This piece which although it pulls too many punches for my liking, is one of the few opinions sensitive to the real history and effects of the Civic Arena--and how it was built.
"Yes, the arena is an important symbol, an historically crucial object. Because it's a modernist masterpiece? I'm no architect, but I'd have to say, "No."
It's important because it's evidence in a crime scene. It's a weapon left on a battlefield. And this sword should be made into a plough share.
We should never forget what happened on those 28 acres. A strong, nationally known working-class neighborhood was wiped away. A neighborhood that gave Pittsburgh and America a symphony of cultural giants -- musicians, actors, merchants, sports heroes and civic leaders -- was chopped off at the knees."
I partly bring it up cause it relates to my views about what happened in Braddock.
Showing posts with label Pittsburgh Post Gazette. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pittsburgh Post Gazette. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Friday, June 18, 2010
Old Vs. New Pittsburgh: Let the War Begin (or at least the argument)
Well, you might know by now, Pittsburgh is no longer really shrinking. New people are comming in, others are returning and more students are trying to stay. We now have one of the country's most educated populations. (In recent years the migration from Pittsburgh has been to the next world as the older steel generation passes on)
The nirvana everyone said they wanted just might be arriving but my guess is many politicians and old city insiders won't like it.
PG's Ruth Ann Dailey, wrote a good piece about an emerging cultural conflict that's only now broken towards the surface. Whatever, one thinks about the Mellon Arena's fate,(IMHO, it has to go) something really stinks about the way things are done here. Now a critical mass of people is talking about it.
Some good aternative viewpoints can be in places like...
Pittsblog
Null Space
Pittsburgh Comet
Bike Pittsburgh
Burgh Diaspora
Tube City Almanac
Utterly Opinionated
Reimagine An Urban Paradise
Mostly pretty tame stuff.
As well as the trusty City Paper and occasionally even The Post Gazette. Pop City also moves past the chearleading role more commonly than it used to.
Also, things are a bit more complicated since inside old money power players and some local foundations have put money into many grass roots efforts. Still, this is a place where one feels most of the big checks are endorsed by the same 20 folks or people who know them.
Back with more thoughts later.
The nirvana everyone said they wanted just might be arriving but my guess is many politicians and old city insiders won't like it.
PG's Ruth Ann Dailey, wrote a good piece about an emerging cultural conflict that's only now broken towards the surface. Whatever, one thinks about the Mellon Arena's fate,(IMHO, it has to go) something really stinks about the way things are done here. Now a critical mass of people is talking about it.
But over the past four decades, with the collapse of the steel industry, Pittsburgh's economy has been slowly and painfully transformed to one built on health care, research and technology, financial services and high-tech manufacturing -- fields which, as that Pitt report points out, "recruit and retain ever more educated workers."
Workers in these fields put a greater emphasis on communicating, exchanging ideas, collaborating and reaching consensus. They expect the same from their government, quasi-governmental agencies like the SEA and powerful private entities like the Penguins that so greatly impact our city's quality of life.
They're right to expect this -- it's what American democracy was always supposed to be. Not top-down, but organic, meritocratic and open to all comers.
They're not going to just roll over without protest when the same old, same old goes down -- the backroom deals and nepotistic appointments that are the enemies of transparency and accountability.
Some good aternative viewpoints can be in places like...
Pittsblog
Null Space
Pittsburgh Comet
Bike Pittsburgh
Burgh Diaspora
Tube City Almanac
Utterly Opinionated
Reimagine An Urban Paradise
Mostly pretty tame stuff.
As well as the trusty City Paper and occasionally even The Post Gazette. Pop City also moves past the chearleading role more commonly than it used to.
Also, things are a bit more complicated since inside old money power players and some local foundations have put money into many grass roots efforts. Still, this is a place where one feels most of the big checks are endorsed by the same 20 folks or people who know them.
Back with more thoughts later.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Great Blog Profile: City Walkabout
I will be randomly throwing up posts about blogs I find of personal interest, most of which shine a light on the Pittsburgh cultural scene, urban oriented design or architecture.
First up is City Walkabout, a blog on the Post site touching on Pittsburgh's neighborhoods and streets from a more personal, practical and pedestrian perspective. One flaw so far is that this blog has to slim comment thread. It would be great if more people would join the conversation.
Check it Out.
City Walkabout
First up is City Walkabout, a blog on the Post site touching on Pittsburgh's neighborhoods and streets from a more personal, practical and pedestrian perspective. One flaw so far is that this blog has to slim comment thread. It would be great if more people would join the conversation.
Check it Out.
City Walkabout
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Still More Jane's Walk Talk
More general buzz and discussion popping up about bringing some kind of Jane Jacobs related events and walks to Pittsburgh and other former Rust Belt cities.
Diana Nelson Jones, who hosts one of the few blogs focusing on Pittsburgh from a pedestrian perspective did this post, which quotes one of my comments on Null Space. She also links to a number of other Jane related sites, articles-- and we can add to this the previous talk on Rust Wire, all of which point to some building support for doing something in the Spring.
Using the inevitable football metaphor, living here is often like watching a terrible coaching staff leaving almost all your best running backs on the bench, refusing to block, refusing to tackle while wasting time and resources on ever more bizarre hail Mary passing plays or relying exclusively on kickoff returns.
Not only do the coaches and owners, not put the best people on the field, we can't even let them practice and even worse, one always has to live in fear of which reasonably good or potentially great players might be traded away or cut next, whose property might be seized, whose street cut off and taxes raised for another "special teams operation".
It's not like Pittsburgh doesn't have some great walkable neighborhoods-- and it's not like they ain't successful-- there's plenty of game tape out there that shows what's working on a social and economic level as well as plenty of red ink, empty streets and failed shells to show us what hasn't worked. Yet almost all major government policies repeat these failed plays over and over. Don't pee on my leg and tell me it's raining!
Team is a good word to use, since as Jane pointed out city's are continuous experiments in social interaction.
Just one more thought, Jane always left a cop out for bad coaches looking for excuses when she said "no two cities or streets are alike". Obviously, this is self evident, but one just has to look at Death and Life's chapter titles, listed below to get the idea that she thought some things worked and some things didn't or only look at a few cities closely to see she was mostly right.
The uses of sidewalks: safety
The uses of sidewalks: contact
The uses of neighborhood parks
The uses of city neighborhoods
The need for mixed primary uses
The need for small blocks
The need for aged buildings
The need for concentration
The curse of border vacuums
Gradual money and cataclysmic money
Erosion of cities or attrition of automobiles
May not be sexy enough to always make the highlight films.
Diana Nelson Jones, who hosts one of the few blogs focusing on Pittsburgh from a pedestrian perspective did this post, which quotes one of my comments on Null Space. She also links to a number of other Jane related sites, articles-- and we can add to this the previous talk on Rust Wire, all of which point to some building support for doing something in the Spring.
Using the inevitable football metaphor, living here is often like watching a terrible coaching staff leaving almost all your best running backs on the bench, refusing to block, refusing to tackle while wasting time and resources on ever more bizarre hail Mary passing plays or relying exclusively on kickoff returns.
Not only do the coaches and owners, not put the best people on the field, we can't even let them practice and even worse, one always has to live in fear of which reasonably good or potentially great players might be traded away or cut next, whose property might be seized, whose street cut off and taxes raised for another "special teams operation".
It's not like Pittsburgh doesn't have some great walkable neighborhoods-- and it's not like they ain't successful-- there's plenty of game tape out there that shows what's working on a social and economic level as well as plenty of red ink, empty streets and failed shells to show us what hasn't worked. Yet almost all major government policies repeat these failed plays over and over. Don't pee on my leg and tell me it's raining!
Team is a good word to use, since as Jane pointed out city's are continuous experiments in social interaction.
Just one more thought, Jane always left a cop out for bad coaches looking for excuses when she said "no two cities or streets are alike". Obviously, this is self evident, but one just has to look at Death and Life's chapter titles, listed below to get the idea that she thought some things worked and some things didn't or only look at a few cities closely to see she was mostly right.
The uses of sidewalks: safety
The uses of sidewalks: contact
The uses of neighborhood parks
The uses of city neighborhoods
The need for mixed primary uses
The need for small blocks
The need for aged buildings
The need for concentration
The curse of border vacuums
Gradual money and cataclysmic money
Erosion of cities or attrition of automobiles
May not be sexy enough to always make the highlight films.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Fist Fight Breaks Out Over Tom Murphy Legacy
Time doesn't seem to have changed the conflicted feelings people have about Pittsburgh's former mayor Tom Murphy.
Be back when I can with more thoughts. Follow all the links to hear the debate.
Be back when I can with more thoughts. Follow all the links to hear the debate.
Sunday, September 06, 2009
Yinz links for Sept 5th & 6th
On Gluespace
German Foundation hosts workshops in Detroit & Cleveland on lessons learned in Germany's old industrial regions.
On Brewed Fresh Daily
Jobs aren't coming back
Comparing Cleveland Transit fares to the nation
On Cleveland.Com
Not enough help wanted
How goes the Cleveland Institute Of Art, expansion?
Review Of Chuck Close show @ The Akron Art Museum
In NY Times
36 Hours In Zagreb, Croatia
Scrap Heap Animated Short
Boo Hoo!!!! Famous photographer Ann Leibovitz's financial woes.
In LA Times
A travel trip to Gettysburg
Long Beach Museum Of Art in $3 million dispute with broke local government.
On Culture Grrl
Rose Art Museum's new picture catalog or is it a sales catalog?
Glenn Beck may be right about the Obama administration's meddling in the arts.
In Pittsburgh Post Gazette
Pitt Destroys Youngstown State (sorry)
Attack Theater's new season in a new home
In Pittsburgh Tribune
Penn State Beats Up Akron (sorry)
Monuments honor Western Pennsylvania's industrial roots
On Pop City
Franklin Toker writer of the 1986 classic, Pittsburgh: An Urban Portrait is coming out with Pittsburgh: A New Portrait.
On Carnegie Mellon Allumni Reviving Economic Growth: Action Plan for Pittsburgh G20 Summit
German Foundation hosts workshops in Detroit & Cleveland on lessons learned in Germany's old industrial regions.
On Brewed Fresh Daily
Jobs aren't coming back
Comparing Cleveland Transit fares to the nation
On Cleveland.Com
Not enough help wanted
How goes the Cleveland Institute Of Art, expansion?
Review Of Chuck Close show @ The Akron Art Museum
In NY Times
36 Hours In Zagreb, Croatia
Scrap Heap Animated Short
Boo Hoo!!!! Famous photographer Ann Leibovitz's financial woes.
In LA Times
A travel trip to Gettysburg
Long Beach Museum Of Art in $3 million dispute with broke local government.
On Culture Grrl
Rose Art Museum's new picture catalog or is it a sales catalog?
Glenn Beck may be right about the Obama administration's meddling in the arts.
In Pittsburgh Post Gazette
Pitt Destroys Youngstown State (sorry)
Attack Theater's new season in a new home
In Pittsburgh Tribune
Penn State Beats Up Akron (sorry)
Monuments honor Western Pennsylvania's industrial roots
On Pop City
Franklin Toker writer of the 1986 classic, Pittsburgh: An Urban Portrait is coming out with Pittsburgh: A New Portrait.
On Carnegie Mellon Allumni Reviving Economic Growth: Action Plan for Pittsburgh G20 Summit
Thursday, September 03, 2009
Yinz Weekly Links For September 3rd
I't's been less than a week but the stack too full for the gumband. Here's some stuff I found on the the art and Yinzosphere. Also thrown in is a random selection of economic news/opinion from around the web.
This is planned as a weekly thing but as usual-- things will be random and chaotic. Many of these posts are not from today but just freshly discovered.
In The New Yorker
The Hills Are Alive- Catches the buzz of Pittsburgh's small press scene
On Tube City Almanac
Eyesore Hotel Was Work of Celebrated Architect
On Pittsblog
Cities are not computer brands
On Bike Pittsburgh
Planning Commission passes bike parking ordinance
New bike commuting guide
In Post Gazette
Rivers Casino revenues well below projections.
Sales tax drop likely means less RAD money for the arts.
Pirates will have a record 17th straight losing season
Two women artists look @ Braddock
Swine Flue cases piling up at local Universities
Pittsburgh Tribune Review
Farmers markets are hot.
Arts and Crafts Colonial Festival
More reasons we are most livable city
On Rust Wire
Mural In Cleveland
100 days of pain for David Bing, new mayor of Detroit
On Pittsburgh Comet
G20 musings
I Will Shout Youngstown
Polish Day In Youngstown
In Kansas City Star
Mahoning Valley produces football coaches.
On Defend Youngstown
Youngstown State University enrollment of 14,500 is highest in 16 years.
On Outside Erie
Thoughts on the Rehab of Erie's Union Station
On I Heart Pittsburgh
On CNN Money
Workers know times are tough and accept or ask for pay cuts
On Calculated Risk
Personal Bankruptcy filings up 24% since last August
On Cleveland.Com
Small theater company in Cleveland and Akron defaults on loan and closes down
Pay cuts @ Cleveland Orchestra (old news- from March)
In New York Times
Publisher of Orange County Register files for Chapter 11
In NYC, the government runs a money losing bookie operation
On Streetsblog NY
NYC Principles Union sues to protect free parking perks
In Forbes
Steelers ranked #16 in NFL for estimated team value
In Site Selection Magazine
Pittsburgh cover story. Interesting- but looks like an advertorial
On Culture Grrl
More on the Cleveland Museum donor intent mess
Concerns about Obama and the arts as a "tool of the state."
In Buffalo News
Reaction and thoughts about the Cleveland Museum's move and The Albright Knox Gallery
On Two Coats Of Paint
Latest Art Star contest
On The James Kalm Chanel
James checks out the latest fring hood for galleries in NYC-- Sunset Park
This is planned as a weekly thing but as usual-- things will be random and chaotic. Many of these posts are not from today but just freshly discovered.
In The New Yorker
The Hills Are Alive- Catches the buzz of Pittsburgh's small press scene
On Tube City Almanac
Eyesore Hotel Was Work of Celebrated Architect
On Pittsblog
Cities are not computer brands
On Bike Pittsburgh
Planning Commission passes bike parking ordinance
New bike commuting guide
In Post Gazette
Rivers Casino revenues well below projections.
Sales tax drop likely means less RAD money for the arts.
Pirates will have a record 17th straight losing season
Two women artists look @ Braddock
Swine Flue cases piling up at local Universities
Pittsburgh Tribune Review
Farmers markets are hot.
Arts and Crafts Colonial Festival
More reasons we are most livable city
On Rust Wire
Mural In Cleveland
100 days of pain for David Bing, new mayor of Detroit
On Pittsburgh Comet
G20 musings
I Will Shout Youngstown
Polish Day In Youngstown
In Kansas City Star
Mahoning Valley produces football coaches.
On Defend Youngstown
Youngstown State University enrollment of 14,500 is highest in 16 years.
On Outside Erie
Thoughts on the Rehab of Erie's Union Station
On I Heart Pittsburgh
On CNN Money
Workers know times are tough and accept or ask for pay cuts
On Calculated Risk
Personal Bankruptcy filings up 24% since last August
On Cleveland.Com
Small theater company in Cleveland and Akron defaults on loan and closes down
Pay cuts @ Cleveland Orchestra (old news- from March)
In New York Times
Publisher of Orange County Register files for Chapter 11
In NYC, the government runs a money losing bookie operation
On Streetsblog NY
NYC Principles Union sues to protect free parking perks
In Forbes
Steelers ranked #16 in NFL for estimated team value
In Site Selection Magazine
Pittsburgh cover story. Interesting- but looks like an advertorial
On Culture Grrl
More on the Cleveland Museum donor intent mess
Concerns about Obama and the arts as a "tool of the state."
In Buffalo News
Reaction and thoughts about the Cleveland Museum's move and The Albright Knox Gallery
On Two Coats Of Paint
Latest Art Star contest
On The James Kalm Chanel
James checks out the latest fring hood for galleries in NYC-- Sunset Park
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