Thursday, January 8, 2009

A Shadyside Kind of Day

Pittsburgh is my favorite city. It is a city of neighborhoods either by design or accident because of those pesky hills. And one of my favorite neighborhoods in Pittsburgh is Shadyside. It is located to the east of Oakland, home of the University of Pittsburgh, along and off of Fifth Avenue.

I don’t know the history of Pittsburgh all that well, but I assume that Shadyside was built in the heyday of trolleys. How can I tell? It is primarily a residential neighborhood consisting of large homes with single garages, if any, no driveways, and no parking. The residents had to have some way of getting to work downtown. These beautiful, late 19th century and turn of the century homes are crammed into very small spaces….and cost a fortune today, even in our current dreadful economic climate.

Along the way to Shadyside, you will pass the St. Paul Cathedral (home of the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh, and worth a stop) and a number of huge Protestant churches as well as Jewish Synagogues. Shadyside borders another stunning residential area called Squirrel Hill, which has a large Jewish population. Both of these areas are fun to explore.

One of the fun things about Shadyside is its eclectic mix. Residents vary from the very wealthy to young, urban professionals to college professors and university students. It is reflected in the housing stock, the restaurants, and the shopping. It this diversity which gives Shadyside its special appeal.

Shadyside has two business districts. The first is along Walnut Street. It is one of the proverbial “you can’t get there from here” streets. Follow the signs off of 5th Avenue. This is the high brow shopping area. It is 5 blocks long. You know those new neighborhood type shopping areas they are building today like Easton in Columbus or Legacy Village in Cleveland? Walnut Street is that, only it happened naturally. This isn’t an ersatz imitation. It is the real McCoy. It started Bohemian, but now contains some of the standard Williams Sonoma and Chico’s type stores. They call it gentrification. If you have expensive tastes, there are several galleries you can visit and ogle the art you can’t afford to buy. But you can find some local stores in between the chains that make it worthwhile.

The other shopping area is along Ellsworth Avenue. When things got a tad pricey on Walnut Street, the local merchants moved to Ellsworth Avenue. Yes, you can walk from the Walnut area to the Ellsworth area, but it is a hike, and I wouldn’t recommend it. For awhile, it appeared that the business associations for both areas didn’t get along, and ran competing events. They fought over which area sponsored the main summer event, The Shadyside Festival. Those issues have since been resolved, but it was fun to watch.

Ellsworth is not as tony as Walnut Street, and maintains that Bohemian feel with a large gay population. The real estate is not as attractive, and you will find standard type convenience stores. But tucked in between are some really interesting, and sometimes weird, shopping venues. The galleries here are just that. They contain local art work of the yet to be famous…some of which can be a tad offensive, so beware. It has several antique shops with some high end stuff, and some that serve contractors who are redoing old houses looking for old doorknobs and fireplace mantels.

My favorite store is a vintage clothing store called Eons. It is run by two very interesting gentlemen, to say the least, and is stacked to the rafters with all sorts of clothing and hats and some really nice vintage jewelry, mostly from the late 1940’s on through the 1970’s. The place is a hoot. One of the owners is originally from the Mahoning Valley, and got into the business by accident. Eons is one of the prime sources for vintage clothing needs for Hollywood film makers, and does business nationwide. If they don’t got it, you don’t need it. My wife and I will drive to Shadyside specifically to shop at this store, especially for vintage pins and the jewelry.

Parking is an issue in both areas. Walnut Street has a parking garage as well as public parking lots behind the stores. Street parking is available, but difficult to find. Ellsworth is less busy, and I have never had trouble finding a place to park on the street, even if you have to walk a bit to get to the shopping area.

There are all sorts of eating places in both areas. Some are trendy, others more down to earth. But you won’t go hungry. Read up on the area restaurants because some of Pittsburgh’s best are located in Shadyside, including Soba’s and Girasole, and Casbah’s. The China Palace, one of my favorite Chinese restaurants, is on Walnut Street, as well as several interesting Thai restaurants if you hanker some satay.