tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35980500400983951162024-03-04T21:52:50.124-08:00Blogging Bloomfieldcindyy412http://www.blogger.com/profile/07434588411843593427noreply@blogger.comBlogger33125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3598050040098395116.post-17300180190248123192009-02-16T12:57:00.000-08:002009-02-16T12:58:08.867-08:00BBT grand reopening!<a href="http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_611834.html">Click Here</a>cindyy412http://www.blogger.com/profile/07434588411843593427noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3598050040098395116.post-52844133348151520392008-12-05T11:11:00.000-08:002008-12-05T11:52:59.237-08:00Pittsburgh Signs Project - Book Release!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://pittsburghsigns.org/archives/Cercone.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 640px; height: 452px;" src="http://pittsburghsigns.org/archives/Cercone.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />We've got some swell signs all up and down Liberty Ave., from Armand's grand claim to having the "Best Fish Sandwich" to Donatelli's fancy cursive font, to the red, green, and white parking meter posts lining both sides of the street, and of course, the memories of the old "Welcome to Bloomfield" sign formerly on the side of the BBT. <br /> <br /><a href="http://www.pittsburghsigns.org/">The Pittsburgh Signs Project</a> has been collecting photographs of all of the wonderful, colorful, and historic signs of the area for over five years. Whether they're for motels, mechanics, diners, or dry cleaners, if the sign had some sort of appeal or meaningfulness, whether aesthetic or historic, they'd find their way on the website. Naturally, some of our neighborhood's - including the Bloomfield Sandwich Shop's cheery red and white lettering - have been featured. Now, they're about to release a book collecting some of the best - <span style="font-weight:bold;">Pittsburgh Signs Project: 250 Signs of Western Pennsylvania.</span><br /><br />This Saturday, the book will be featured at the History Center Holiday Book Fair:<br />Meet local authors & shop for unique holiday gifts!<br />Saturday, December 6, 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.<br />Senator John Heinz History Center<br />212 Smallman Street, Strip District<br />Pgh, PA 15222<br />(412) 454-6411cindyy412http://www.blogger.com/profile/07434588411843593427noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3598050040098395116.post-25579647148079733182008-10-29T06:29:00.000-07:002008-10-29T06:35:24.583-07:00BBT benefit show tonightAs you may have heard, the Bloomfield Bridge Tavern, a local favorite watering hole, music venue, and Polish restaurant, caught on fire earlier this month. Luckily, the fire was mostly contained to the second floor and nobody was hurt, but business has temporarily shut down in order to repair the damages. Until then, their employees are out of work. <br /><br />Tonight, Howler's Coyote Cafe will host a benefit concert and costume party directly following the Halloween Parade, (around) 8:30 21+ $3-5 <br />Performances by: <br />ON VINYL <br />BOWHUNTER www.mysapce.com/bowhunterrrock<br />LIGHTS OUT LAMP PARTY <br /><br /><a href="http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/living/s_594851.html">Read more here.</a>cindyy412http://www.blogger.com/profile/07434588411843593427noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3598050040098395116.post-87772235705442859142008-09-24T19:21:00.000-07:002008-09-24T19:23:56.876-07:00Pittsburgh Neighborhood Narratives<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://a989.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/113/l_686db3b90d3fae0f99d2a886a59824dc.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://a989.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/113/l_686db3b90d3fae0f99d2a886a59824dc.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />Part of the Pittsburgh 250 celebration - Neighborhood Narratives is a series of films about local neighborhoods. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.pghneighborhoodnarratives.com/">Read more here.</a><br />the Bloomfield film will be screened Sunday, Sept. 28, 8 p.m. - Brilloboxcindyy412http://www.blogger.com/profile/07434588411843593427noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3598050040098395116.post-71357934517982371022008-09-24T19:15:00.000-07:002008-09-24T19:19:12.186-07:00Little Italy Days this weekend<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3257/2519160287_c9fc1e14ba.jpg?v=0"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3257/2519160287_c9fc1e14ba.jpg?v=0" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />Sept 26-28 - Bloomfield Little Italy Days! <br /><br />Come play some bocce, eat some canoli, and do the Peroni beer bar crawl this weekend!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.shoppingbloomfield.com/festival-schedule/">shedule of events here.</a>cindyy412http://www.blogger.com/profile/07434588411843593427noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3598050040098395116.post-69231143428890645352008-08-18T12:18:00.000-07:002008-08-18T12:22:33.808-07:00Big Idea Big SaleThe Big Idea Info Shop (504 Millvale Avenue) has some exciting things happening. Taken directly from their newsletter: <br /><br />Back to School Sale: <br />August 15th through 30th, any student ID will get you 50% off of all used books and 10% off all new books. Don't have a student ID? We'll give you the discount if you bring<br />us an apple! We'll make pie. It will be great. We make a damn fine apple pie.<br />(Disclaimer: a big bag of apples will not result in a bigger discount, but it<br />will make more pies.)<br /><br />PITTSBURGH ZINE RELEASE PARTY<br />Finish a zine this summer in time for the party! Saturday, August 30, 2008.<br />Questions? Email Artnoose at gmail.com for details and location.cindyy412http://www.blogger.com/profile/07434588411843593427noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3598050040098395116.post-45589964308843620252008-08-05T17:32:00.000-07:002008-08-05T17:34:40.479-07:00this is happeningI posted about the hayride a little earlier - but the two year anniversary of the Sunday Night Hayride is this Sunday: <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://a487.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/62/l_d7fd84e3250ba24e3ff5cef9ff571206.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://a487.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/62/l_d7fd84e3250ba24e3ff5cef9ff571206.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>cindyy412http://www.blogger.com/profile/07434588411843593427noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3598050040098395116.post-78382636409866476622008-07-31T13:27:00.001-07:002008-07-31T13:27:55.062-07:00More info about the new BBT mural:There's an article in this week's City Paper about the new BBT mural<a href="http://www.pittsburghcitypaper.ws/gyrobase/Content?imageIndex=2&oid=oid%3A49979">right here</a>cindyy412http://www.blogger.com/profile/07434588411843593427noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3598050040098395116.post-82248647688818636992008-07-31T13:23:00.000-07:002008-07-31T13:24:36.599-07:00Purple Drain, Purple DrainThis is tonight, and it looks like a good time<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d40/mongezifezza/kitchenprincepartyPANCAKE.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d40/mongezifezza/kitchenprincepartyPANCAKE.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>cindyy412http://www.blogger.com/profile/07434588411843593427noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3598050040098395116.post-53192040118245326072008-07-24T10:10:00.000-07:002008-07-24T10:14:02.902-07:00i guess i have about 12 minutes of fame left.I'm proud to say that this very blog (and this very blogger) was mentioned in an article about the Banana Stand in this week's Pitt News! <br /><br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Cynthia Yogmas, a library and information sciences student at Pitt, who runs Bloomfield412.blogspot.com, said the addition of the Banana Stand is much needed.<br /><br />"I think it complements the Grasso Roberto cafe, another neighborhood business nearby which serves fresh gelato," she said.<br /><br />Yogmas also added that new businesses help beautify the historically Italian neighborhood.<br /><br />"If you walk down Liberty Avenue, closer to the Bloomfield Bridge, you'll see a vacant storefront that used to be an ice cream shop but hasn't operated in years. That's unfortunate, considering the family/community element of the neighborhood who would benefit from it. [Daisy's Banana Stand] is something we really needed," she said.</span><br /><br /><a href="http://media.www.pittnews.com/media/storage/paper879/news/2008/07/23/MidSummerPreview/Go.Bananas.At.Daisys-3393447.shtml">Read it here.</a>cindyy412http://www.blogger.com/profile/07434588411843593427noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3598050040098395116.post-8941684402655330622008-07-21T08:27:00.000-07:002008-07-21T08:37:00.956-07:00these are a few of my favorite things1. Paul's CDs. In college, I'd take the 54C here to buy used indie rock cds. Now, I walk up the street to here to buy used indie rock cds. <br /><br />2. Bocce tournaments under the Bloomfield Bridge. Great for watching cute Italian men of all ages! <br /><br />3. Dreaming Ant video. Thank you for rekindling my interest in David Lynch films! <br /><br />4. The view from my back porch. It's like 'Mary Poppins' up there. I can see over everyone's rooftops, all the way to the North Side on one end and Oakland on the other. At night, it's particularly awesome. <br /><br />5. Italian Days - the annual festival that closes off traffic on Liberty Ave. and hosts food vendors, games, Frank Sinatra impersonators, an outdoor screening of "Moonstruck," and something awesome called an "Italian egg roll"cindyy412http://www.blogger.com/profile/07434588411843593427noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3598050040098395116.post-57195177764452431472008-07-18T06:03:00.001-07:002008-07-18T06:13:17.285-07:00the times, they are a'changingSo all this talk about the BBT's new sign reminded me about how much the neighborhood has changed in the past few years, and how it is continuing to do so. First of all, real estate has gone way up. Not even 4 years ago, I looked into houses going at $50,000, but today those same types of houses on the same streets are at the very least $80,000. The Goodwill at the end of Liberty turned into a car dealership, while a car dealership down the street went out of business. A movie theater (long closed) turned into a Starbucks/sandwich shop, while plans for a new movie theater are being made on the lot of another closed car dealership. It's all part of a multi-million dollar development plan slated to redesign the Baum-Liberty corridor. In place of the Don Allen Auto City car dealerships, there are plans to build condos, a hotel, a grocery store, a movie theater, and buildings for office, retail, and medical use. Seems pretty impressive in scope, and the impact it will have on the community will hopefully be positive. You can read more about it <a href="http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08010/848187-100.stm">here.</a>cindyy412http://www.blogger.com/profile/07434588411843593427noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3598050040098395116.post-34332929032605095062008-07-17T05:47:00.001-07:002008-07-17T05:49:47.424-07:00whoomp, there it is.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://a461.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/15/l_fcd3dcb570d23e49149e286182d472d4.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://a461.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/15/l_fcd3dcb570d23e49149e286182d472d4.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />I couldn't get the best angle from my car this morning, but here is the new mural. Maybe I was a little too harsh the other day. Maybe I just fear change. At any rate, it's certainly different.cindyy412http://www.blogger.com/profile/07434588411843593427noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3598050040098395116.post-40206846242486722592008-07-15T08:14:00.000-07:002008-07-17T05:50:31.096-07:00work in progress<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3061/2669949292_f884957bf2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3061/2669949292_f884957bf2.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />Here's a picture of the mural's progress as of yesterday - pulled from an Internet messageboard. <br /><br />NOT THE SAME.cindyy412http://www.blogger.com/profile/07434588411843593427noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3598050040098395116.post-34945044952348408912008-07-14T06:22:00.001-07:002008-07-14T06:54:45.365-07:00sign o' the times***UPDATE: Another reliable secondary source just informed me that it is, indeed, just primer and that they are repainting and restoring the mural. ***<br /><br />This is second hand information, but I've just been told that the mural on the side of the BBT, THIS ONE: <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.coolspacelocator.com/csl/home/images/neighborhoods/bloomfield4.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://www.coolspacelocator.com/csl/home/images/neighborhoods/bloomfield4.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />has just been painted over. If this is true, how could they?!?!?!?! That is easily the most identifiable icon of the neighborhood. It's the image and personality. Big, bright letters that cheerfully invite you in. Oh, I'm so mad. <br /><br />For now, I'm going to tell myself that maybe they're just touching it up. If it's gone for good, I may need to start a petition to get it back up there.cindyy412http://www.blogger.com/profile/07434588411843593427noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3598050040098395116.post-82542181248760346982008-07-08T07:16:00.000-07:002008-07-08T07:27:03.310-07:00Butterflies in Bloomfield!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://butterfliesinbloomfield.org/Welcome_files/droppedImage.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 50px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 120px;" src="http://butterfliesinbloomfield.org/Welcome_files/droppedImage.png" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />This local group is urging residents to bring butterflies to the area by choosing plants in their gardens that will attract them. If it works, they might be able to hold a butterfly hunt! For info on the types of plants and nectars that will attract butterflies, and to post photos of the butterflies you find in your garden, check out <a href="http://butterfliesinbloomfield.org/Welcome.html">Butterflies in Bloomfield</a> .cindyy412http://www.blogger.com/profile/07434588411843593427noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3598050040098395116.post-18094261746731954312008-07-07T12:10:00.000-07:002008-07-07T12:13:42.223-07:00Pittsburgh Tribune-ReviewBy the way, Pgh Tribune-Review columnist Joseph Sabino Mistick wrote a nice feature about Bloomfield as a neighborhood business district. Read it <a href="http://pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/opinion/columnists/mistick/s_575002.html">here.</a>cindyy412http://www.blogger.com/profile/07434588411843593427noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3598050040098395116.post-50118909335456030882008-07-07T11:17:00.001-07:002008-07-07T12:01:15.109-07:004th of July hijinxLast weekend, I wound up at a Bloomfield 4th of July party that had an Elvis impersonator <span style="font-style: italic;">and </span>a stripper. Oh, and fireworks too. But, yawn, those sights eventually became boring, so we wandered across the street to an old empty warehouse with a big dumpster in front of it. We soon found out that this place was probably once a print studio, because protruding from the dumpster were the discards of one - broken screens, outdated political signs, and transparencies for grocery store specials (Hot Peppers!!!! $.89 a lb.!!!!). Pretty cool, but it only made our adventurousness grow, so we wandered into the 'hollow' - that mysterious place at the bottom of Gross St. that eventually shoots you out over by Pittsburgh Brewing Company, wondering what the heck did you just see. Old train tracks, graffitied garages made to look like angry faces, other folk art masterpieces strewn about the landscape, rickety steps clinging to the side of an overgrown hillside, and empty buildings in various states of decay make you feel like something wicked this way comes. But that night we were relatively fearless (and stupid) so we found our way into one of those abandoned buildings, using our cell phones as flashlights, exploring the ruins of rusty office chairs, floppy disks, and metal shelving, which looks especially creepy in cellphone light. Now, I'm not condoning anyone to go snooping around these places, but I'm glad I did.cindyy412http://www.blogger.com/profile/07434588411843593427noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3598050040098395116.post-63023645206362822302008-06-30T06:20:00.001-07:002008-06-30T06:26:17.677-07:00not technically Bloomfield, but......close enough. Yesterday was the (unofficial) Friendship community yard sale event. I woke up fairly early and walked up and down some of the streets, hitting up about a half dozen yard sales. <br /><br />My bounty included: <br />-books about subliminal messages in advertising<br />-a small, ceramic wiener dog<br />-a yoga mat & holder<br />-leather moccassins<br />-"The Royal Tennenbaums" Criterion Collection DVD<br /><br />All in all, not a bad day! However, once I took everything home, I quickly realized that I needed to have a yard sale of my own. I have way too much junk.cindyy412http://www.blogger.com/profile/07434588411843593427noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3598050040098395116.post-65132186213059374892008-06-25T05:02:00.000-07:002008-06-25T05:04:40.698-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.city.pittsburgh.pa.us/PARKS/assets/images/3farm1.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://www.city.pittsburgh.pa.us/PARKS/assets/images/3farm1.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />There is a weekly Farmers' Market in the Immaculate Conception parking lot every Thursday from 3:30-7:30 p.m., from now through Thanksgiving.cindyy412http://www.blogger.com/profile/07434588411843593427noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3598050040098395116.post-75260764695108523242008-06-24T05:10:00.000-07:002008-06-24T05:18:42.240-07:00Immaculate Conception Church FestivalThis Wednesday through Saturday, June 25-28, Immaculate Conception Church is holding their annual festival. Aside from the usual carnival games and fair food, this place holds the most cut throat bingo games you'll ever encounter. Stay away from those foul-mouthed old ladies - they will seriously knock you down to get to their chips and call you every name in the book. My favorite part of this festival is the flea market in the basement - and if you go on the last day, you can fill a bag for a dollar or two. Somehow, I always manage to fill my bag.cindyy412http://www.blogger.com/profile/07434588411843593427noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3598050040098395116.post-4191720304188450552008-06-17T06:42:00.000-07:002008-06-17T06:44:09.460-07:00another good show this week - members of one of my favorite bands<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.damonandnaomi.com/media/framesetmedia/D.Nnick.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://www.damonandnaomi.com/media/framesetmedia/D.Nnick.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />Wednesday June 18<br />a major event with some stars of Terrastock!<br />indie-folk from Cambridge, MA - ex-members of Magic Hour and Galaxie 500<br />DAMON & NAOMI (http://www.myspace.com/damonandnaomi)<br />with Helena Espvall & Masaki Batoh (members of Espers and Ghost, new CD on Drag City)<br />and Pancreatic Aardvarks<br />8 pm $10 adv/$12 door<br />[Advance tickets on sale at Eide's Entertainment, Paul's CDs, Caliban Books, Wicked Discs,<br />Dave's Music Mine, Slacker, and The Exchange Squirrel Hill.]cindyy412http://www.blogger.com/profile/07434588411843593427noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3598050040098395116.post-70508353875588847122008-06-16T16:17:00.000-07:002008-06-16T16:32:14.139-07:00researching a cool old building<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.loopnet.com/Attachments/6/5/6/656AA8CA-62BE-4B90-9EE2-AADBDA5EC25A.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://www.loopnet.com/Attachments/6/5/6/656AA8CA-62BE-4B90-9EE2-AADBDA5EC25A.gif" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />if you walk across the Millvale Bridge on your way from North Oakland to Bloomfield, you'll notice a creepy building with lots of security cameras, a fenced in walkway, and very few windows tucked away in the hollow under the bridge. I've heard many speculations about this place - that it housed animal experimentation, secret government groups, and generally shady/scary stuff. Recently, my nebbiness got the best of me and I found a way to google it. The proper address is 720 Gross Street. Most recently, it was a research facility for West Penn Hospital, but it was recently for sale. You can see the real estate listing for it <a href="http://www.loopnet.com/xNet/Looplink/Profile/Profile.aspx?LID=14050894&stid=cbre">here.</a><br /><br /><br /><br />So it's current status isn't that exciting but it's past life is actually pretty awesome. This facility used to house the Three Rivers Computer Corporation. They were there from 1980-1986. They were a branch of the computer science dept. of CMU and helped create some of the earliest computers and software. Even better, looks like they really knew how to party. <a href="http://www.chilton-computing.org.uk/gallery/ral76/overview.htm">Here's a link to some really fantastic old photos.</a>cindyy412http://www.blogger.com/profile/07434588411843593427noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3598050040098395116.post-52781379099631876402008-06-10T11:50:00.000-07:002008-06-10T11:57:25.899-07:00take a walking tourHere's a link to a really great walking tour of Bloomfield, complete with wonderful pictures: <a href="http://walkingpittsburgh.wordpress.com/2008/01/28/walking-bloomfield/">click</a>cindyy412http://www.blogger.com/profile/07434588411843593427noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3598050040098395116.post-47352857068569951812008-06-07T18:14:00.000-07:002008-06-07T18:18:03.754-07:00Oh, the humidity!For the past two weeks, I've been stuck in Harrisburg for work, but I've been told that they've started filling the Bloomfield pool and it's set to open on June 13! <br /><br />this is especially exciting for me because it is less than a block away from my apartment. I am anticipating some weekend swimming very soon.cindyy412http://www.blogger.com/profile/07434588411843593427noreply@blogger.com0