The Carnegie Library of Homestead at last has an elevator in the historic, French Renaissance-style building.
Patrons now can navigate the 112-year-old Munhall building from the library area or Music Hall to the Athletic Club or to a future coffee shop without using steps.
Dan Lloyd said the library board has wanted to install an elevator since it acquired the building from U.S. Steel in 1988.
“It has always been that we don’t have the money for an elevator,” Lloyd, the library board president, said.
Installation of the elevator, completed earlier this month, was funded by a $150,000 federal Community Development Block Grant funneled through Allegheny County.
“That didn’t pay for the whole elevator,” Lloyd said. “We had some other grant money to fund soft costs and costs that weren’t funded by CDBG.”
He said the insight of the library’s consulting director of building operations Matthew Szanca helped to save the library a lot of money on utilities that could be put toward the elevator. Szanca noted that library athletic director Edward Child has had a large hand in cutting the water bill.
Lloyd said there are patrons who want to use the library’s athletic club, but can’t climb steps.
“There are people who want to use our Silver Sneakers room (but) can’t do steps because they have bad knees, but they can spin or they can work out on their upper body,” he said. “They could have emphysema or a lung disorder, like my father, who had to take Silver Sneakers at another location because, by the time he got up the steps, he was ready to go home.”
Szanca said the elevator is in Phase A, now going only from the first to the second floor. He said Phase B, which is awaiting funding, will allow the elevator to access the basement, swimming pool and other community rooms.
Lloyd said the idea for a coffee shop has been discussed since he became a library board member in 2004. He said he would visit Barnes & Noble at the Waterfront and note the nice atmosphere a coffee shop added to the business.
Lloyd said a committee was formed to bring a coffee shop to the library. After members toured other libraries, the committee recommended finding a corporate partner, and estimated the cost for the project would be $100,000.
Lloyd said he knew it wouldn’t be that expensive, and told the library board it would only cost approximately $20,000.
Even with an all-volunteer workforce, he said, the library didn’t have enough money to build the coffee shop. Lloyd’s aunt Betty Jane Lloyd donated $10,000 to complete the coffee shop.
“She wanted to see it finished,” Lloyd said.
The retro-designed room will be named Aunt B’s Coffee Shop.
Lloyd said the space where the coffee shop will be located was an old storage area with a wooden partition, which was removed.
“This building was designed by Alden & Harlow,” he said. “Alden & Harlow designed the Duquesne Club and I think designed the courthouse downtown. They are famous architects. Their vision was to have these windows illuminate this whole area when you came up the steps. The partition wall took away that whole idea that the architects had.”
Lloyd and Szanca said many people volunteered their services to create the room for free, including George Edwards painting the coffee shop, Bob DeLu aiding in construction, Robert Howell donating
light fixtures, and LeRoy Pettis contributed his art.
Work was started in December 2009, but wasn’t continuous because it was volunteer work done mostly by Lloyd and Szanca.
Library board member Susan Wonsock designed the room.
It eventually will contain vending machines and tables. Gourmet coffee might be sold during Music Hall concerts or other events.
“You can bring a magazine up here, sit down and read,” Lloyd said. “People who come in for Silver Sneakers can gather here after. We want to make it a meeting place.”
“This would be perfect for a small group of seniors to meet,” Szanca said.
A grand opening for the coffee shop is planned for March. It will coincide with the grand opening of a new welcome center and teen space at the library.
“The best thing that happened to the valley is Andrew Carnegie,” Szanca said. “The best thing that happened to the Carnegie Library of Homestead is Dan Lloyd.”
More information about Carnegie Library of Homestead is available by calling 412-462-3444, or online at the www.homesteadlibrary.org website.
By Stacy Lee, MCKEESPORT DAILY NEWS
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
But he grew up in Pittsburgh. His dad owns a Terrible Towel. And when his father moved to Buffalo this past year to be closer to his 13 grandchildren, "he did bring it with him," Mr. Kelly said, not one trace of pique apparent in his voice.
After all, that's Pittsburgh.
Nurses at the Oakbrook Commons cancer center tie the bright yellow, game-day waving Terrible Towels to the IV rods dispensing chemotheraphy treatments.
High school football players get more pumped for the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League championship, played on the Steelers' Heinz Field than they do for the state title game, out in Hershey Park.
Visitors at Pittsburgh International Airport have to pass side-by-side statues before leaving the airport. One is of George Washington, our country's first president and the official founder of Pittsburgh. The other is of Franco Harris, who caught a pass in a divisional playoff game.
"That's Pittsburgh," says Steelers backup quarterback Charlie Batch, chuckling.
The pass Mr. Harris caught, of course, was the legendary Immaculate Reception in the Steelers' 1972 franchise-igniting win over the Raiders.
Deflected off safety Jack Tatum, scooped by Mr. Harris, it was judged football's greatest play off all-time by NFL Films. The monument's place next to Mr. Washington, Steelers receiver Hines Ward said, "tells you all you need to know about football and this part of the country."
Although he's in his 13th year here, Mr. Ward is not a native. Mr. Batch, born and bred seven miles outside Pittsburgh proper in Homestead, is. He knows Pittsburgh, where the blood runs black and gold, where the legion of football Hall of Famers will likely never stop sprouting and where something is clearly in the water.
"No one knows what's in the water. That's the point. Have you seen that river?" Mr. Batch exclaims, pointing out the Steelers' practice facility toward to the brackish Monangahela. "It's all muddy and dark."
That is the point, of course. If ever a region was built in the image of this game, it would be here.
The city was borne of steel mills and manufacturing, and a blue-collar ethos that Mr. Kelly— whose father worked in a steel mill—said he often talked about sharing with fellow natives and Hall of Fame quarterbacks Joe Montana and Dan Marino.
"Nothing is given to you in Pittsburgh," Mr. Batch said, "and nothing is given to you in football either."
In the days of the steel mills and smokestacks, the Steelers and their lunch-pail nature were something everyone, rich and poor alike, could take pride in.
Today, as the industrial sites have been shuttered, the banks have moved in and events like the G20 Summit have landed in town, "Pittsburgh is still that steel mill town," native and former Jets tailback Curtis Martin said. "And the Steelers are still that blue-collar team."
George Novak coaches at Woodland Hills, whose six NFL players are the most from any one high school in the league. Jets linebacker Jason Taylor was a 6-foot-1, 165-pound home-schooled 11th grader outside Pittsburgh when Mr. Novak told him to come out for the team.
He was a safety. The next year he put on 15 pounds, and when he comes home with the Jets Sunday for this AFC title clash, he'll do it as a six-time Pro Bowler in his 14th NFL year.
"Jason was determined and very competitive," Mr. Novak said. "He learned that growing up in Western PA."
It's all tied together, from midget football to high school on through to the Steelers. Since the 1970s, when they won four Super Bowls, the Steelers have been a benchmark in the league. This Sunday they'll be looking for their eighth Super Bowl trip, and seventh Super Bowl trophy.
There's stability and there's success, and it makes Mr. Kelly rue what's happened in Buffalo, where he loves the Bills and hates that 14- and 15-year-olds have no personal recollection of the Bills as successful. No playoffs, few winning seasons and definitely no Super Bowls.
"When you keep winning as a franchise year in and year out, those kids, they continue to see the winning tradition," he said. "The passion automatically goes from parents to kids."
It's a passion that gives rise to the inane, like the Monroeville man who's painted the bricks on his house gold and black. Or the endearing, like the 80-year-old women who 24-year-old Steelers receiver Mike Wallace says regularly recognizes him at the grocery store. Or the occasionally tough, like the day after the Steelers' 2009 Super Bowl win, when Mr. Ward went to fill up gas.
"This woman says to me, 'Hey, we gonna win one next year?'" Mr. Ward said with a smile and a head shake. "I wanted to say, 'Let's enjoy this one for a minute.' It really is a religion out here."
Which is why religion is invoked in the names of the plays: Immaculate Reception. Immaculate Deflection (1996 AFC title game). Immaculate Interception (Super Bowl XLIII).
The lore is only part of the reason why nurse Susan Braun tied those towels to the IV rods at the cancer center this year.
"Terrible Towels are part of our culture here," Mrs. Braun said. "They're a sign of home and they stand for our strong city. I think it gives our patients some hope."
The weaving of that bond, Mr. Batch says, has as much to do with the Rooney family as it does the steel mills. Patriarch Art Rooney was the founding owner of the Steelers, an accomplished mediator who was unafraid to stand alone in opposition when the NFL considered moving another franchise to a then racially-tense Dallas in the early 1950s.
His son Dan took over day-to-day operations in 1974. Progenitor of the league's Rooney Rule, designed to increase interview opportunities for minority head coaching candidates, and a member of the Hall of Fame, Mr. Rooney is now ambassador to Ireland.
He's a man who still pays for his lunch in the cafeteria he owns, rides the team charter to away games and sits in coach.
"My first flight here, I was shocked. Not only was he not in first class, he was sitting in the last row by the bathroom, where you can't recline," Mr. Batch said, still incredulous all these years later. "He just said, 'I'm not playing a game tomorrow. I don't have to stretch my legs.' That's a Hall of Famer?"
That's how important football is here.
Maybe that's why Mr. Martin remembers having to rustle up 50 to 75 tickets every time the Jets came to town—"and how not only would those people not wear green, they'd be ready to fight with Jets fans," he said. "My mother was my only relative who didn't wish me ill will when I played the Steelers."
Maybe that's why picking an all-time all-Western Pennsylvania quarterback is impossible.
"Montana can start, Marino can come in after the half, and since I'm so good at the two-minute offense, I'll come in at the end," Mr. Kelly says.
But then what about Johnny Unitas?
"Johnny U can come coach us," Kelly says.
Right, except that Bill Cowher, Marty Schottenheimer, Packers coach Mike McCarthy and Bengals coach Marvin Lewis are all from Western Pennsylvania too.
"There really is no place like it," Mr. Roethlisberger said Thursday. "No one else matches their city like we do. We're blue collar, we're hard-working, we're good old guys and that's what this city is."
| When: | | 680 Waterfront Dr E | ||
| | | Workshop 1: Kick it Off Right – History, Equipment, & Cueing a Sound | ||
| | | (Featuring DJ Sneak) | ||
| | | Thursday, January 20, 2011 | ||
| | | 6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. | ||
| | | Workshop 2: Building Block – Droppin’ on the “1” | ||
| | | | Thursday, January 27, 2011 | |
| | | 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. | ||
| | | Workshop 3: First Step to a Mix – Droppin’ on the “1” and BPM | ||
| | | | Thursday, February 3, 2011 | |
| | | 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. | ||
| | | Workshop 4: The Real Deal – Beat-Matching & Creating a Set | ||
| | | | Thursday, February 10, 2011 | |
| | | 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. | ||
| | | Workshop 5: Take It Up a Notch – Scratching & Advanced Beat-Matching | ||
| | | | Thursday, February 17, 2011 | |
| | | 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. | ||
| | | Workshop 6: Showing Off Your Skills – Review, Performances, & Next Steps | ||
| | | | Thursday, February 24, 2011 | |
| | | 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. | ||
| | | | | |
| Where: | Best Buy
| |
| Why: | | Pittsburgh is one of two cities where Best Buy customers can engage in this interactive experience with one of the top DJ production educators in the world. Using products found in Best Buy stores nationwide, participants can live out their fantasies by learning how to DJ from actual, established professionals. The sessions build on one another, beginning from the ground up and building a complete skill set as an amateur DJ. In addition, Best Buy is offering several exciting sweepstakes, including an opportunity to win popular Beats by Dr. Dre headphones. |
| | | |
| Visuals/ Interviews: | |
|
T.G.I. Friday’s and Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank gained some generous friends through a Facebook campaign to raise money for the food bank.
The Waterfront T.G.I. Friday’s general manager Phil Sero presented GPCFB CEO Joyce Rothermel with a $268 check Tuesday.
The funds were raised in the “Can for a Fan” campaign.
That amount can be added to equal more than $6,000 the restaurant’s owner Bistro Group has donated to GPCFB in 2010.
“Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank serves 11 counties in Southwestern Pennsylvania,” Rothermel said. “We rely a lot on community support. Nothing means more to us than support from our neighbors. I don’t think it’s a secret that the Mon Valley is struggling.”
She said it’s going to take more businesses like T.G.I. Friday’s to get involved and help deal with the issues in the Mon Valley.
The campaign, which ran in November and December, donated a can of food for each new Facebook fan T.G.I. Friday’s received. Bistro Group gave the food bank cash for those cans because money would help more customers.
“It’s wonderful when technology gets used to reach out to people with a message,” Rothermel said. “Not only did T.G.I. Friday’s get more fans, but it linked fans to the food bank.”
The Waterfront T.G.I. Friday’s participated in Bartender Championships during 2010 with other surrounding Pittsburgh T.G.I. Friday’s owned by Bistro Group to raise more than $5,000 for the food bank.
“We do flair competitions every year,” Sero said. “It’s where the bartenders flip bottles similar to the movie ‘Cocktail’ and entertain the crowd. It promotes fun with the staff and guests.”
Bistro Group owns eight T.G.I. Friday’s locations in the Pittsburgh area and a total of 31 restaurants — with the majority being T.G.I. Friday’s — in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia. Other locations donated funds from their own campaign to their local food bank.
The Pittsburgh locations raised $11,170 for charity in 2010.
By Stacy Lee, MCKEESPORT DAILY NEWS
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Sunday’s 38-7 win by the 49ers over the Cardinals didn’t get much coverage on a day filled with games that actually mattered, but it was undoubtedly one of the biggest days in Jim Tomsula’s life. Tomsula earned the win in his NFL head coaching debut and, with a new coach coming in, guaranteed himself a spot at the top of the league’s winning percentage list. He’s alongside such luminaries as Fred Bruney and Ray Prochaska on that list, one of the few coaching lists that rewards brief tenures. He even got a Gatorade bath at the end of the game. Not a bad day for a guy who was a defensive line coach a week ago.
If he ever does get into the mix for another head coaching job, Tomsula will be helped by the fact that his 49ers team came to play on Sunday. They showed a lot more fight than they showed for Singletary over most of the first 15 games and got rewarded with a blowout victory that leaves some good taste in their mouths as they await the arrival of a new regime. Alex Smith threw two touchdowns, Brian Westbrook ran for two scores and the defense predictably handled the two-headed Arizona quarterbacking monster of John Skelton and Richard Bartel with little problem.
Since we’re spotlighting proud days under dire circumstances, let’s take a moment to recognize Larry Fitzgerald. The Cardinals wide receiver certainly deserves better than Derek Anderson, Max Hall, Skelton and Bartel as his quarterbacks, but he still managed to pick up 90 catches and 1,137 receiving yards this season. That makes four straight years with 90 or more catches and more than 1,000 yards, which is only slightly less impressive than the fact that Fitzgerald went the whole season without attacking anyone on the sideline. Given the volatile nature of NFL wideouts, that’s pretty remarkable.
Hopefully, the Cardinals will do something to make sure he doesn’t finally reach his breaking point in 2011.
Posted by Josh Alper on January 3, 2011
NBC Sports
Three quarters of a million dollars in state funds have been allocated to complete the missing segment of the Great Allegheny Passage.
State Sen. Jay Costa Jr., D-Forest Hills, announced Thursday that $750,000 in state redevelopment assistance grant monies have been awarded to provide the final push for completion of a continuous bike/hiking trail from Pittsburgh to Washington, D.C.
The missing segment of the 150-mile long trail is about a one-mile gap of the Steel Valley Trail portion of the passage in West Homestead and Pittsburgh area.
Allegheny County officials estimate that segment to be finished in November 2011. Officials signed easement agreements with Sandcastle Waterpark and CSX Corp. in October.
“We’ve worked hard to revitalize the area that was hit so hard by the departure of the Homestead Works,” Costa said Thursday in a press release.
“These efforts are paying off, and completion of this trail is a huge win for the folks who work and play here. Not only is this a valuable resource for those who will be able to spend quality time outdoors, but the economic impact this trail has on the area can’t be understated. It attracts over 700,000 visitors every year, who spend millions of dollars and help to fuel the area’s turnaround.”
It is estimated that there is more than $40 million in indirect spending in trail towns annually, and 88 businesses have been created because of GAP.
“The completion of the Great Allegheny Passage is a transformational moment for our region, both economically and recreationally,” Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato said. “This trail has been improving the economy and quality of life in towns throughout the Laurel Highlands and Southwestern Pennsylvania, and now its benefits will spread north through the Mon Valley and into the city of Pittsburgh.”
The segment to be completed in the West Homestead area will go under a railroad bridge and the Glenwood Bridge to link with a portion of the trail that currently is being formed, then connect to the South Side trail.
The trail system has been 35 years in the making, and funding has come from individual trail users, local governments, private foundations and corporations, and state and federal grants.
This has been a banner year for the Steel Valley Trail, a nine-mile segment of the GAP. Two major projects were completed in July. Bridges were installed over Norfolk Southern railroads, one in Duquesne and one in Whitaker.
The one in Duquesne is in an area trail organizers call Port Perry. It is across the Monongahela River from Port Perry in North Versailles Township. The one in Whitaker stretches across the tracks between Kennywood Park and the Rankin Bridge.
Other trail events this year included a ribbon-cutting for the opening of a portion of the trail in late April near the intersection of Water Street and Ninth Avenue in McKeesport.
“I want to thank the commonwealth, especially Gov. Ed. Rendell and Sen. Jay Costa, for their continued support of this project,” Onorato said. “With the help of our generous foundation community and enthusiastic trail users, we have come a long way toward the completion of this incredible trail. But we wouldn’t be on the home stretch without the state’s support.”
Linda McKenna Boxx, president of the Allegheny Trail Alliance, also lauded the governor, senator and county executive for their support and for facilitating the funding.
“There will be a significant jump in traffic once the last link to Pittsburgh is complete,” Boxx said. “The trail is truly having an economic impact in the communities through which it passes, and we look forward to revitalization in the Mon Valley communities. Pittsburgh will truly become a biking Mecca.”
By Michael DiVittorio, MCKEESPORT DAILY NEWS
Friday, December 31, 2010
