News Around the Neighborhood
PHLF: Mina Chow’s “FACE OF A NATION”
Location: Landmarks Preservation Resource Center, 744 Rebecca Avenue
Date: Thursday, May 24th
Time: 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Contact: marylu@phlf.org or (412) 471-5808 ext. 527
Mina Chow’s “FACE OF A NATION: What Happened to the World’s Fair?”
Daughter of immigrants, an idealistic architect struggles to keep her dream alive as she journeys to discover why America abandoned World’s Fairs. FACE OF A NATION captures the erosion of the American image as the country loses sight of its vision and values. Probing deeply into national identity, architect Mina Chow investigates the controversy surrounding US participation at World’s Fairs for the last 25 years. The film asks important questions about the country’s role in the world and perceptions of the American image. With our diminished presence at World’s Fairs, have we lost sight of what it means to be American? Following the screening: stay for a short discussion with the filmmaker.[ebor_button style=”sea” url=”http://phlf.org/event/special-film-screening-face-of-a-nation/”] More Info About the Screening [/ebor_button]
All events are free to PHLF members. Non-members: $10 RSVPs are appreciated: marylu@phlf.org or (412) 471-5808 ext. 527 Check out http://phlf.org/events/ for more PHLF tours and events.Accepting and Embracing Nuero-atypical Identities
NAMI Keystone Pennsylvania Presents
Stories That Heal
with
K. Rose Quayle
Wednesday, May 23rd
7:00 pm
Stories That Heal — presented by NAMI Keystone Pennsylvania — is a new monthly reading series that highlights local authors who live with and/or have a loved one who lives with mental health conditions. Their stories of lived experience promote empathy, foster resilience and uncover the truths about living with a mental health diagnosis.
The second event in this series will feature K. Rose Quayle, who writes on the chaos of mental illness in a world that prizes order and self-control. First committed at the age of 15, she embraces bipolar disorder and delights in the humor of being crazy. In her spare time, she also writes a blog on 1980s nostalgia and is the author/illustrator of the Little Quail and Friends series.
Please join us as we celebrate Pittsburgh literature and fight stigma!
[ebor_button style=”pomegranate” url=”https://cityofasylumpittsburgh.secure.force.com/ticket/#sections_a0F5A00000OOQaFUAX”] Reserve Your Free Tickets [/ebor_button]
Discounted Tickets for Northsiders: A New Brain
Presented by Front Porch Theatricals
Sunday, May 20th – Thursday, May 24th
A New Brain is a joyful and touching musical about making the most out of life. When a neurotic, frustrated composer is confronted with a life-threatening medical challenge, he finds comfort and healing in his craft, friends, and strangers. This enthralling and eccentric musical is Tony Award-winning creator William Finn’s semi-autobiographical account of his battle for life and health and finding the healing power of music.
Northside residents and workers are invited to attend the May 20th and 24th performances for the discounted Artist and Group rate of $25.:
Step 1: Select the date (20th or 24th).
Step 2: Click “Get Tickets”
Step 3: Look for the box asking for an “Access Code” and enter NORTHSIDERS
Step 4: Select tickets using the “Artists and Groups” $25 ticket rate.
Step 5: Complete the checkout process and enjoy the show!
[ebor_button style=”pumpkin” url=”https://www.showclix.com/event/a-new-brain1513795″] Reserve Your Seats [/ebor_button]
RSVP for May & June Upcoming Events with YPA
Join the Young Preservationists Association for two exciting upcoming events!
The Young Preservationists Association (YPA) represents and promotes younger voices in historic preservation. Our organization uses community engagement and education to advocate for the preservation of historic sites and structures in the Greater Pittsburgh region.
The Ratskeller at Max’s Allegheny Tavern
[ebor_button style=”pomegranate” url=”https://www.eventbrite.com/e/join-ypa-at-maxs-allegheny-tavern-may-31-tickets-45921565639″] More Info + RSVP [/ebor_button]
Gallery Talk/Visions of Pittsburgh
[ebor_button style=”sea” url=”https://www.eventbrite.com/e/visions-of-pittsburgh-gallery-talk-with-artist-cory-bonnet-june-28-tickets-45945680768″] More Info + RSVP [/ebor_button]
Northside Sandwich Sampler – May 17th
Get Your Yickets for the Most Delicious Northside Party of the Year
The Northside Sandwich Sampler is Thursday, May 17th from 6:00-9:00 pm. Sample a dozen sandwiches, have a drink from Penn Brewery and Threadbare Cider House, hobnob with celebrity judges and groove to the Olga Watkins Band, all in the splendor of Northside’s Grand Hall at The Priory!
Tickets are only $35 and support free music lessons for Northside kids through ROX Performance Academy. They are available online at:
[ebor_button style=”pomegranate” url=”http://sandwichweek.pittsburghnorthside.com/”] Reserve Your Tickets [/ebor_button]
We have SOLD OUT EVERY YEAR so don’t delay – make a date with some friends and get your tickets today!
Mark Fatla
Northside Leadership Conference
Letter from the President – May 2018
So what are you doing on Tuesday evening? Join your neighbors on Tuesday, May 8th at 7:30 pm at Calvary Church for the May meeting of the Allegheny West Civic Council – and a very special presentation.
How ’bout a trip back in time?
As we near the end of our year-long 55th Anniversary celebration of the Civic Council’s founding in May 1962, we are pleased to offer the first-ever public viewing of a genuine community time capsule.
Allegheny West Springfest, ’79 is a twenty-minute video that was produced 39 years ago, during our neighborhood’s original House Tour/Street Festival/Music Extravaganza – one of the city’s biggest annual community events at that time.
It stars dozens of our former neighbors (and some current ones who haven’t aged a bit!) as they were transforming AW in the 70s, and includes a grand tour of the neighborhood as it looked “before” the last four decades of restoration. There’s also plenty of great live music, colorful commentary from the locals, and even Mayor Caliguiri almost sailing away in a hot air balloon!
Current AW folks will enjoy this blast from the past, and of course we’re inviting former neighbors to join us for a stroll down Memory Lane. So spread the word and don’t miss it! The video screening will begin promptly at 8:15 pm, with free movie snacks of course.
The regular May meeting of the Allegheny West Civic Council will begin at 7:30 pm that evening, will recess for the Springfest ’79 video at 8:15 pm, and will then continue afterward.
Everyone is welcome – second Tuesday of each month, 7:30 pm, in the Calvary Church social hall, at the corner of Beech and Allegheny Avenues (use the Beech Avenue entrance). It’s also a great way for newer folks to meet your neighbors and get involved! We hope to see you on Tuesday evening!
AWCC Membership Meeting Agenda – May 8, 2018
Calvary United Methodist Church, 971 Beech Ave
Tuesday, May 8th at 7:30 pm
- Visitors
- Councilwoman Harris’s Office
- Mayor Peduto’s Office
- Representative Wheatley’s Office
- Zone One Police
- Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy
- New Neighbors & Guests
- Minutes
- Treasurer’s Report: Preliminary 2019 Budget
- Presentation of the 2018 Allegheny West Preservation Awards
- 8:15 – Screening of SpringFest 1979 (20 minutes)
- Membership
- Volunteers for the Memorial Day Picnic
- Ways and Means
- 2018 Wine & Garden Tour (June 22 and 23, Signature Event)
- 2018 Alleys, Axles & Ales (September 29)
- Friends of Allegheny West
- Clean Up
- Flower Baskets
- Property
- Housing and Planning
- Allegheny Commons Master Action Plan
- Parking and Traffic
- North Avenue Lighting
- Western Avenue Revitalization, Electric
- Western Avenue New Alcohol Outlets
- Light of Life Ridge Avenue Project
- Allegheny Commons Proposed Implementation Plan
- Expansion of Historic District
- Historic District Enforcement Issues (old cases)
- Medical Marijuana Dispensary
- Comprehensive Guidelines for New Construction on Vacant Sites
- Airbnb Issues/Impacts on AW
- Railroad Bridge Replacements
- Allegheny Center Master Plan
- North Shore Impacts
- Nominating Committee
- 2018 Neighbor of the Year
- Northside Leadership Conference
- Allegheny General Hospital Master Plan
- Other Business (Old & New)
2018 Wine Tour and Tasting : A Toast to the Central Coast
The 2018 Tour and Tasting planning is well underway. As a reminder, the homes to be featured this year are:
Annettte Trunzo – 800 Beech Avenue
The Zoufaliks – 852 Beech Avenue
The Malakoffs – 913 Brighton Road
Cathy Serventi and Gene Wilson – 851 Beech Avenue
Doug Debelak and Deb Kelly – 840 N Lincoln Avenue
Emmanuel Episcopal Church – Corner of W North and Allegheny Avenues
Thank you all for opening your homes and gardens!
The theme this year is Ground to Glass from the Central Coast. I’m excited to share with you that several Central Coast wineries (Paso Robles) are contributing to this event for the walking tour. In addition to the wineries, the food pairings are being primarily selected from a cookbook of a premier Paso catering company, Cahoots Catering. Cahoots is donating cookbooks and product for raffle to the event.
Here are the details:
Walking Tour ($75)
June 22 – 5:00 to 9:00 pm
June 23 – 1:00 to 5:00 pm / 5:00 to 9:00 pm
Showcase Event at Holmes Hall ($150)
June 23 – 7:00 to 9:30 pm
Contact Carol Gomrick if you have interest in volunteering in any other way: carolgomrick@gmail.com.
A Big Thank You
We’d like to extend a big thank you to Ed Menzer at the Parador Inn, a B&B on Western Avenue, for his donation of (a lot of !) mulch that we used for the tree wells in the 900 block of Western. It looks great. Thanks, Ed!
We’d also like to thank Dr. Dan Strinkoski who continues to ensure that our neighborhood is clean and litter-free. It used to require about ten volunteers to do the work that Dr. Dan does each week with his leaf and litter blower. Thank you, Dr. Dan!
The volunteers who helped with our first clean up on Saturday, April 28th. Ann Gilligan, Tim Zinn, Mike Douglas, Tom Barbush and Tony and Diane Caruso joined Trish Burton in mulching Western Avenue tree wells, transplanting grasses to the parklet and weeding and sweeping the neighborhood and alleys! Let’s keep this up and keep Allegheny West looking lovely all summer long!
2018 Allegheny West Preservation Awards
Submitted by Carole Malakoff
The Allegheny West Local Review Committee, along with the Allegheny West Civic Council, announces the 10th Annual Allegheny West Historic Preservation Awards. These awards are presented to property owners in Allegheny West who have completed exterior projects over the past year, retaining or restoring appropriate elements of historic character, and adhering to our neighborhood guidelines. The success of these projects was attained by doing research, creating well thought-out plans, following neighborhood guidelines, and working with the neighborhood LRC and the City HRC to seek advice on the application process and guidelines. The 2018 award recipients are:
831 Western Avenue
Susan and Frank Remcheck, owners
When Susan and Frank purchased 831 Western over a year ago they inherited a large project that was initiated by the previous property owner. The brick had already been stripped and cleaned, and new wood windows had been installed, but there was so much more to do. These new homeowners took over the renovation of the entire façade, paying close attention to historic detail and existing architectural elements. First floor window hoods were added, reflecting in scale and design those existing on the second floor. A wood hood, brackets, and decorative elements above the front door were made to match those on 833, next door. Other work included fencing, side entry steps, and a new door. This project reflects the significant research and planning that were done to complete it successfully.
840 N Lincoln Avenue
Debra Kelly and Douglas Debelak, owners
It’s evident that, if you walk the streets and allies of Allegheny West, lately there has been an interest in auxiliary structures, garages, carports, designated places to park our cars. This project is a garage construction. The original garage on this property was deemed unsalvageable due to structural deterioration, and so was demolished. The HRC determined that the new structure be moved to the other side of the property so that it would be aligned with the existing gate at the front of the house. It was also designed to be compatible with the house in scale, materials, architectural elements, and trim colors. This project demonstrates how a new auxiliary structure can be designed to be compatible with an historic building.
852 N Lincoln Avenue
Greg Kobulnicky, owner
Talk about research and planning! This project reflects both! Greg completed an entire façade restoration at 852, from removing the fake front, exposing the original brick, to installing new stone front steps to match the existing, and redesigning and rebuilding the dormers to match the original. All were done in accordance with the HRC Guidelines. Other projects include brick cleaning and pointing, installing new wood windows, replacing window and door surrounds and brackets, and even replacing chimney pots. This project sets the standard for restoration in our neighborhood.
852 Beech Avenue
Katie and Robin Zoufalik, owners
Here’s another example of an auxiliary structure that is a well-planned design with a gabled roof to match that of the adjoining property and a wood paneled garage door resembling stable doors. The paint colors selected add to the attractiveness of the carport and doors.
These four projects add to the historic ambience of our neighborhood streets and alleys, contribute to the economic development of our neighborhood, and enhance the quality of life in Allegheny West. To celebrate Historic Preservation Month, these awards will be presented at the May Membership Meeting of The Allegheny West Civic Council on Tuesday, May 8th at 7:30 pm. Please attend and honor these neighbors.