Hey Nords - another Pittsburgher

[dory36]

Been meaning to ask -- When did you leave Pittsburgh? I was there 1980-86. Lived in Shadyside 80-82, Squirrel Hill 82-84, Swissvale 84-86. Worked at CMU, and ate at the Dirty O and other Oakland low-spots frequently.

 

[Cool Dood]

I've eaten at that place that puts fries inside the sandwich...

 

[dory36]

Me too -- hey Nords, what is the name of that place?

 

[Cool Dood]

Me too -- hey Nords, what is the name of that place?

Ah, Primanti Bros.

What doesn't the internet know?

 

[dory36]

Yeah, what you said. We went there for lunch once in a while.

But Chiodo’s was my favorite. What more could you ask? A hundred or so varieties of beer, the mystery sandwich, wonderful pierogies... and a push button at every booth that would summon the waitress/waiter when needed!

 

[BarbaraAnne]

What about Prantl's (spelling?) bakery for burnt almond torte. Located in Shadyside...

My brother got his undergraduate, graduate and PHD at CMU and we loved visiting him there...

 

[Nords]

Been meaning to ask -- When did you leave Pittsburgh? I was there 1980-86. Lived in Shadyside 80-82, Squirrel Hill 82-84, Swissvale 84-86. Worked at CMU, and ate at the Dirty O and other Oakland low-spots frequently.

I actually grew up in the town of Murrysville, a few miles outside Pittsburgh. I left there in 1978 (for USNA) and my folks moved to Colorado that same week. But I found them later.

You lived in the nice parts! I spent some time at CMU & Pitt for high-school stuff but never got a chance to indulge in the nightlife...

 

[Kwirk]

I grew up in Monessen. I never spent much time in Pittsburgh proper but it was a good area for neighborhood bars and bakeries.

 

[renferme]

Still yet, another from the 'burgh - that would be ME !
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Unfortunately, Chiodo's, in Homestead, closed down a few months ago.
A huge shopping area has been built on the land formerly occupied by the Homestead Works of US Steel. What this has done, is to put the downtown Homestead area into serious trouble, stores closed and boarded up since all the business has moved to the new shopping area (called The Waterfront).
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Primanti's is still going strong; sandwiches with the fries and coleslaw on the sandwich - delicious!
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If you haven't been back to Pittsburgh in about 30 years, you might not recognize the place. All but one steel mill has closed down. Only one remaining is the Edgar Thompson Works (US Steel) in Braddock. Probably the smallest of the mills, but for some reason, still running. Reason you might not recognize the place, is that the air quality is really good now and you can see everything quite clearly, no smog, no dirt, no pollution. Many people throughout the country still think Pittsburgh is a smoggy town.
Pgh is finally starting to use the rivers for recreation, not just for barges carrying coal and ore up and down to the mills.
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What happened to Pgh. since the mills closed is that the city has lost about half its population. Many moved to surrounding counties and many moved out of the area. Unemployment is low because of the loss of population.
A very beautiful area now! If only we could do something about the cold winters.

 

[Nords]

If only we could do something about the cold winters.

I moved to Hawaii, where there are almost as many Steelers flags & Samoans as there used to be inside Three Rivers Stadium. E komo mai, brah...

 

[MooreBonds]

I went to CMU from fall 95 to spring 00. While my majors were tweaked along the way as I swooned in and out of sadism consciousness, I ended up with a triple major in Mech E, Business and Economics.

I thoroughly enjoyed my 5 year sentence, and found the area somewhat comparable to St. Louis...although I don't know if I'd move back there. Perhaps spend some time in the not-too-distant-future with an as-yet-unnamed future wife....although I'd stay away from the O. I had enough run-ins with them in the CMU University Center and employess that didn't wash their hands after using the bathroom.

 

[dory36]

I had enough run-ins with them in the CMU University Center and employess that didn't wash their hands after using the bathroom.

Well, as long as they didn't pee on their fingers...

a triple major in Mech E, Business and Economics.

Did you happen to have Herb Simon for anything when you were there? I suspect that he was influential in your economics degree. He was on my dissertation committee when I was in grad school.

For others, Herb was a renaissance man, U of Chicago phd in political scienceand head of a poli sci dept in his mid 20s, widely considered the father of artificial intelligence and cognitive psychology, professor in the psychology department but also claimed by the computer science, business, and economics depts, and Nobel laureate in the late 1970s.

Although a solid LBYM (1 car, the same nondescript house from the 1950s until he died in 2001, no television, and he walked the mile to and from campus every day), he would never fit on this board. He worked steadily until he died at about 85.