Matthew U.
Yelp
For all the years I lived in Pittsburgh, and the amount of time I worked within view of this space, I never made it here. Leave it to me to come back to town for work and I wind up down here. I find it kind of awe inspiring and good representation of Pittsburgh as a whole.
I won't go into all the details that other reviewers have already, I'll just do a synopsis. As many know, Pittsburgh was the Steel City for decades. Much of the waterfront land in Pittsburgh and surrounding areas was dominated by the steel trade. This spot, next to Braddock, sat idle once the steel trade in Pittsburgh started to wind down. I watched as this piece of land just sit here, especially when I worked at another old steel trade place, The Waterfront.
I watched as much of what sat near the Carrie Furnaces were demolished. Much like the nearby town of Braddock, loosing pieces of the past due to deteriorations. However, the furnaces themselves were spared. Eventually becoming a National Historic Landmark. With the completion of reconnecting to the road to this land, it is now a venue space that hosts every and anything under the sun. Great example of redeveloping a brownfield into reusable space.
I just happened to be lucky enough to attend one of the last rallies of the Harris/Walz Presidential run. The event itself was well organized and executed. It was very smooth when you arrived and the space was accommodating. I can see how they can set this space up to accommodate any type of event that might be held here. It was quite the event to attend and it felt historic in more than one sense. It almost felt like a fever dream being here and witnessing such an event. The crowd was electric and the staff were amazing. Also got to see Katy Perry perform at the end of the rally. Food trucks were brought in for food, but because of the long lines of people almost impossible to get food and witness what was happening on stage.
The one and only thing that is nightmarish about this spot is the traffic jam that is created at the end of an event. Bottlenecking at so many points, but the worst being at Rankin Bridge. Instead of waiting for a bus to take us to parking at Kennywood, we decided to walk from here, across the bridge and catch an ride at the gas station at the end of the bridge. Believe me, it was much easier than waiting for hours. From what I was told, people were passing out waiting for buses to arrive.
I can also confirm that it can get quite dusty here. For me however, it did not detract from the venue. Especially if you know you are going to be attending an outdoor event. One small piece of advice, keep your eye out for the wildlife. While we were exiting the grounds, a deer got spooked and was running around in the gated area, eventually running into the chain link fence at one point.
With that, I give you my 3,800th review!
