PAP’S PLACE
memories left inside By Ian Mikrut
C
an a physical place hold memories? Can it recall stories about passersby and the way things used to be? Think about all of the old homes in Pittsburgh. The ones still standing since the height of the steel industry. The ones that survived the waves of people coming and going, whole neighborhoods shifting and adapting, just waiting for the brighter days that have come around again. Do you have a specific place in mind? For me it’s my grandparents’ home, a small row house on South 15th Street just off East Carson in the South Side. I can see the small concrete steps that blend in with the sidewalk and the wrought iron handrails leading up to the stoop. The gray bricks on the front bleed into a dull yellow siding that squares off perfectly at the top into a flat roof. There are still metal overhangs above each window, painted white with green stripes on either side.