Jump to content

Most Outrageous, Most complimentary things you've heard people say about the 'burgh


PghUSA

Recommended Posts

Which again was another surprise about Pittsburgh. Before I visited, I would have never described Pittsburgh as clean. Afterwards I was taken aback by how clean the streets were and even how clean the air seemed. One question though, are there any working steel mills left in the Pittsburgh area? I do not recall seeing one when I was there.

The Edgar Thompson Works in Braddock... an old mill town a few miles southeast of Pittsburgh... is the last remaining blast furnace steel mill in the Pittsburgh region.

Link to comment
Share on other sites


  • Replies 53
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Just yesterday I was talking to a former Pittsburgher and I mentioned how surprised I was when I visited there 5 years ago. Not only did I find Pittsburgh to be lively, but also a very cultural city as well. He went on to tell me how depressed Pittsburgh is and how there are no jobs etc., etc., etc.

Ah fomer Pittsburgher syndrome. I see this often.

I find that many people who have left Pittsburgh are very harsh - however these are the same people that frequent Pittsburgh message boards and discussions. In reality they seem to be obsessed with the place.

My take on it is many people left for greater economic opportunity or because they thought life would be cooler elsewhere. It doesn't take long for them to realize that the quality of life in Pittsburgh will not be beaten elsewhere. Maybe they found a "better" job but is it really better when you have to pay 3X as much for a house, 3X as much for generally cost of living, you can't get tickets to anything cool, you sit in traffic for three hours a day, there is nowhere to hike or ski or enjoy the outdoors? So they have to convince themselves that they made the right decision to leave by pretending Pittsburgh is depressed and otherwise terrible inorder to justify their actions to themselves. I see this ALL the time. Eventually they come clean....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

skyline & evergrey,

I know that there are also the Clairton Works south of Braddock about 15 miles (they may not be a full fledged Steel Mill might just be a press mill or tube mill etc.) but I know they are still at work, both Braddock and Clairton are in the historic "Steel Valley" where the legendary Homestead strikes took place etc., also where many proathletes have come from (Unitas, Marino, Montana, the Griffey's Jr. & Sr., Musial, Cash, Michael Moorer, also beauties such as Demi Moore, Natalie Raitano, and Shirley Jones) there is also some steel works still running north of Pittsburgh at Freeport along the Allegheny and in nearby Wheeling, WV, which some (including me) that consider Wheeling part of the metroplex (it is closer then some areas that are included in the census defined metro), besides the largest Steel works out there is owned by Wheeling-Pittsburgh ;).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

skyline & evergrey,

I know that there are also the Clairton Works south of Braddock about 15 miles (they may not be a full fledged Steel Mill might just be a press mill or tube mill etc.) but I know they are still at work, both Braddock and Clairton are in the historic "Steel Valley" where the legendary Homestead strikes took place etc., also where many proathletes have come from (Unitas, Marino, Montana, the Griffey's Jr. & Sr., Musial, Cash, Michael Moorer, also beauties such as Demi Moore, Natalie Raitano, and Shirley Jones) there is also some steel works still running north of Pittsburgh at Freeport along the Allegheny and in nearby Wheeling, WV, which some (including me) that consider Wheeling part of the metroplex (it is closer then some areas that are included in the census defined metro), besides the largest Steel works out there is owned by Wheeling-Pittsburgh ;).

The Clairton Works produces coke.

This Freeport facility you speak of may be a "mini-mill". I am positive that Edgar Thompson is the last operational blast furnace steel mill in Western Pennsylvania (I don't know about Bethlehem, PA).

I thought Marino grew up in South Oakland.

Natalie Raitano is a hottie... Charleroi, I believe?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

^^applause for you Evergrey Ms. Natalie did grow up in Charleroi (Demi is also claimed by them in her HS years though she was born in NM). I Didn't know that about Clairton (though they are under the "US Steel" banner). Marino was a city boy growing up in Oakland, many don't think of that as the "Steel Valley" though the historic southside works (where the new shopping/entertainment complex is) and J&L works (where the technology center is with Sunoco et. al.) were the gateway to the historic industrial valley for many years, and in a purely topographical sense Oakland not only is truncated on the south by the river but is entirely in it's valley. You're right though when someone says the "Steel Valley" they don't immediately think of Carson Street or the Bluff et. al. though from the fountain at the point to Pt. Marion should really be included in that term, at least IMHO.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I hope that is not the only thing Charleroi is known for "the place where Natalie Raitano grew up." Charleroi used to be famous for its glass industry. However, that faded away in the 1930's allowing the town to become a shopping/entertainment destination for the Mid Mon Valley. While Pittsburgh can claim to have the first movie theater, Charleroi had the fourth one. After the industrial jobs from neighboring towns went away and shopping malls/box stores came along Charleroi has become like so many small towns struggling to get by. It has adapted to those changes and still retains 80% occupancy rate for its 200+ storefronts.

This is the problem we've been talking about. It is great that everyone remembers what Pittsburgh and other surrounding towns used to be like, but it is time to look at what we have now and what we can have in the future.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Chucka,

Very interesting info on Charleroi . . . and since you asked . . . to me it's known for Demi Moore too :P but your point is well taken it's the here and now that is much much more important to the future vitality of the region. I sometimes think though it's like basketball . . . some people in this region think they are stuck on the Clippers, when in actuality they are on the Lakers, again all those championship banners won't make you win tommorrow, but you feel morale, esprit de corps and a REASON to go out there and do your best knowning you are from a place with some proud heritages. Those memories alone won't do it but I get so upset hearing people talk about us like we are the "Clippers" of regions, we have lots to be proud of and yes I'll dare to say it there is a reason why there are so many great talents that come out of this area . . . the hotter the fire the stronger (and more beautiful) the steel. ;)

Oh and that is fantastic for Charleroi having 80% I sometimes wish some of those Steel Valley towns would consolidate, instead of compete so much, I know they have started working together and formed a type of co-op down there.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...

Here is a winner for most outrageous:

(Eric) Cedo (executive director of CreateDetroit, a non-profit dedicated to promoting creative and knowledge-based businesses in the city) said he's sick of hearing people call his town (Detroit) a "blue-collar city." That's so yesterday. "We're a lot closer to the lattes and laptops of Seattle than to the Rust Belt of Pittsburgh," he says. "Pittsburgh is what we used to be."

Culturally speaking, Detroit is hoppin'

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here's a stupid one. I was listening to the radio a day or two before the Super Bowl, and some dj's were broadcasting from Detroit (not sure who they were, so no idea if they were local or what). They were talking about the number of Steelers fans there compared to the number of Seattle fans. So they start analyzing why Pittsburgh loves it team more than Seattle. And they said (this is paraphrased to the best of my memory) "People in Seattle are busy with other things. They're climbing mountains, kayaking and drinking coffee." Well sh*t, you can do those things in Pittsburgh, and many people do. But anyone who was listening to that broadcast who doesn't know Pittsburgh, what are they going to think? They are going to think you can't do those things here. Well maybe not the coffee thing, but I am not worried about that one.

This just goes to show how powerful image is. Pittsburgh has plenty of outdoors opportunities. You can rent a bike downtown and ride it along miles of riverfront trails. You can go kayaking, fishing, climbing, whatever. But most of the outside world doesn't know this. <_<

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Having moved to Pittsburgh close to three years ago from another major urban city in the NorthEast, I have been very interested in the development of this city. I am thrilled to have found this website. :D

That being said, I thought I would share some experiences that both my wife and I have had in Pittsburgh that is relevant to the topic.

To crush the first myth about jobs in Pittsburgh, I was recruited from another major city for a position that just didn't exist at the time or I would have had to compete with 500 other applicants. Before we moved, my wife applied to over 50 companies regardless of whether or not they were hiring, while she only got one call back, that is all it took. The day we moved up the truck she got a call saying your hired. So basically, both my wife and I moved to Pittsburgh with higher salaries and our cost of living greatly reduced. Not to mention for about $100k less from our previous domicile we increased our sq footage by a factor of 3. I should add we are both young professionals, the type of people Pittsburgh is trying to attract.

Before we moved, I had never been to Pittsburgh and being an avid NFL fan, I had this image of a poor, dirty, polluted city. In fact, when I was first called for the position, I didn't want to go because the prospect of moving to a polluted city wasn't very enticing. On the second call, they talked much more about the city and I decided to give it a chance. When I came through the Ft. Pitt tunnel I was blown away. Called my wife and said this place is beautiful and affordable! We should seriously consider this move. We all know what happened next.

We are city people and moved right into Shadyside/Bloomfield area. We love it and I am thrilled by the development of the Baum Center Corrider. BTW, does anyone know what is going on with the Luna Project behind UPMC on Baum? That is been "in development" since we moved here and I am just curious on where it stands.

We have found that the people who live in the city, primarily our friends, love it and most of our friends are all transplants. We are all young professionals who moved here from Boston, NYC, Miami, DC, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Chicago.

However, the people who are most negative are the suburbanites and thee x-Pittsburghers have already been noted. My wife works up in the North Hills and she tells me that some of her coworkers have a) never been to the city b) have been once in 8 years c) got lost and ended up in an area with all black people. BTW, we are in interracial couple. All these suburbanites do is complain about how bad and dangerous Pittsburgh is. All of our friends laugh at this and if I remember correctly, statistically, we are one of hte safest metro areas in the country. People need to gain perspective.

I will probably add an outrageous comment myself with my following comments. I admire the city's love of its Steelers but I think the image reinforces the wrong elements. Remember my comment above, I am huge NFL fan and never having been to Pittsburgh before I moved here, thought of it as a dirty city with a bunch of blue collar workers who can only work in plants. If I am an investor, I would naturally think about location and if I DON'T know anything about Pittsburgh, I would defer to new companies in cities like Boston, DC or SF. Everytime the NFL focuses on the Steelers, they talk about the "blue collar" worker. We aren't that anymore and we need to promote that we are fast becoming an intellectual hot commodity. Google isn't moving here for the blue collar workers!! We need to get this message out to more of the public.

Also, what's up with them taxes?! They are not very friendly to first time home buyers or young professionals, or retired individuals with no children. I hope they fix that one fast.

Thanks for reading. I know I went a little long here. :whistling:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the post, Balist. I always enjoy hearing from transplants.

Luna Square - I don't know what's going on with it. There hasn't been any news about it for some time. So I fear it may have quietly died :(

Taxes - Yeah everyone hates the tax situation. Taxes in PA are vastly unfair to urban centers. People are always pushing for fixes but I have no idea when any real change will occur. I do think the city's current financial problem is making more people in government think about these things, though. There's more talk than ever about collaborating with the county government to save money.

May I suggest you write to your state representatives and tell them that as a newcomer you feel that taxes here are counter-productive? It never hurts to let them know what you think.

As for the blue collar image, I couldn't agree with you more, we need to turn that around. Alas, we can't control what sportscasters and people like that say. When we hosted a Monday Night football game a couple years ago the city gave some info to the sportscasters, hoping they would use it instead of focusing on the tired old stereotypes. But as far as I know they mostly ignored the fact sheets they were given <_<

I always think that the shots of our sparkling downtown and boats on the rivers etc would make people think twice, but apparently not.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great great post, balistpgh!

Re: Steelers

I love the Steelers and take great pride in their accomplishments. But I agree with your point. I was hoping the Steelers going to the Super Bowl would result in a lot of positive coverage for the city of Pittsburgh. But all I heard were the same old stereotypes about "blue-collar coal miners", etc etc. Now there's nothing wrong with blue-collar jobs or coal miners or whatever... but it paints an inaccurate portrait of Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh actually has one of the lowest percentages of blue-collar jobs of any major metro in the country... which isn't necessarily a good thing... unfortunately the severe decline in the blue-collar sector has been a major reason in the region's population decline in the past 30 years.

The name "Steelers" also probably has something to do with this. Now I do not want to change the name... and I like that it reflects local heritage... but it still portrays to the rest of the country that this is a dirty old steel town. But I'll still take it over something meaningless like "Jaguars".

Link to comment
Share on other sites

TheGerbil: to your point about writing to the state reps, myself and a few of my friends are actually putting together a letter to the editor to the Post Gazette signed by several young professionals bemoaning the property tax situation. Mainly, how you get approved for a mortgage based on how you an make your monthly payment and then within a year, you are reassessed and your monthly payments increase by 20-50%. Very unfair to new homebuyers and young professionals just starting their earning potential. Please let me know if we you think sending it to the state reps will make any difference.

Anyway, we can check on the status of the luna Project. It saddens me to think it may be dead. I do know that a few months ago they put up that new painting billboard of what is coming up but nothing since then. :dontknow:

Evergrey: I am totally with you on your point about the name. At least it means something to this city. What I am psyched about is the Carnegie Mellon's ETC will be putting very cool interactive games and exhibits in PNC park this year. What a way to start changing the image by putting our top tech guys in with our sports. Now only if they can do it with Heinx field next year.

Great hearing from you both.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oh, I didn't realize you were talking about property taxes specifically. The state is actually working on property tax relief as we speak. They seem to just be trying to agree on the exact plan at this point. I don't know how much relief it will be, but every little bit helps.

However, I am worried about other taxes like income tax and business taxes. There is talk of business tax reductions but I don't think it is comparable to the property tax relief efforts.

Income tax just annoys me because it is higher in cities than in suburbs. That is the only way the urban centers can stay afloat, but at the same time it chases many people out to the suburbs. -_-

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Completely agree. I am dumbfounded about the income taxes as well. The city complains about people fleeing to the suburbs but yet all they provide are financial DE-centives instead of incentives. Very a** backwards. :wacko:

That's because it is one of the few taxes the city can control. Money needs to come from somewhere to support the thousands of commuters who live outside the city but spend 40 hours a week or more within its borders. Pittsburgh has one of the highest "daytime population surges" of any US city.

Ultimately something needs to change at the state level. Philly has been through this. Erie is going through it. It's all over PA.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That's because it is one of the few taxes the city can control. Money needs to come from somewhere to support the thousands of commuters who live outside the city but spend 40 hours a week or more within its borders. Pittsburgh has one of the highest "daytime population surges" of any US city.

Ultimately something needs to change at the state level. Philly has been through this. Erie is going through it. It's all over PA.

To me this is very simple. Put toll booths at the entrance of the tunnels and bridges into the city and none outbound. Create huge long waiting lines to PAY money and people will want to get some time back and save money and thus move into the city.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

balist, a better solution is to do what all "new industry" or "sun belt" cities have done for decades . . . gobble up 500% of your current taxbase in the 'burbs, or better yet just do it in one felt swoop and consolidate the city with the county (ala Louisville, Jacksonville, Indianapolis, etc.). The course of a City-County consolidation is gaining some steam lately in fact legally speaking we voted to consolidate 78 years ago but the politicos decided to "table" it for perpetuity:

http://www.briem.com/frag/FedPgh1.htm

http://www.briem.com/frag/FedPgh2.htm

http://www.briem.com/frag/FedPgh4.htm

Link to comment
Share on other sites

balist, a better solution is to do what all "new industry" or "sun belt" cities have done for decades . . . gobble up 500% of your current taxbase in the 'burbs, or better yet just do it in one felt swoop and consolidate the city with the county (ala Louisville, Jacksonville, Indianapolis, etc.). The course of a City-County consolidation is gaining some steam lately in fact legally speaking we voted to consolidate 78 years ago but the politicos decided to "table" it for perpetuity:

http://www.briem.com/frag/FedPgh1.htm

http://www.briem.com/frag/FedPgh2.htm

http://www.briem.com/frag/FedPgh4.htm

I love Pittsburgh. I still think city-county merger would be its best option. Louisville is basically a Pittsburgh with less suburbs. It had a horrible image as an old river industrial town. Like the burgh, many young residents grew up and left. But in the last 5 years, something has changed. We are not part of the sunbelt or new south boom yet, but Louisville is well on its way. With all its charm and qualities, I think Pitt could do the same if it saw the glass half full, merged, and increased its tax base. It would create a better image and create more jobs IMO.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.