Volume 29 No. 11
November 2013
Manchester renovating two commercial buildings
Spring Hill installs mosaic mural wall in new parklet By Lindsay Allen
Photo by Renee Rosensteel Councilman Daniel Lavelle and MCC Executive Director LaShawn BurtonFaulk spoke at the ground breaking of 1301 and 1401 Columbus Avenue.
By Kelsey Shea Manchester Citizens Corporation is continuing to build positive momentum in a formerly troubled corridor with the redevelopment of two key buildings on Columbus Avenue. MCC held a ribbon cutting on October 7, to mark the rehabilitation of 1301 and 1401 Columbus Avenue, which is part of the second phase of the Manchester Renaissance. Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald and City Councilman Daniel Lavelle were both in attendance. “This project is a continuation of the strengthening of Columbus Avenue,” said MCC Executive
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Director LaShawn Burton-Faulk. “When you take critical, corner buildings like these and complete them, it shows that there is progress in this area.” Several years ago, Columbus Avenue was identified as a weak sector of the Manchester neighborhood, which led to the renovations of several other homes along the street in the first phase of the Manchester Renaissance. 1401 and 1301 are near the renovated homes and several blocks down from the Columbus Square housing development, which is in the third phase of building 31 new homes along Columbus Avenue. Work began this fall on the two
See Manchester, page 7
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What was once a vacant and over grown lot at the corner of Damas and Homer streets is now the new home of a piece of public art that has resident stopping in their tracks. In late September, the Spring Hill Civic League (SHCL) installed a wall with a mural that was designed by local artist Linda Wallen, who depicted the history of the German settlers of Spring Hill using mosaic tiles. The city cleared the lot at the corner of Homer and Damas before the wall was installed. The project began when Wallen received a grant from The Charm Bracelet Project, a program sponsored by the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh that funds projects that beautify the Northside. After overcoming many obstacles with the city-owned lot at the well-traveled corner and a year of work planning, designing, and creating the mural, the wall was completed in late September. Wallen is extremely happy with the results of the project and believes the wall has already become a focal point for the community. “The day we put it up, I pulled up my camping chair and sat on the corner for three hours that evening to watch people react to the mural. There was a traffic jam all night at that intersection,” said Wallen. “People were jumping out of their cars, blocking traffic, screaming, ‘Wow,’ taking pictures. It made my year.” Ben Soltesz, a board member at SHCL, believes the wall has completely transformed the area, which was once an
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empty, overgrown lot at a major intersection, and he said the project has received nothing but praise all around. Soltesz credited Councilwoman Darlene Harris and Wallen for the success of the project, and said that SHCL is in the preliminary planning stages for the future landscaping of the property. Both Wallen and Soltesz believe benches would be a nice addition to the parklet. Visitors to the mural have mostly been Spring Hill residents, but Wallen has spoken with a handful of people from different neighborhoods of Pittsburgh who also came to admire the mural. There has been an outpour of support from residents who would like to help with the project and donate to the landscaping fund. To create the mural, Wallen worked with local high school students for a year through an afterschool program at the Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild, located in the Chateau neighborhood of the Northside. This wall, which stands 20 feet long and 4 feet wide, is the eighth mosaic created for the neighborhood by Wallen, and it has also required the most cooperative effort. Wallen credits the founder of the Guild, Bill Strickland, for making the project possible. “He realized that having a positive art experience could change a person’s life,” said Wallen. To prepare, the students researched the history of Spring Hill through archival articles and photographs and interviews of local
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