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Pittsburgh Cultural District-what next?

tooluther

By tooluther
in Pittsburgh

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blueblackcat Whistle-Stop

blueblackcat

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How would you get the Cultural Trust to build a theatre and give control of it to an independent agency?

I think we need something mainstream to get more people to frequent the area. A small, well placed multiplex would be a nice addition. It should be coupled with an on-site museum dedicated to Pittsburgh filmmaking. I saw this done at the Sony Center in Berlin and it was a really great experience.

I think we're bound to get a casino put up there sooner or later, more art galleries, lounges, etc. An up-scale nightclub or lounge outside the college student price range would be a great way to extend the staying time of would-be patrons to the CD, and it would tie in great with the downtown hotels. The only club Pittsburgh has had downtown for years was Pegasus and it's only for a certain crowd, but it's proof that a non-college club can be a huge draw to the area.

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tooluther Whistle-Stop

tooluther

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There are a couple realy cool lounges in the area already like Tonic (nothing beats a "tonic tonic" after work). However, I don't think any of them are doing all that well. I'm sure on game days and big show nights durring the summer they are packed, but it for sure doesn't seam to be a "destination" for going out.

For the longest time I never saw what the big deal with Pegasus was...it even garnered us a nation wide reputation on "Queer as Folk." However, when I brought it up at a meeting with some people from the Cultural Trust this summer, I got a very graphic lecture on...um stray profalactics. So take that as you will.

I also agree that a first run movie house would be very cool (it would help with the downtown population). But I also heard that there is a plan to expand the Harris theater into a 3-5 screen complex for more indy movies, which would be awesome.

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blueblackcat Whistle-Stop

blueblackcat

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Well I'm a firm believer in critical mass as an urban planning concept. There are a number of interdependent features that need to be in place for the whole to succeed. So with regards to how a club our lounge is doing I'd say I only hope it can survive long enough to see that multiplex, high rise apartments, hotel, etc to come into the equation. With well paced investment Downtown will get the momentum going to where problems start solving themselves.

One other thing that will add to the cultural district is the planned transient docking for personal boats next to the convention center. It will just be so cool to catch some events and party on your own boat, even spend the night after some bars and not have to drive home and wreck. Sharpsburg is also building a public boat launch and everyone here has probably already seen the fixed up south side launch and the new dock at station square.

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TheGerbil Burg

TheGerbil

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I think the Cultural District needs more inexpensive restaurants. I often hear the complaint that people go down there for a show and can ony find pricey places to eat. "Just because you are going to the symphony doesn't mean you want to drop a fifty on dinner" is something I remember from a letter I read in the PG a while back.

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tooluther Whistle-Stop

tooluther

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One other thing that will add to the cultural district is the planned transient docking for personal boats next to the convention center. It will just be so cool to catch some events and party on your own boat, even spend the night after some bars and not have to drive home and wreck. Sharpsburg is also building a public boat launch and everyone here has probably already seen the fixed up south side launch and the new dock at station square.

That would be very cool!! They say the "8th street block" concept will involve a marina and a bridge that goes over Ft.DBlvd to get there. I have also heard that the Port of Pittsburgh is slowly considering beefing up the landings at the convention center.

Also, in reference to more affordable dinning, is 6 Penn Kitchen open yet, and what are their price points? I guess Max and Ermas sort of counts as affordable dinning, but there def. isn't much else.

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mjcatl2 Hamlet

mjcatl2

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Turns out an announcement (of the announcement) was released today:

The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust will announce its choice of developer for two square blocks of Downtown riverfront on Monday.

As part of the ongoing development of the Cultural District, the trust has been searching for a developer of the area bounded by Seventh Street, Penn Avenue, Ninth Street and Fort Duquesne Boulevard.

http://pittsburgh.bizjournals.com/pittsbur...tml?t=printable

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mjcatl2 Hamlet

mjcatl2

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I'm really looking forward to this. With this project, at least one decent size section of downtown will have (or close to) a critical mass of housing. I hope in the future, that other open lots get built (and of course appropriate conversions of older buildings). Is there any height restriction? I doubt that these buildings will be very tall anyway, but curious...

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UrbaniDesDev Whistle-Stop

UrbaniDesDev

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I have such great hope for the Cultural District. I've always imagined Penn Avenue lined with restaurants, galleries and bars. It seems that I am not alone. The Cultural District now boasts 6Penn, 9on9, Bossa Nova, Dowes, Cafe Zao, Bravo Franco, Mortons, Palomino, Opus, Prelude, Tonic, Trilogy, August Henry, The Sonoma Grill, to name a few. Some may come and go but there is a great interest there. Most of these places are new and have, themselves attracted their own attention. I have never seen such momentum in such a small area.

I would like to see more upscale late night haunts. I believe this will come. I believe this street will take on an atmosphere of Carson Street with better shoes

;)

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UrbaniDesDev Whistle-Stop

UrbaniDesDev

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This is so exciting. I'm surprised about the capping of the 10th Street bypass. There has been talk of removing it all together as it has never served it's purpose as originally planned and is now pretty much wasted on a freeway. It was meant to connect to the Veterans Bridge which will never happen. There is virtually nothing bad to be said about this plan, though sketchy right now. I am curious as to what will be preserved of the existing buildings there if any.

I hope they slap a huge billboard size view of the proposal today for the All Star hooplah. I'm running right down there to see.

:yahoo::yahoo::yahoo:

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tooluther Whistle-Stop

tooluther

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I like the wind turbines and the 10th street bypass "cap" also. As for the giant billboards, they did put up a huge one of PNC 3 this weekend, which is very cool. Not sure if they are doing the same in the cultural district

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Evergrey Hamlet

Evergrey

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This aerial photo by Flash shows the area that will be transformed by this project. It's a 4-block parcel on the bottom-left of the image right above the pittsburghskyline.com trademark. It is now occupied by a Goodyear dealer, parking lots and a few miscellaneous structures. It is bounded by 7th and 9th streets... and Penn Ave. and Ft. Duquesne Blvd along the Allegheny River. The 7th St. Bridge connects to the development site. Just to the right of the development site is the recently completed Encore on 7th, an 18-story apartment tower.

june_2006_pittsburghskyline_com_44.jpg

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TheGerbil Burg

TheGerbil

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This is more exciting than I imagined. The renderings look simply beautiful. This is just what downtown needs! I can't think of a single thing to complain about (except that I have to wait a while before seeing the finished product :D ).

Does anyone know if this will all be privately financed?

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