When I was a kid we piled in the car in NJ and drove to Illinois every summer. This is the route we took.
I drove it home to Pittsburgh a couple of weeks ago on my way back from Columbus.
Route 40 The National Road. I pulled over to catch the autumn hues in the background hills along the way.
There were interesting and quirky scenes but this is the one that stayed with me for the time since I drove along this highway instead of the interstate.
Driving back from Braddock, I saw people on the sidewalk with cameras in hand.
Then I saw the demolition of a house taking place.
I turned a corner and parked and got out and took a few pictures.
I thought the first one the best as it showed most of the scene. But the progressive close-ups complete the story.
My son’s in-laws grew up in this part of Pittsburgh. I heard that the house had been empty for ten years.
It was sad to see it demolished even though it must have been in bad shape. Y0u wonder who lived there.
What happened that it became abandoned. You know there is a story.
*And I looked up the CASE excavator model # and it says it is 37, 700 pounds operating weight.
Converted to black and white to accompany this discovery.
A bit of research on the web and I found the photograph of the Fiore Family in their Larimer Meat Market.
I drove by just before sunset and was surprised to find some buildings missing. The ground covered with hay. And then I spied this wonderful sign. What a gift. Larimer used to be densely populated with Italian immigrants but this area is fairly desolate now. Vacant lots were restaurants and shops used to be. There are still homes in the area but lots of spaces in-between of what used to be there. About a mile from my house.
Only the automobiles in the photo give it a date. TODAY.
I hope some of their descendants find this post and write a comment.
copied and pasted from a Google Search.
A poetry friend emailed and told me they were dismantling the roof. I drove by after school Tuesday, rain and gray. A huge chain link fence has been erected around the perimeter. I could see what she noticed and why she thought it might be an interesting photograph. It felt sad. My friend V says she remembers when the Civic Arena was built(1961) and that the roof never really did work right, although it was supposed to open up to the sky in less than two minutes according to what I read about it.
“Mellon Arena… hosted such music legends as Frank Sinatra, The Rolling Stones, six sold-out nights of Garth Brooks and The Grateful Dead
The Mellon Arena hosted its first show, the Ice Capades, on September 19, 1961. Other notable performance highlights include: The Beatles on September 14, 1964, Elvis Presley on June 25, 1973 and the Page/Plant concert on March 25, 1995, which registered the highest attendance ever in the Arena (17,764) until January 30, 1999 when 18,150 fans packed the arena for a WWF house show.” from History of Mellon Arena
And the Penguins play at the new Consol Energy Center built down the hill from the old Arena. Here is phase one, the beginning of the tearing down of the Mellon Arena. Lots of memories for many people.
I have shot an engaged and a wedding couple with the Mellon Arena as the backdrop.
Dedicated hockey fans.
Why you have to take the shot when you see it. Today(Friday) it was totally different. See the shot from Thursday posted today here
Wonder what it was like to be in the home that still stands when the demolition took place? If you want to know how to demolish a home in a “green way” click here