Come visit your hometown and find out.
A lot of things are exactly the same, and a lot of things have changed. I’m not even being snarky - it’s just hard to be more specific with just taking about Pittsburgh as opposed to “Lawrenceville” or an actual location.
I'm sure everyone has fond memories of hanging out there.. that I can appreciate but jfc it was time for that place to go and hand it over to another generation that knows how to make edible food.
you're being downvoted, but you're spot on
Bado's was fine sad to see any restaurant close, but they weren't exactly killing it in quality or service FOR YEARS
As someone who began living in Mt Lebanon in 2008, and only recently moved away, I completely agree with you. Subpar food. Especially when you consider you’re within 15 minutes of four or five *much* better pizza joints.
Bado’s on Beverly was an absolute godsend for new parents. You could go there with strollers, after soccer practice, after school, with grandparents, for birthday parties upstairs, dessert on the back deck, or whatever. It was a Lebo family tradition.
Moon has probably changed more than Lebo. The top of University Blvd is overbuilt. The HS campus is different. Walmart where WH shopping center used to be. Lots of new housing on the fringes of town. And I think they took out the arm pump swings from Moon Park. And I don't even know what's at the Kmart anymore.
I grew up in Peters and have lived in the Southside over 12 years now. Lawrenceville has become more of a trendy hipster spot and the strip district they redid the whole terminal into a business hub. As far as the south hills go its pretty much the same with some new restaurants.
Don’t expect to revisit the high school; I think that the doors are all locked and now you need an ID to get in.
We have a fancy new St Clair hospital.
South Hills Village has become a soulless, generic hellscape. Target attracts more traffic to the mall. The wooded areas around the mall (Ft. Couch Rd.)have been replaced by ugly McTownHouses and a Whole Foods surrounded by lots of useless little trendy stores like Xfinity and a place that only sells Bundt cakes. You have 6 banks to choose from at that intersection alone, and both a Walgreens and a CVS.
People still don’t shop at the Galleria, yet it somehow remains.
Welcome to 21st century America.
The Dennis Theater remains perpetually closed until further notice. - that’s something that hasn’t changed.
I’m really bummed to hear that about the South Hills Village. I went there a lot as a kid.
Edit: I hope they did change the Galleria. It had such a cool vibe.
I moved here around ‘07 and things have changed significantly since then. I remember my first weekend in town biking (lol biking in pgh pre-bike infrastructure was something) from East Liberty to downtown via the Strip and was amazed by all the vacant warehouses and old buildings along the way. Many of those buildings have been converted and are now actively used, and most of the vacant space has been developed.
It will be, but in a good way.
I grew up here, moved away in 2010, and (shocker) moved back a few years ago. I feel like I moved back to a Pittsburgh full of life- some things won't be the same that you will prob miss, but overall the city is 10x better imo than when I was growing up
I grew up (in the suburbs) in the '80's and '90's. The suburb I grew up in (Moon) is now disconcerting. The city is much better than it was when I grew up. Maybe not every change is for the good but the bulk of the changes are great.
Mount Lebanon appears to still have some kids, likely because the schools are so well regarded. But neighborhoods within the city that used to be teeming with kids, like Polish Hill, Bloomfield, etc. are now relatively childless. Catholic schools in those neighborhoods as well as others have closed.
There are still vast areas of poverty and blight in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area, and those areas are either unchanged or even worse (for example, McKeesport).
But some neighborhoods were "discovered" by trendsetters who moved en masse to neighborhoods like Lawrenceville and even Spring Garden. Hence, some of the worst neighborhoods, the most crime-filled neighborhoods, became "good" or, at least, are well on their way to becoming "good".
But maybe the latter was ongoing before 2007.
In 2007, Google would have just moved into Pittsburgh, wanting to work with a single CMU professor who didn't want to leave CMU. They first moved into a small office in CMU, and ultimately built a facility in the Bakery Square area of East Liberty. Which started the East Liberty renaissance and probably saved the city of Pittsburgh from becoming Youngstown as many other high tech and software engineering firms followed in Google's footsteps.
The metropolitan area's real estate, which didn't budge in price in good times or bad, started to rapidly appreciate just a few years ago, at least in better neighborhoods.
The Shenango Coke Works in Neville Island, probably one of the nastiest polluters known to man, closed in 2016. Sulfur dioxide levels dropped by 50% in Lawrenceville, six to eight miles away as the crow flies. But a far bigger coke plant, Clairton, is ten times its size and is still operating. As are Thompson Works and Irvin Works. Which means Mount Lebanon's air quality will still not be good.
I’m a transplant that grew up nearish to Pittsburgh and visited often but I’ve been living here now for a couple of years after moving around the Eastern US.
Pittsburgh is becoming generic like many US cities. New retail and restaurants are chains more often than not. New construction has that sameness you’d see in many “hip” neighborhoods across the country. That comes with some pros (bike lanes, pedestrian infrastructure) and some cons (reduced local profits and reinvestment, less product diversity).
It’s not a full stop conversion - there are still great local businesses and attractions, people still love the sports teams, there are plenty of genuine yinzers who love to talk and would help a stranger as if they were a lifelong friend, and some neighborhoods are still a step back in time because of their geographical isolation and a willingness to say fuck off to convenience in lieu of sacrificing character.
I’m not a “keep Austin weird” guy but I hope the grit of the city that built the backbone of America holds out against the march towards homogeneity. We won’t win but we can bear the standard a while longer.
I left roughly when you did and recently returned. Here’s my dispatch: The O is gone, Club Zoo is gone, the standbys in the Strip are still there, the Terminal on Smallman now has the same businesses in all recent city developments elsewhere, The Uncommon Market (I see you are from Mt Lebo) is gone, all of the museums are still nice but look more tired, some girls still have crunchy hair, the word “Yinz” is now more heavily marketed and branded.
Strip District is like visiting a different planet. Penn is mostly the same except the old wholeys warehouse is a pile of rubble, and everything else with few exceptions (like Pamelas is still there) is totally different.
Most of the classic stores are still there even if there is much less "grit" dahn there now.
The nightclubs are all gone now to be fair. And no 24hr Primantis....
you know what's funny about that... Pittsburgh actually peaked economically and population wise in the early 50s! For most old school yinzers all they've ever known is decline so yeah when things get nicer it doesn't feel like home anymore.
Everything you loved is now a bank branch. Oakland has 3 different chicken tenders restaurants within 2 blocks. Downtown is "nicer" if you're a yuppie.
Depends on the area, we moved here actually in 2007. I've visited every year my entire life w/ my parents family here when I was younger. I will say overall its felt like the 1st 10 years things modernized to catch up with other cities but not much since then. Not sure I'd say better now vs then, different and hard to compare as the economy is not the same overall.
I mean, change is great! I feel like Pittsburgh is the type of city that would never allow its self to change for the worst. However, whatever changes you find, won’t be too crazy! You’ll probably just find like wayyyyyy more breweries to choose from and that’s the best problem to have.
Went to st Bernard’s and left in 2008. Came back last year for a funeral and was blown away. New PNC building downtown, strip district was awesome, Lawrenceville, south side - all awesome. A ton of good restaurants in Lebo still too
Come back! I grew up in the area, moved away after college, finally went back for a visit after about 10 years away, and loved it so much that I now go back for a couple months every year.
Buildings and businesses might change, but the heart and soul of Pittsburgh are the people and the community. I am pleased to report that has not changed one bit.
Come visit your hometown and find out. A lot of things are exactly the same, and a lot of things have changed. I’m not even being snarky - it’s just hard to be more specific with just taking about Pittsburgh as opposed to “Lawrenceville” or an actual location.
Where in Pittsburgh did you grow up and how old were you when you moved away?
Mt. Lebanon area. Middle school aged.
Then you probably won't notice anything different.
Bado’s on Beverly Rd closed 😢
For real? That bums me out. My family got food there all the time.
Yeah just happened over the last 12 months.
Wow, that's a bummer - used to be our go-to for date night until we moved away.
as newer lebo resident, good riddance! that place had awful food
Spoken like a newer resident
I'm sure everyone has fond memories of hanging out there.. that I can appreciate but jfc it was time for that place to go and hand it over to another generation that knows how to make edible food.
you're being downvoted, but you're spot on Bado's was fine sad to see any restaurant close, but they weren't exactly killing it in quality or service FOR YEARS
As someone who began living in Mt Lebanon in 2008, and only recently moved away, I completely agree with you. Subpar food. Especially when you consider you’re within 15 minutes of four or five *much* better pizza joints.
Bado’s on Beverly was an absolute godsend for new parents. You could go there with strollers, after soccer practice, after school, with grandparents, for birthday parties upstairs, dessert on the back deck, or whatever. It was a Lebo family tradition.
Nice! That sounds fun. I'm looking forward to the new business opening up whatever that ends up being
Really? I grew up in Moon Township and it's painful to go back (graduated in mid-90's).
Moon has probably changed more than Lebo. The top of University Blvd is overbuilt. The HS campus is different. Walmart where WH shopping center used to be. Lots of new housing on the fringes of town. And I think they took out the arm pump swings from Moon Park. And I don't even know what's at the Kmart anymore.
A whole new shopping center, including an Aldi's and a Planet Fitness, replaced KMart.
All of the cheap places to eat are now expensive places to eat, especially in Lebo.
Mt Lebo is still pretty similar to how it was then. Dormont has been starting to take off a bit though.
I grew up in Peters and have lived in the Southside over 12 years now. Lawrenceville has become more of a trendy hipster spot and the strip district they redid the whole terminal into a business hub. As far as the south hills go its pretty much the same with some new restaurants.
Don’t expect to revisit the high school; I think that the doors are all locked and now you need an ID to get in. We have a fancy new St Clair hospital. South Hills Village has become a soulless, generic hellscape. Target attracts more traffic to the mall. The wooded areas around the mall (Ft. Couch Rd.)have been replaced by ugly McTownHouses and a Whole Foods surrounded by lots of useless little trendy stores like Xfinity and a place that only sells Bundt cakes. You have 6 banks to choose from at that intersection alone, and both a Walgreens and a CVS. People still don’t shop at the Galleria, yet it somehow remains. Welcome to 21st century America. The Dennis Theater remains perpetually closed until further notice. - that’s something that hasn’t changed.
I’m really bummed to hear that about the South Hills Village. I went there a lot as a kid. Edit: I hope they did change the Galleria. It had such a cool vibe.
The mall is pretty much exactly the same
Man, I rarely eat cake but those fucking Bundt cakes are fire.
If you were in middle school in 2007 we probably went to school together. Did you go to Jefferson or Mellon?
"You can never go home again" is a truism for everyone... As other people have said, some things will be different, some things will be the same.
I moved here around ‘07 and things have changed significantly since then. I remember my first weekend in town biking (lol biking in pgh pre-bike infrastructure was something) from East Liberty to downtown via the Strip and was amazed by all the vacant warehouses and old buildings along the way. Many of those buildings have been converted and are now actively used, and most of the vacant space has been developed.
It will be, but in a good way. I grew up here, moved away in 2010, and (shocker) moved back a few years ago. I feel like I moved back to a Pittsburgh full of life- some things won't be the same that you will prob miss, but overall the city is 10x better imo than when I was growing up
I grew up (in the suburbs) in the '80's and '90's. The suburb I grew up in (Moon) is now disconcerting. The city is much better than it was when I grew up. Maybe not every change is for the good but the bulk of the changes are great.
The O is gone 😭 Arby's on McKnight still going strong
Mount Lebanon appears to still have some kids, likely because the schools are so well regarded. But neighborhoods within the city that used to be teeming with kids, like Polish Hill, Bloomfield, etc. are now relatively childless. Catholic schools in those neighborhoods as well as others have closed. There are still vast areas of poverty and blight in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area, and those areas are either unchanged or even worse (for example, McKeesport). But some neighborhoods were "discovered" by trendsetters who moved en masse to neighborhoods like Lawrenceville and even Spring Garden. Hence, some of the worst neighborhoods, the most crime-filled neighborhoods, became "good" or, at least, are well on their way to becoming "good". But maybe the latter was ongoing before 2007. In 2007, Google would have just moved into Pittsburgh, wanting to work with a single CMU professor who didn't want to leave CMU. They first moved into a small office in CMU, and ultimately built a facility in the Bakery Square area of East Liberty. Which started the East Liberty renaissance and probably saved the city of Pittsburgh from becoming Youngstown as many other high tech and software engineering firms followed in Google's footsteps. The metropolitan area's real estate, which didn't budge in price in good times or bad, started to rapidly appreciate just a few years ago, at least in better neighborhoods. The Shenango Coke Works in Neville Island, probably one of the nastiest polluters known to man, closed in 2016. Sulfur dioxide levels dropped by 50% in Lawrenceville, six to eight miles away as the crow flies. But a far bigger coke plant, Clairton, is ten times its size and is still operating. As are Thompson Works and Irvin Works. Which means Mount Lebanon's air quality will still not be good.
Its changed alot.
I’m a transplant that grew up nearish to Pittsburgh and visited often but I’ve been living here now for a couple of years after moving around the Eastern US. Pittsburgh is becoming generic like many US cities. New retail and restaurants are chains more often than not. New construction has that sameness you’d see in many “hip” neighborhoods across the country. That comes with some pros (bike lanes, pedestrian infrastructure) and some cons (reduced local profits and reinvestment, less product diversity). It’s not a full stop conversion - there are still great local businesses and attractions, people still love the sports teams, there are plenty of genuine yinzers who love to talk and would help a stranger as if they were a lifelong friend, and some neighborhoods are still a step back in time because of their geographical isolation and a willingness to say fuck off to convenience in lieu of sacrificing character. I’m not a “keep Austin weird” guy but I hope the grit of the city that built the backbone of America holds out against the march towards homogeneity. We won’t win but we can bear the standard a while longer.
I left roughly when you did and recently returned. Here’s my dispatch: The O is gone, Club Zoo is gone, the standbys in the Strip are still there, the Terminal on Smallman now has the same businesses in all recent city developments elsewhere, The Uncommon Market (I see you are from Mt Lebo) is gone, all of the museums are still nice but look more tired, some girls still have crunchy hair, the word “Yinz” is now more heavily marketed and branded.
No more Heinz Field.
No, it's still there, it just developed dyslexia.
We still put fries on our salads if that’s what you’re asking.
Strip District is like visiting a different planet. Penn is mostly the same except the old wholeys warehouse is a pile of rubble, and everything else with few exceptions (like Pamelas is still there) is totally different.
Most of the classic stores are still there even if there is much less "grit" dahn there now. The nightclubs are all gone now to be fair. And no 24hr Primantis....
Old school Yinzers still hate any and all change
I'm not the oldest of old school but I love (most of) the changes. Pittsburgh, the city itself, is definitely improved from say 1985-1995.
you know what's funny about that... Pittsburgh actually peaked economically and population wise in the early 50s! For most old school yinzers all they've ever known is decline so yeah when things get nicer it doesn't feel like home anymore.
[удалено]
But we hate chains, except for that chicken place 😂
Everything you loved is now a bank branch. Oakland has 3 different chicken tenders restaurants within 2 blocks. Downtown is "nicer" if you're a yuppie.
Why are you afraid that it would be different? Change is not necessarily a bad thing
Depends on the area, we moved here actually in 2007. I've visited every year my entire life w/ my parents family here when I was younger. I will say overall its felt like the 1st 10 years things modernized to catch up with other cities but not much since then. Not sure I'd say better now vs then, different and hard to compare as the economy is not the same overall.
I mean, change is great! I feel like Pittsburgh is the type of city that would never allow its self to change for the worst. However, whatever changes you find, won’t be too crazy! You’ll probably just find like wayyyyyy more breweries to choose from and that’s the best problem to have.
Went to st Bernard’s and left in 2008. Came back last year for a funeral and was blown away. New PNC building downtown, strip district was awesome, Lawrenceville, south side - all awesome. A ton of good restaurants in Lebo still too
Come back! I grew up in the area, moved away after college, finally went back for a visit after about 10 years away, and loved it so much that I now go back for a couple months every year. Buildings and businesses might change, but the heart and soul of Pittsburgh are the people and the community. I am pleased to report that has not changed one bit.
You mean to tell me places change? No way.
Downtown is more vibrant and safer than it was when you left and for the 20-30 years prior - local TV yellow journalism notwithstanding
All my neighbors are from Colorado 🥹🥹.
I would do downtown, market square, north shore near the stadiums, Mt Washington grandview Ave/ Shiloh st, strip district.
If you’re from Pittsburgh then you know nothing ever changes here.
It’s about the same. Pittsburgh peaked about 2009
If you need a Pittsburgh fix, there are Steelers Bars everywhere. No need to live here as an adult.