Protect Your Home from Ticks with Yard Guard from Viking Pest, 1 Person Dead, Others Injured In 2 Pittsburgh-Area Shootings: Report, Here's How Many Guns Were Sold In Pennsylvania Last Month, What Kind Of Home Can $1.9 Million Buy In Pittsburgh? In 1873, the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad (P&LE) was first chartered and in . acts moved on. It lost some charm, but maybe it was time for that, Kramer said. google_color_link="000000"; cut their teeth. I asked him if he would ever consider coming north. What's there now? Elbo Room Jack London Oakland Some of the most impressive architecture in Oakland is on Pitt's campus. Since returning with her husband and kids, Mattiko is delighted by a few changes. Manor Theater. Pitt 96 grad Christine Mattiko would spend those. The food is American fare at its best, with burgers, tacos, pizza, salads, and steaks highlighting the menu offerings. The popular Italian restaurant, tucked in the Strip District, was owed and founded by Lidia Bastianich, a familiar face at the restaurant. Every Thursday, Calicos offered a deal Mattiko, or any money-starved college student, couldnt turn down nickel drafts. However, she said she would spend money out at official nighttime activities if someone would give me an option at a low price.. We would go to each others shows, but we would also try and do shows with each other, Schneider said. (412) 261-1717www.muer.com/grand-concourse. Omni William Penn Hotel Speakeasy This year, Citiparks will screen everything from Skyfall to Finding Nemo for free. In the 90s, The Decade and its predecessors mostly hosted some blues performers, like Stevie Ray Vaughan, as well as small-time acts looking for a start. feels Oaklands nightlife should match this new professional student body, along with the professionals at UPMC and Pitt. Slightly veering off topic, but where was the Bank Cinema at? There was probably 30 people crammed in there, Grushecky said. After 22 years of Rock N Roll Dom wanted out. You could be standing right next to somebody all decked out in Doc Martens and piercings, and Id be there all preppy, Mattiko said. The Decade, OaklandWas there ever any doubt this legendary Oakland bar at the corner of Atwood and Sennott streets would top the list? Jam Chiodo retired in 2005 and the bar was razed to make way for a Walgreens and Subway. A row of stools were lined against the street side wall. All you need is a dark room and comfortable seating, and the trend is strengthening every month. We realized what students want is better food, not cheaper food, Smith said, referencing Fuels menu which often includes items like a surf and turf that would never have been considered for an Oakland menu even 15 years ago. Jam This Flea Market Near Pittsburgh Covers 14,000 Square Feet With More Than 100 Vendors On-Site, The Charming Out Of The Way Flea Market Near Pittsburgh You Wont Soon Forget, 6 Must-Visit Flea Markets In Pittsburgh Where Youll Find Awesome Stuff, 5 Amazing Flea Markets In Pittsburgh You Absolutely Have To Visit, 10 Beloved Places In Pittsburgh That Well Never Forget. Since its construction in 1860, this building has been home to a brothel through 1937, a boarding house until 1979 and Tramps Restaurant through 1994, along with a few ghostly guests. If you Allow us to take you on a brief journey through our past. John Elavsky, the owner of Hemingways Cafe since the mid-90s and a Pitt alum, has watched the decline of nightlife in Oakland that Patlakh laments. Those guys were the punk rockers and, for whatever reason, those guys did not like the Decade bands, Grushecky said. Feathered hair and shoulder pads have long vanished, but the 80s will live forever. Where you could once buy quarter drafts at the Upstage, you now can buy a gallon of milk. series of memorable shows that put the Decade on the national Rock and Roll map. Over the next five years Kresege booked a It was maybe 8 feet wide, and Meat Loaf took up f**king half of it. Electronic Dance Clubs in Pittsburgh. Its incarnations since have included a deli, lesbian bar, produce store, and a bar. The one night I was there, Bruce Springsteen showed up and played a couple songs, he said. But the end came when the building was purchased by David Scaife, the son of billionaire newspaper publisher Richard Mellon Scaife, so he could store his personal car collection there. Across the Monongahela River, South Oakland runs adjacent with Pittsburgh's South Side Flats neighborhood. Hes not a rocker, hes an insomnia cure). After the Boardwalk closed, the barge was towed to Chattanooga, Tenn., where a developers plans to develop a similar Boardwalk operation never materialized. Read on for the 5 best Pittsburgh nightlife spots geared toward those who aren't quite legal to drink, or who need a break from the bar scene. PITTSBURGH, PA - The Bloomfield Bridge Tavern shut its doors Saturday after a more than three-decade run, and thats sad. It was like turning the lights off. As executive director of the Oakland Business Improvement District, Georgia Petropoulos is used to competing with Downtown. Over the decades, Oakland pushed through a population dip as Pitt did and became overwhelmed by the Universitys ever-encroaching boundaries. On a Saturday in October 1978, a crowd of Pitt students, steel mill workers and music enthusiasts packed the corner of Atwood and Sennott streets, jockeying for space in the Decade. But as Oakland has matured over the past 20 years, it has traded dive bars and longtime rock joints for corporate fast food and student housing, leaving alums longing for their college nights. Its generations of blue-collarfamilies built much of the town's businesses, bars and restaurants from their very beginnings, growing them into true institutions and forever preserving the city's hardworking, steel city values. 10. (412) 391-7272www.papajs.com. 8. Miss Shaler Skateland as well. Pittsburghers rocked at the Decade Lounge in Oakland for 22 years watching their favorite Pittsburgh bands and national rock acts. The Decade was the home base of Gravel The Iron City. After a decline following the 1970s, Pitts enrollment grew from. He was an older guy, his idea of rock n roll was Dion and the Belmonts. Zarra still owns the building and operates an Italian restaurant there named, appropriately enough, Zarras. Central Oakland is bordered by Schenley Park, the Boulevard of the Allies, Fifth Avenue, and Halket Street. You knew you could hang out and enjoy the good live music, Schneider said. The Best 10 Dive Bars near Oakland, Pittsburgh, PA Sort:Recommended Price Offers Delivery Offers Takeout 1. On any given weekend night during the late '70s, fifteen thousand people between the ages of twenty-one and forty were spread out in disco clubs throughout the region: Backstage Holiday House on Rt. Disco dropped dead. Dan Marino Field on Frazier Street was named in honor of its native son. When he was a student, from 1999 to 2006, bars were often shot and beer joints, and if they served food, the emphasis was on low price not on high quality. David Patlakh and Sera Passerini sit outside Towers, smoking cigarettes and chatting with their friends, which they say is their usual free-time activity. For the next few years it was a still a live A nice spot. Unfortunately, it became another victim of the pandemic, officially closing its doors for the final time on July 28, 2020, after celebrating a final bacon night. Bruce Springsteen also once played there, years after becoming famous. By drawing the musical talent of Pittsburgh together, Graffiti helped bands meet and play with each other. 9. 403 E. Ohio St. People, however, were mostly well-behaved, The Pittsburgh Press . 1 2 127 Next Old Pittsburgh photos and stories | The Digs . So it finally hit Dominic that maybe this guy was pretty big, Grushecky said. [Youre] rubbing two quarters together like, Im going to get wasted, Mattiko said. I couldnt even remember what bands I would have seen there, Yander said, but he remembers most tried to be as close as they could get to Nirvana. Even Bruce Springsteen stopped in after playing at the Civic Arena when Grushecky took him on a tour of Oakland. . There shouldnt be any nightlife [in Oakland because] the rents dont allow for that,, he said, referencing tight profit margins on, cinemas and bars. For the next few years it was a still a live On a Saturday in October 1978, a crowd of Pitt students, steel mill workers and music This is the first of two parts. So I came up with a list of initial inductees in a sort of Pittsburgh Bar Hall of Fame that focused on places that have been closed for years, or, in the case of the BBT, hours. Eric Heyl is Patch's Pittsburgh field editor. By Stephen Caruso / Senior Staff Writer December 1, 2016. google_color_link="000000"; To soak up the ricocheting At the end of it I thought, This punk isnt bad, he said. Love Pittsburgh? For a unique moving-picture experience, check out Community Cinema, a monthly documentary series sponsored by WQED. You could slide in and catch the band for the price of a couple cocktails. After his wild show played encore, after encore, after encore and then stood at the front of the stage and shook hands with everyone in the club. If you google_ad_width=120; Officials bought another 100 acres from her for "Schenley Park." known as the Corner of Rock and Roll. The Speakeasy. DiSilvio remained cautiously pessimistic about the prospect of crowd-drawing live music in his club. But the BBT hardly is the only local nightspot of notoriety that has had its final last last call over the years. Some folks dress up in pastels and high-top shoes, but really, its all about the attitude. As it was before they I saw him at a jazz fest in New Orleans. 31st Street Pub, Strip DistrictDuring its 53 years in business, first as Greenfields Pub then as the 31st Street Pub, this place went through several incarnations: First as a shot-and-beer place for mill workers, then as a biker bar and in its final days was a punk rock haven. The walls were thick grey stone and the Read . google_ad_client="pub-8685855016547639"; Went to the VIP north in Hampton in the 80's great place to be on Sundays. There wasnt a club owner in the city who would book, like, punk rock, new wave. My preference was Graffiti, by far. Pittsburgh, PA with 80s Night Clubs. Since he bought Hemingways, Elavsky said many of the old hot spots have closed and students and their dollars have left to other competing parts of the city, like the North Shore and South Side. (412) 224-2273www.parkhousepgh.com. (412) 566-7925www.originaloysterhousepittsburgh.com. The bar's interior is a treasure chest of old distilled whiskey bottles from the hotel between 1911 and 1913 and several functioning antique seltzer bottles. / CBS Pittsburgh. While we might not be able to eat at those Pittsburgh restaurants well always love, well probably always remember the good times and the good food we had at are favorites. international recording acts the Decade presented memorable shows with the Police, U2, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Despite the memories of a thriving nightlife, Petropoulos feels Oaklands nightlife should match this new professional student body, along with the professionals at UPMC and Pitt. Strictly Necessary Cookies, Performance Cookies, Functionality Cookies, Targeting Cookies or Advertising Cookies, Preferences, Security, Processes, Advertising, Session State, Analytics, Pitt police reviews protocol for campus shooting scenarios after Michigan State shooting, Pitt women's lacrosse defeats Canisius 16-8, Opinion | Response to Ohio train derailment reminds us that government, companies treat life as expendable, Pitt Dance Marathon prepares for another successful event to support UPMC Childrens Hospital. The first floor bar of the hotel was the hang out of baseball hall of fame member Honus Wagner and the Pittsburgh Pirate. Business owners take the change as a blank check for higher quality and more specialized drinks and food with higher prices while many Pitt students might be happier with bargains and a variety of choices for fun nights out. The Red Hot Chili Peppers played there in 1988 and Nirvana played the venue in September 1991 only six days after the release of Nevermind. At La Frontera nightclub you can enjoy the game and a couple of drinks. Fantastic place for your amazing night out in Pittsburgh. If youve been around long enough (and this town isnt exactly full of transients), you either know many of them by name or were in some of them yourself back in your younger days when your back wasnt troubling you and you didnt have to get up so early for work. Because they would give a gig to anybody, he said. [3] As of 2020, two of these public stairways, Joncaire Street (Central Oakland) and Louisa Street (West Oakland), also contain runnels which allow cyclists to easily transport a bike up or down the flight. The Decade had two small rooms that were said to hold I was walking past the bar one night, and there was these two weird-looking dudes all dressed in black. google_ad_host="pub-6693688277674466"; The area between Forbes Avenue and Boulevard of the Allies is officially part of Central Oakland. The plateau is divided into two primarily residential areas which are separated from one another by Bates Street, which runs up a valley from the flood plain to the plateau. music venue for local artists called the Next Decade. A parent herself, and a proud alum, Mattiko is content to let go of her memories though, if it means a thriving, more vibrant Oakland for her children. After 22 years of Rock N Roll Dom wanted out. During its brothel days, at least three murders took place in this location and many of these spirits are still rumored to frequent the bar, including Madame Dolly Cavanaugh, a former brothel maid and numerous child ghosts. So the next act that we had was The Ramones. Tucked in East Liberty, Spoon was a favorite dining spot of many Pittsburghers. The walls were thick grey stone and the . Whim may offer the most epic club-going experience, however. This is a subjective undertaking, much like the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame selections (James Taylor? How many of these, 12 stores that anyone who grew up in Pittsburgh remembers, do you still miss? A Bloomfield staple for more than six decades, Alexander's Italian Bistro was. The Decade nightclub was a staple of the neighborhood in the 1970s and 1980s. 6.