Park Place Blog

The Zoning Board of Adjustments will hold a public hearing on the first floor of 200 Ross Street in downtown Pittsburgh at 9:20am on Thursday September 11, 2008.

This hearing is to review an application for a variance from the zoneing code regarding signage. The  Department of City Planning was unable to actually locate the application in the file, so that could not entirely explain what the request was. However, they took my contact information and promissed to call when the application was complete. It was thought that it was specifically regarding the number of signs permitted per facade (normally only one is permitted) as well as the size of the signs, and a sign wall on the corner of Penn and South Braddock.

Nothing looked particularly out of the ordinary on the signage on the building itself. The sign wall might potentially be a concern with it’s height being about 5’9″ on the plan, though it may be far enough back into the lot to not pose an issue. It is hard to tell for sure, as the plans on file were very small and hard to read.

The Frick Park Lawn Bowling Club was formed in 1939. In 1989, the city of Pittsburgh proposed plowing up the greens and closing the club in order to save costs.  A twenty-year agreement was reached whereby the Frick Park Lawn Bowling Club privatized and maintaining the greens.  A factor in reaching this agreement was the number of neighborhood residents who were members of the Club.  The agreement is up for renewal or termination.  The Club is seeking additional members to support their desire to maintain these historic greens and a sport that can be played and enjoyed by all ages!  Please call Hank Luba at 412-782-0848 or email him at hjluba@verizon.net for more information on how you can support the greens.

Missing Dog: medium-sized gray and white dog (Bearded Collie), collar,
no tags, missing from Celeron Street since afternoon on Wednesday (May
21).  Please call 412-242-5208, for Penn and Katherine Hackney.

The GPPNA was able to negotiate $10,000 from Paradise Developers for street tree planting. The street tree program offered by the GPPNA aims to help beautify the neighborhood by providing free trees to property owners. The GPPNA will be working with the Friends of the Pittsburgh Urban Forest (FPUF), Nine Mile Run Watershed Association (NMRWA), and local governments on this program.This street tree program is different from the street tree program offered by the city. The city offers street trees through the shade tree commission (based out of the mayors office, http://www.city.pittsburgh.pa.us/cp/html/shade_tree_commission.html) and the Friends of the Pittsburgh Urban Forest (FPUF), however there is currently a long waiting list for trees. The GPPNA street tree program is separate from the city’s street tree program and there will be no long waiting list for trees through the GPPNA street tree program. In fact, we hope to start planting trees in April! Continue reading Background on the GPPNA Street Tree Program »

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Food, live music and many other fun activities were the center of this year’s Park Place picnic. A couple hundred attended to see the petting zoo, get airbrush tattoos, play the Park Place trivia challenge, and collect balloon art. Many took a break from the heat by volunteering for the dunking station or joining in the water balloon fights.

2007 Park Place Trivia Challenge