Essential Pittsburgh

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Meet The Mathematical Muscle Behind The Pittsburgh Marathon May 05, 2017

Show notes

Finish line logistics captain Brian Schmidt is in the thick of it now. All last month he categorized and readied a behemoth assortment of race-day paraphernalia across two floors of a Strip District U-Haul facility. Today, he’s a walking ledger for pallets of road cones, fruit cups, Vaseline and mylar spread over 14 neighborhoods in dozens of tarp-covered, plywood boxes.

Garfield Bike Shop Owner Says He's Ready To Retire And Pass On The Tools Feb 14, 2017

Show notes

Jerry Kraynick bends at the waist, hands on hips, and peers over his glasses. He gestures towards a bike. “Throw it up on the stand, and I’ll look at it.”

Carnegie Libraries As Literary Preppers: How Your Favorite Sleuths Predict Demand Feb 09, 2017

Show notes

Two part-time workers stood on either side of a T-shaped conveyer belt as 61-year-old Joe Spaniol moved down its twin trunks, trading full boxes with empty ones when its contents started to overflow.

Redeveloping A Vacant Lot In Pittsburgh Can Be Full Of Refrigerator-Sized Surprises Jan 30, 2017

Show notes

For decades, contractors demolishing old buildings in Pittsburgh knocked them through the sub-flooring and filled in the holes with whatever was left behind. Debris, support walls, bricks and even appliances -- all topped off with dirt.

From Corner Stores To Grocery Chains And Back, Pittsburgh's Food Systems Are Evolving Jan 23, 2017

Show notes

Gina Merante grabbed a banana bunch from a red wall lined with gradually ripening fruit. She shuffled past boxes of apples and red peppers and pointed outside, past the large display window at the front of her store, Linea Verde Green Market .

City Considers Produce Terminal’s Vibrant Past While Planning For Its Future Jan 17, 2017

Show notes

At nearly five city blocks long, the Pennsylvania Fruit and Auction, known to locals as the Produce Terminal, is hard to miss. It sits along Smallman Street between 16th and 20th and seems to watch over the business on Penn Avenue.

From Steel To Stethoscopes: Nied's Third Shift Bar Patrons Change With The City Dec 21, 2016

Show notes

Nied’s Hotel in Pittsburgh’s Lawrenceville neighborhood is one of a handful of bars where workers who clock out while most hit the alarm clock can still meet for coffee or a beer. Taverns that cater to third-shift workers aren’t a new concept to Pittsburgh, but over the years, their clientele has evolved.

The Past And Future Of Old Allegheny City On Display At Home Tour Dec 14, 2016

Show notes

A lot has changed over its 35 year history, but the Old Allegheny Victorian Christmas House Tour has always started on Beech Avenue at Calvary United Methodist Church.

They Pay Mortgages & Taxes, But Many Pittsburghers Don’t Realize Their Home Titles Are Tangled Dec 05, 2016

Show notes

Eric Luster grew up in a three-bedroom 1920s-era home on a quiet dead end street in Homewood. It was a self-described good childhood, but he thought he would have a better future in Atlanta, Ga., so he moved out of town to raise his five children.

Hill District Tours Aim To Change Impressions Of The Neighborhood Nov 22, 2016

Show notes

A few decades ago, Terri Baltimore tagged along with a group of architecture students and their professor while they were visiting the Hill District. “And what they said about this neighborhood broke my heart,” she said. “That it was dirty.

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