Tag Archives: East Liberty

Facebook Live with filmmaker Chris Ivey who has been documenting East Liberty for over a decade

The East Liberty Presbyterian Church tower (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Somewhere around 2005 or 2006 I was sitting in the Shadow Lounge a coffee shop, bar, event space that was located at the corner of Highland Avenue and Baum Boulevard. The space was most recently the Livermore and is currently undergoing an update and will be reopened by the folks who own Independent Brewing and Hidden Harbor.

I can’t remember why I was there that evening, I think it was a week night. But I remember that Chris Ivey walked in and was eager to show off some of his most recent footage he had shot in East Liberty. I have a clear picture of sitting there in the blue room, a room painted blue with a large projector on the wall, watching this footage and feeling stunned about how much I didn’t know about this neighborhood. I had spent most of my life less than a mile away from East Liberty, but my Pittsburgh experience could not have been more different. I think of this evening every time I hear about a screening of East of Liberty. Looking back this is probably one of the points that where I realized that thereis an importance of storytelling and story sharing.

East Liberty is a neighborhood that has changed many times in its history. Chris Ivey has been documenting the most recent changes for his documentary film East of Liberty.

Facebook Live with Pittsburgh Filmmaker Chris Ivey

PublicSource, an investigative news website that writes stories about Pittsburgh and Western PA (I have contributed to PublicSource and continue to work with them on researching stories), will be interviewing Chris Ivey on Facebook Live on Wednesday. If you are interested in East Liberty, neighborhoods, urban planning and how people in Pittsburgh’s neighborhoods are impacted by development, this should be an interesting discussion.

RSVP for the Facebook live here. If you have a question you want to ask Ivey, leave a comment during the interview or send it to jeff@publicsource.org ahead of time.

Recent PublicSource stories about East Liberty

“What’s left when the gentrifiers come marching in” – January 8, 2018
“One of the last residents of Penn Plaza will continue her family’s legacy in East Liberty for now” – March 29, 2017
“How housing policy over the last century has made Pittsburgh what it is today” – May 17, 2017

Follow PublicSource

East Liberty 1935: Subterranean Public Bathrooms

Today’s post comes from East Liberty Valley Historic Society Facebook page. ELVHS added some helpful captions to this photo of Penn Ave from 1935. This is the section of Penn Ave where Target is now located. One of the questions on the Facebook post asks if these bathrooms still exist underground. It would be interesting to find out if these were filled in or if there are still bathrooms under Penn Ave. A different take on the Pittsburgh Potty.

I don’t believe any of the buildings in this photograph are still standing today.

You can find more information about Joyce McClements on this family genealogy website here. It looks like after the fire, the restaurant relocated to the Kenmawr building at Walnut & Shady.

This is the current view from the intersection where Shady meets Penn.

The roads in the 1935 photo are different than today. Frankstown Road no longer intersects Penn Ave.

Spring Lecture Series: June 2017

Architect Frederick G. Scheibler, Jr. and His Work in the East End.

Presented by Martin Aurand, Author and Principal Architecture Library/Archivist, Head of University Libraries Arts Library and Special Collections Department, Carnegie Mellon University.

Free and Open to the Public

AlphaLab Info Lunch

The AlphaLab Winter 2017 Application Cycle is officially open!

AlphaLab Info Lunch is an opportunity for you to come and learn about AlphaLab, ask questions about the program and the application process, and hear from participants in the AlphaLab program about their own entrepreneurial experiences. You will hear from Executive Director Jim Jen, Program Manager Aaron Tainter, and a panel of current and alumni companies from various cycles and different stages of growth.

There will be lunch and refreshments along with an opportunity to meet and network with your fellow entrepreneurs, members of the AlphaLab team, and current and past AlphaLab companies.

Please register here: https://goo.gl/forms/OJOU0aMqIEjkRals1

TUESDAY – City Planning Hosts Community Meeting on Enright Park

Sorry for the last minute post, but just learned about this meeting and wanted to help spread the word. One of the more interesting discussions about public space in the East End over the past few months has been around the future of the Enright Parklet. A small public park located in East Liberty. Google maps shows that Enright Parklet is in the middle of the Penn Plaza green space, from the street, I am not sure if this space looks very green, so it would be easy to miss this little park if you were just driving down Penn Avenue.

Tonight, Tuesday, February 23, 2016, the Pittsburgh Department of City Planning will host a community meeting on the Enright Park.

Facebook Event for Enright Park Community Meeting: http://on.fb.me/21dt2OF.

Read more about the community meeting the Post-Gazette here.

For more information on Enright Park check out EnrightPark.org, Save Enright Park on Facebook and follow @EnrightPark on Twitter.

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