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South Side Slopes: a neighborhood on the brink (of trendy)


Evergrey

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South Side Slopes!? No, it's not a ski resort... it's a city neighborhood. It's a steep, rugged hillside neighborhood on the city's South Side above the bustling Flats district. The wooded hillsides rise above the city, offering panoramic urban views. The slopes are dotted with a unique type of house... a frame form from the late 1800s... one room wide, 2 rooms deep and 3-4 stories tall. The slender, tall houses lend a distinctive character to the slopes, which are visible from many areas of the city. The modest housing was built for immigrant steelworkers, who would descend the slopes via funiculars and an intricate system of staircases that still exists. The steps are one of the neighborhoods defining features... hundreds and hundreds of steps... many officially streets with legal right-of-ways... with housing precariously perched alongside. The road system is narrow, confusing and vertigo-inducing. Pittsburgh is defined by its turbulent topography, and the Slopes take this characteristic to the extreme.

Today the Slopes are finally generating some buzz... with a glowing article in the New York Times last year... new high-end residential construction throughout the neighborhood... and a new breed of urban pioneer dazzled by the views and intrigued by the slopes' character.

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Downtown skyscrapers peek over the crest of the hill

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Oakland from a Slopes cemetary

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Oakland with Billy Buck Hill in the foreground

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looking down at some rowhouses on S. 18th St. as it winds towards the Flats

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more insane urban views

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climbing up the slopes

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close-up of Oakland across the Monongahela River

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i heart insulbrick

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tall houses with seemingly random window placement

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i'll take the Veal Sweetbreads with Raspberry Vinaigrette, Leeks and Morels

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Flats detail

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the redeveloped Lower Hill

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a former convent... now secular

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that church went condo last year

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don't know the status of this one... there's a big cluster of religious buildings on Pius St.

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houses along St. Michael St.... only accessible by staircase

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Flats rooftops

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new construction taking a few cues from the traditional stock

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more new construction

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slopes from Mt. Washington

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the condo church

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slopes from West End Overlook

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slopes from Spring Hill

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slopes from Flats

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slopes from Herron Hill

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Flats rooftops

78977898.jpg

78977902.jpg

78977907.jpg

78977912.jpg

new construction taking a few cues from the traditional stock

78977916.jpg

78977921.jpg

78977925.jpg

more new construction

78977929.jpg

slopes from Mt. Washington

78983973.jpg

the condo church

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slopes from West End Overlook

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slopes from Spring Hill

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slopes from Flats

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slopes from Herron Hill

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Great pictures. That neighborhood is one of the world's unknown urban treasures. There's something very European about it, but with an American twist. I love it.

By the way, I think I like the term "went condo" :)

Were you, by chance, in Oakland last Friday taking pictures? I saw someone snapping shots of the Sphynx Cafe and thought it would be funny if it turned out to be you.

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Great pictures. That neighborhood is one of the world's unknown urban treasures. There's something very European about it, but with an American twist. I love it.

By the way, I think I like the term "went condo" :)

Were you, by chance, in Oakland last Friday taking pictures? I saw someone snapping shots of the Sphynx Cafe and thought it would be funny if it turned out to be you.

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I was born outside Pittsburg in Kittaning and have grown up in Greenville, SC but my family remains so I get to make it back there about once a year. I have always had a fondness for Pittsburgh and my opininon is it is one of the most beautiful cities in the US. This neighborhood is a good example why.

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