh is a tour of Pittsburgh’s history, from the old mill communities of Glen Hazel and Hazelwood, up through the immigrant destinations of Greenfield and Squirrel Hill and finally to the mansions of the industrialists in Shadyside. It’s also a story of the birth and rebirth of our city: students and young professionals flock to Squirrel Hill and Shadyside, adding vibrancy that radiates from top universities. Meanwhile, redevelopment in Hazelwood and Glen Hazel aims to reclaim lost potential and offers new chances for affordable housing and a blossoming community.
These primarily residential communities have spent the past years growing — and becoming more and more popular. With Pittsburgh International Airport nearby and increasing economic development, it’s easy to see why so many call this end of the region home.
Pittsburgh’s eastern neighborhoods always have shown a broad socioeconomic spectrum, from extravagant wealth to dire poverty. The Mellons, Fricks, Carnegies and Westinghouses built their mansions in this most-stylish part of town. But their departure for greener and more secluded pastures — and the mass relocation of families here after the razing of the Lower Hill — left much of this area economically depressed for decades. Now the long-awaited renaissance of East Liberty is beginning to bring major reinvestment here, too.
Once forbidden territory for settlers and reserved for the various Native American tribes who hunted and camped in the area, the lands north of the Ohio River became part of the Depreciation Lands used to pay Revolutionary War veterans for their service. The numerous small boroughs and townships along Ohio River Boulevard are collected into slightly larger (but still compact) school districts, befitting their continued status as popular hometowns to raise families generation after generation.
Most of these communities, which lie to the east of the Squirrel Hill Tunnels, are residential suburbs with small business districts — but don’t take that as a reason not to visit. There’s tons of beauty in these hills, which are packed with historic homes, parks, schools and churches, as well as evidence of Pittsburgh’s steel-making and industrial past, with warehouses, former blast furnaces and brownfields lining the Monongahela River and small waterways such as Turtle Creek.
The thing that annoyed a young Andy Warhol. A typo broadcast over the city skyline. And how our first mayor outwitted hostile natives at age 13. All of this and much more in the latest edition of Things You Might Not Know About Pittsburgh!
The Great Pierogy Race, which takes place in the middle of the fifth inning of Pittsburgh Pirates home games, combines two of Pittsburgh’s favorite things — pierogies and sports.
We're loving the neighborhood grocers 52nd St. Market, Japanese bar food at Umami, red-sauce Italian at Luigi's in Clymer and the resurgence of Bar Marco. We chat this month with Trevett Hooper, co-owner and executive chef of Legume and Butterjoint.
