We visited Pittsburgh’s Hill District today. We started with a 9:30 a.m. bus to the James F. Henry Hill House Center and met with Terri Baltimore. She gave us a rundown of the tour we were about to take and talked to us about how the Hill District is in a severe food desert. Right across the street from the center was a halal grocery store called Salem’s. At first, I couldn’t understand how this neighborhood could be considered a food desert when a grocery store was right there. But then I found out that this Salem’s location had closed months ago. I was confused. Why would the only grocery store in a food-insecure area shut down? Later, I learned that Salem’s mostly sold meats and spices. That was its entire model. Salem’s was the only grocery store in the Hill District, but it failed because it didn’t offer a full range of groceries. The owner expected residents to shop at multiple specialized stores rather than relying on one general market. But that doesn’t work if there’s only one store around. The situation was so bad that even before Salem’s, another grocer called Shop and Save also failed because people preferred to drive several miles to Giant Eagle, where they could get everything in one place. What the Hill District really needed was a complete grocery store, something with fruits, vegetables, dry goods, and everyday essentials. That part of the conversation ended with a bit of optimism. Terri told us that the owner of Salem’s is in talks with the community about reopening the store under a new model, one that doesn’t just focus on meat. If he listens to the community and adapts, he has a real opportunity to create something that actually meets the needs of the Hill District…

Once we started our walking tour, we headed to the Federal Credit Union at the Mary A. Walker Building. It’s one of only two Black-owned banking institutions in the entire state of Pennsylvania. While Terri was talking to us about the bank, the president saw us from inside and walked over to introduce himself. While he spoke, multiple people walking or driving by slowed down just to say hi to either Terri or the president. This really shows how connected the community is with each other…

After we talked about the bank, our attention shifted to a smaller plaque on the side of the building. It mentioned the “Freedom House Ambulance Service.” This was the first modern ambulance service in the United States. The Freedom House started by cutting off the top of Cadillacs and modifying them to fit people inside. Very interesting stuff…

We kept walking and stopped by some next-door apartments that Terri said were mainly occupied by artists. Not much else was said about them, but they looked cool…

After that, we checked out a really cool mural. Terri told us stories about how she gave tours to both Vin Diesel and Denzel Washington. Denzel was there for a movie, and Vin Diesel’s grandfather played baseball and was from the Hill District…

After we got back to campus from the Hill District, we had three hours until class with Dr. Jones. And since it was Ian’s birthday today, we decided to celebrate with a boys’ lunch at Viva Los Tacos. It was horrible. The service was the worst ever. It took 50 minutes for us to get our drinks, and the waitress was mad at us the whole time for no reason. The food was solid, but I will avoid that place at all costs from now on.

After that, we went back to the dorms to surprise Ian and Sol (it’s both of their birthdays today) with a cookie cake and balloons. Fun activities, but they got cut short due to class. Here’s a photo of the birthday people…

We had class with Dr. Ray Jones, where we reviewed the material and talked about the “mid-term” we’re taking tomorrow. Mid-session, we got deep into a conversation about golf, which led to Dr. Jones pulling out a golf club. I got to practice my swing right there in class. I’ll be just as good as Tiger Woods in a few months.

All in all, I feel like the Hill District tour really showed me the long-term effects of a city whose neighborhoods were historically very segregated. On the way there, we talked about how, even today, Pittsburgh’s neighborhoods are still largely made up of specific ethnic groups, with invisible borders separating one community from the next. That history hasn’t disappeared. At the same time, it seems like the Hill District is starting to change. We were told that demographics are shifting due to major gentrification. Last week, I went to a Target in an area my classmates said used to be shady, and they were surprised by how much it had improved. So the gentrification is hitting So we’ll see what the Hill looks like 10 or 15 years from now…