Tag Archives: Rust Belt

IheartPGH in the New York Times

9 Years Ago in the NYTimes “Turning to T-Shirts to Spiff Up Downtrodden Cities”

Pittsburgh t-shirt

This photo is from Podcamp Pittsburgh in 2006.

One of the many things on my to do list for the blog is to revisit the idea of our very own t-shirt shop. I have long had a little shop with Spreadshirt, but I am not comfortable trying to promote t-shirts that were not actually here in Pittsburgh. I have been pondering the future of the blog, it is about to turn 12 this fall and if it is time to retire or recruit new bloggers or what should happen next (I am open to any and all ideas so them my way)!

While I was in the shower this morning I was thinking about the t-shirt shop, I know that one of the first decisions to make would be what designs to sell. I was debating if the “Pittsburghers are tasty” design would still be popular. I got out of the shower, started my day and forgot all about the t-shirt design debate.

Then I looked at the “on this day archives” and 9 years ago today, July 13, is the day that IheartPGH was featured with our friends from St. Louis, STLStyle, in a New York Times piece on t-shirts and rust belt cities.

IheartPGH in the New York Times

Never in my wildest dreams did I think that t-shirts and sharing Pittsburgh pride would land me a mention in the New York Times.

First, a brief history of relationship between t-shirts and this blog…

  • I graduated from college and moved back to Pittsburgh after having sworn I would never move back home.
  • I had a mostly boring office job (I know know that working for the largest auctioneer of dairy processing equipment, is not really boring – ask me about stainless steel food processing equipment and my visits to Dodge Nebraska, and to bring it full circle to the t-shirts my sister still wears the t-shirt I bought in Dodge, NE).
  • I went to the Warhol Museum on a rainy Sunday afternoon and decided I would teach myself how to screen print.
  • The first t-shirt I printed was an “IheartPGH” T-shirt. I still have the screens, not sure if they are useable, but I’ve kept them in case I ever need to get back into the screenprinting business.
  • I picked up a flyer for Union Printing, what you now know as Commonwealth Press and likely sent an e-mail to Dan Rugh. This was back in the day of MySpace. I think it was even before texting. I was terribly shy and I sent Dan an email. We met for a coffee at the Beehive and talked about sustainable screen printing methods.
  • In 2005 I worked on Bill Peduto’s first campaign, we had no money for t-shirts, so we used donated t-shirts, turned them inside out and printed Peduto for Pittsburgh on them at open studio night at Artist Image Resources.
  • Commonwealth Press, which was located in Dan & Shannon’s house started printing all of the IheartPGH t-shirts.
  • In 2005, again out of boredom, I started a blog. Mostly because my new friend Dave (one of the founders of Libsyn.com and now BossJock App) had volunteered everyday on Bill Peduto’s campaign and told me I needed to have an RSS feed.
  • In the Summer of 2006, I was having lunch at the Union Project Cafe with my friend Pat. I asked him if he thought I could find work as a blogger. His reply “Don’t quit your day job.” In 2006, I was a regular at the Union Project Cafe which was run by the amazing Kate Romane. Kate went on to run e2, which was even more amazing and is now the proprietor of Black Radish Catering.
  • 2006, a reader of the blog left a comment about how this company Spreadshirt was hiring for a Wizard of Web 2.0. I quit my day job and started my social media career as a Wizard of Web 2.0.

What is even more amazing to me is how much has changed over the past 9 years. Pittsburgh has gone from being an occasional mention in a story about rust belt cities to being #1 on more lists about cities than I can even keep track of.

If you are new to Pittsburgh, or even nostalgic about Pittsburgh, take a moment to read the 2009 New York Times article – Turning to T-Shirts to Spiff Up Downtrodden CitiesIt is an interesting comparison to how much has changed in the way we talk about cities (also some interesting changes in the businesses that existed and still exist today). No one would use the word “downtrodden” to describe Pittsburgh today.

STLStyle is still printing out St. Louis gear, if you find your self in St. Louis stop by and say hi to Jeff and Randy, I can assure you there are some Pittsburgh stickers on the wall at their shop. Commonwealth Press is still printing t-shirts and has recently moved to a much bigger location in the Allentown Neighborhood. The Mayor of Pittsburgh is now featured in the New York Times on a regular basis.

What is most striking to me, is the change in the language we use to describe Pittsburgh. No one would use the word “downtrodden” to describe Pittsburgh in 2017. Are there any cities that are currently described as “downtrodden”? The recent presidential election highlighted the distinct shift between the urban and non-urban areas of the country. I am curious how the way we talk about a place, impacts that place. This blog was started as a way to create a different narrative of Pittsburgh in 2006, to share the stories of the people and places that were here and thriving, even if those outside saw it otherwise.

While I never thought I would move back to Pittsburgh, I also never thought of Pittsburgh as a place I couldn’t come back to. I almost always ask people who didn’t grow up in Pittsburgh if they would ever move back home. The answer is almost always no. I think that Pittsburgh has benefited from people coming and going, leaving for a bit before they boomerang back with some new ideas about other places do things. Was Pittsburgh every really downtrodden or is that just how non-Pittsburghers saw it from the outside?

I would love to hear your thoughts on how Pittsburgh has changed over the past 9 years. I would also like to know what your favorite Pittsburgh t-shirt is and if you would buy a “Pittsburghers Are Tasty” t-shirt.

Rust Belt Coalition of Young Preservationists

RustBeltTakeover: The Rust Belt Coalition of Young Preservationists Comes to Pittsburgh This Weekend

This weekend, young preservationists from Buffalo, Ohio, Wheeling, and Indianapolis will descend on Pittsburgh for the Rust Belt Coalition of Young Preservationist Summit. This is a big deal for Pittsburgh and for the historic preservationists who are coming to town.  Not only is this a great opportunity to show our rust belt neighbors some of the best historic preservation Pittsburgh has to offer, but this is a chance to learn from other cities what has been successful in their historic preservation efforts.

One of the most influential events that I participated in was the 2nd annual GLUE (Great Lakes Urban Exchance) conference in Milwuakee in 2009. After a plane ride and a train ride, I showed up in a very cold Milwaukee and was wondering why I decided to make the trip. The next day, they loaded us onto a bus for a tour of Growing Power, an award winning urban farm in Milwaukee. I was sure I was going to hate the experience and I was already looking for a plane ticket home. After about 15 minutes of the tour, I had forgotten how cold it was and was already sold on the idea of hydroponic urban farming. Not only did I leave Milwaukee an adamant supporter of urban farming, but I had build a network of incredibly valuable rust belt city lovers in other cities.

I am incredibly impressed with the work that the Young Preservationists Association has done to bring this conference to Pittsburgh and to show off some of the excellent examples of historic preservation (and preservation in process) in the city of Pittsburgh.

There are still tickets left to join the RBCoYP on the tour of Carrie Furnace on Sunday (a great opportunity, especially since the tours of Carrie Furnace usually sell out).

Follow the RBCoYP

RBCoYP in Curbed

Make sure to check out this post on Curbed, a national real estate blog about the RBCoYP Conference.  Great press for the young preservationists and for Pittsburgh.

April 7, 2016, Curbed: Young Rust Belt Preservationists Banding Together to Save Industrial Heritage by Patrick Sisson, @freqresponse

During an election season with a focus on manufacturing and American jobs, it’s hard to escape mention of the Rust Belt and its importance to the race. While many have rightfully focused on workers and economic revitalization, that same concern hasn’t been shown to the physical reminders of U.S. manufacturing across the region. The challenge of protecting and preserving the region’s architectural history, and using it as a catalyst for future development, has led a group of young preservationists to try and find new means to publicize and protect endangered sites.

The Rust Belt Coalition of Young Preservationists, bringing together smaller groups from New York, Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, meets for its first summit this upcoming weekend in Pittsburgh. Hosted by the Young Preservationists Association of Pittsburgh, the meetup aims to establish a regional network, share strategy, and create a support system for new and nascent groups forming around the region.

Join the RBCoYP for a tour of Carrie Furnace and Debrief at Brew Gentleman

While most of the events are just for the visiting preservationists, check out the entire schedule of events here so you can see all of the places that will be highlighted). The events on Sunday are open to the public and there are still tickets left to see Carrie Furnace.

Our Top 13 Posts About Pittsburgh from 2013

Image via christmasstockimages.com, used under Creative Commons Attribution license.

Image via christmasstockimages.com, used under Creative Commons Attribution license.

2013 has been a busy year of blogging!  Over the summer we had a great group of interns (aka the yinzterns) who took to the streets and put together some impressive guides to Pittsburgh.  Most of the posts on this list were written by our interns over the summer.

Its not surprising that movies, beer and hot dogs made the list of the top posts for 2013.  If you missed these posts earlier in the year, we hope you will take a moment to click through and add a comment to your favorites.

  1. Guide to Pittsburgh’s Drive-Ins: Check them out before they “Go Digital or Go Dark” – June 7, 2013
  2. Guide to Pittsburgh public pools: hours, cost, locations, rules – June 27, 2013
  3. Guide to unique, interesting, and fun classes and workshops in Pittsburgh – June 24, 2013
  4. Guide to Pittsburgh’s Independent Movie Theaters – July 8, 2013
  5. The 2013 Pittsburgh Cinema in the Park series kicks off on Saturday – June 8, 2013
  6. A Sneak Peek at “Franktuary: The Second Coming” – January 8, 2013
  7. Get a Sneak Peek of the New TechShop Pittsburgh on Saturday – February 14, 2013
  8. Corpse Flower in Bloom at Phipps Conservatory – August 8, 2013
  9. A Football Town With a Soccer Problem – June 28, 2013
  10. International Beer Day: Guide to Pittsburgh breweries and more – August 2, 2013
  11. Local Spotlight: Full Pint Brewing in North Versailles – July 26, 2013
  12. National Hot Dog Day: The Hot Dogs of Pittsburgh – July 24, 2013
  13. The Pop Stop: Popsicles in Pittsburgh – August 8, 2013

A few other posts from 2013 worth a look

While these weren’t the most popular posts, here are some of our favorite posts from 2013 that are worth a second look. Continue reading

12 Giveaways of Pittsburgh #9-12: Portraits, Improv and Some of the Best Pgh Gear Around

I’m thrilled to post the last four items for the 12 Giveaways of Pittsburgh!  It has been so much fun to write about these businesses and share these items with you.  As I put this list together, I realizes that almost all of the owners of the businesses featured on this list I have met and become friends with because of IheartPGH.  Pittsburgh is filled with some amazing small business owners and I feel incredibly lucky to have the opportunity to get to know these folks and share their businesses with the readers of IheartPGH.

12giveaways9-12-candycane

Giveaways 1-8

We’re keeping all of the giveaways open until the end of the week – so you still have time to enter.

Check out our previous posts for giveaways 1-8 and a bonus giveaway for pens tickets:

We’ve been working with several other bloggers to help Community Human Services raise money to provide small holiday gifts to the folks that they serve.  We still need to raise $1000 to make sure they are able to provide holiday gifts this Christmas.  Anyone who donates gets extra entries for the giveaways and a chance to win the great hockey tickets for the Penguins game on January 15, 2014.

Giveaways 9-12

#9. A Level-1 Improv Class at Steel City Improv ($249 value) – if you’ve ever wanted to learn to make people laugh – this is your chance!

#10. A Portrait Session from Noah Purdy Photography  Noah is an incredible photographer, who also donates his time to help CHS – check out his blog post about Pittsburgh Help Portrait here.

#11. A Pair of Pittsburgh socks from LineUp – because every Pittsburger should show their steel city pride on their feet.

#12. A $50 Gift Certificate from Garbella – Amy makes some of our favorite Pittsburgh t-shirts.  What can we say we’re partial to anything with a pierogi on it.   Amy screenprints all of her items by hand, here in Pittsburgh.

Enter to win one of these via the Rafflecopter widget below!  If you want to just contribute to CHS you can do that here.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Writing about the Rust Belt – GLUE and Rustbelt Almanac

I’ve got two great projects to share with you, both are related to sharing stories about rustbelt cities including Pittsburgh.

If you have been a regular reader of IheartPGH over the years, you have probably read a few of our posts about GLUE.  GLUE stands for Great Lakes Urban Exchange – a project that was started by a Pittsburgher and a Detroiter (is there a Detroit equivalent to the word Pittsburgher?).  I’ve been fortunate to attend many of the GLUE conferences, the most recent conference was held in September 2011 here in Pittsburgh.  Through GLUE I have had the chance to meet my blogging counterparts from other rust belt cities.  Some of my fellow GLUE friends have been discussing another GLUE conference for this fall.  We’ve also launched the GLUE Tumblr blog – which is open for submission.  If you have a story, link, photos or video that you would like to share with fellow city lovers please submit here – http://gluespace.tumblr.com/submit

Speaking of story sharing.  Meet Rustbelt Almanac – a new magazinge that will be launching very soon with a first issue about Pittsburgh.  Congrats to the Rustbelt Almanac team on not only meeting but beating their fundraising goal.  Check out the video below.  (There is one more day to contribute – you can still donate to the Rustbelt Almanac kickstarter campaign here.)