Jerry’s Records has been on my Pittsburgh to-do list ever since I first arrived in the city many years ago. My personal preferences in urban media spaces tend toward film venues, bookstores, and art galleries. Record stores typically don’t make it on my itinerary. When I was still buying CDs I would make it a … Continue reading City Scenes: Jerry’s Records in Squirrel Hill
Category: Cities
Milk Crates of Canada
Last month I was in Toronto for the first time in six years. For whatever reasons of circumstance, my trips to Canada have always fallen in late October, right around Halloween. Memories of my first visit include the CN Tower being lit in orange and green to resemble a pumpkin, and the red poppy pins … Continue reading Milk Crates of Canada
Trail ride to Homestead (w/ video!)
Ever since moving to South Side Flats last year I’ve regularly gone out on the Three Rivers Heritage Trail that snakes along the neighborhood’s edge beside the Monongahela River. My initial forays followed the trail west toward downtown, and I stuck to that stretch throughout the past year. This summer, however, I changed up my … Continue reading Trail ride to Homestead (w/ video!)
City Scenes: Cycling L.A.’s new 6th Street Bridge (w/ video)
While I missed out on all the excitement surrounding the opening of L.A.’s new Sixth Street Viaduct back in July, I finally got to see the bridge in person during a visit to California this October. I also got to try out the city’s bike share system. There is a Metro Bike station near the … Continue reading City Scenes: Cycling L.A.’s new 6th Street Bridge (w/ video)
City Scenes: Pitt Homecoming fireworks redux
One of my favorite features of my South Side apartment is the view of Pitt’s Cathedral of Learning across the river in Oakland. When the time came for Pitt’s annual Homecoming fireworks display last Fall I was excited to check out the proceedings from the comfort of my living room. This time around I wanted … Continue reading City Scenes: Pitt Homecoming fireworks redux
A cabin trip prelude in KC
My summer got off to a strong start this year with my only proper vacation travel of the season. For the past several years my sister has invited me out to her in-laws’ Colorado cabin, and I was finally able to accept the invitation this past May. Before making the trek out to the Centennial … Continue reading A cabin trip prelude in KC
Pedal PGH 2022 (w/ video!)
Back on the last Sunday in August I took part in Pedal PGH for the first time. Although this event had never been on my radar, it's been held every year since 1994. Having now participated, I recognize the color-coordinated route markers placed throughout the city to guide cyclists from previous summers; I always assumed … Continue reading Pedal PGH 2022 (w/ video!)
South Side streets, micromobility misfires, e-bike discourse
For the entirety of the past year East Carson Street – the central corridor through Pittsburgh’s South Side – has been undergoing a slow and stymying overhaul. The construction project has involved street closures, blocked sidewalks, and haphazardly reconfigured intersection crossings (I previously chronicled my own frustrations with mobility in the neighborhood). Supposedly the project … Continue reading South Side streets, micromobility misfires, e-bike discourse
Goat Fest 2022
For the past five years an annual Pittsburgh event has celebrated a cutting-edge technology of ecological restoration: goats. Since 2017 an organization called Allegheny GoatScape has utilized goats – “nature’s lawn mowers” – to reduce invasive vegetation and clear away difficult brush in the city’s parks, vacant lots, and other public spaces. This work is … Continue reading Goat Fest 2022
L.A’s 6th Street Bridge as urban communication convergence zone
Last month the city of Los Angeles celebrated the opening of the new 6th Street Viaduct bridge. The new structure replaces the original 6th Street bridge, an iconic landmark that spanned the L.A. river, connected downtown to Boyle Heights, and appeared in numerous films and other media. The original bridge was constructed in 1932 and … Continue reading L.A’s 6th Street Bridge as urban communication convergence zone