Today, me and my group visited a neighborhood as part of our “Neighborhood Scramble” activity, in which each of the three main Carrigart project groups study a local section of Pittsburgh. While visiting, my group went on a scavenger hunt to take several pictures of buildings or neighborhood features, including something that shows how the place brands itself, something that shows forward momentum and community investment, something decrepit, like a vacancy or failed business, a third place, as in somewhere people can meet for free, and finally something that captures the place’s visual identity. The neighborhood my group chose was Bloomfield, known as Pittsburgh’s own “Little Italy,” making the first in that list very easy to find! Right as you cross the Bloomfield Bridge, there’s a huge sign saying exactly that!
The easy find was right next to the sign: something abandoned, showing signs of struggle. This would be the defunct restaurant, nightclub, and karaoke bar “Cobra.” Cobra was a popular destination for those interested in Pittsburgh nightlife, and its large logo facing the main intersection at the Bloomfield Bridge will remain iconic for as long as the building itself is still there, a dark black obelisk in a sea of whites, browns, and grays.
Another striking moment of contrast in this same immediate area off the Bloomfield Bridge is Clement Way, a large alley with a wall that can legally be graffitied, as long as it follows a couple rules. This constantly evolving display of local culture was perfect for showing continued forward momentum in the Bloomfield community. This way of publicly displaying a typically illegal art form is an invaluable civic asset that acts as an expression of free speech. Some of the contents of the wall are less… appropriate, than others, but it makes it feel all the more genuine. (Note: one the first picture is the one we took; the others are there to show the variety of Clement Way and how it changes!)
We then went down to Bloomfield’s main street, Liberty Avenue. There, we immediately found what we were looking for– one, something that really captures the visual identity of Bloomfield, and two, a third space. The first was simple: a record store’s own little reminder of where you are, in the form of vinyl records making the Italian flag.
The third space was very interesting. You see, another part of the Neighborhood Scramble project is to interview two people associated with local businesses, and we were able to make one of those the owner of Mimic’s Market, a local game store which also acts as a free place to play things like trading card games and tabletop games. The owner gave my team a lot of great answers to our questions, but none were as important as what he thought Bloomfield was missing: a bigger third space! There’s only so much a small games store can do, and one more public would do wonders for the feel of Liberty Avenue. This sentiment was also reflected by our second interview, which was with the owner of Linea Verde Green Market close by. The concept of the importance of third spaces isn’t new to me, but it was great to hear the takes of each business owner. The process of conducting these impromptu interviews as well as the knowledge of how much businesses value third spaces is definitely something I’ll be taking with me and using in my analysis of Carrigart.
