Three East End neighborhoods in midst of economic, cultural revival

Pittsburgh’s Garfield, Lawrenceville and Bloomfield neighborhoods were originally built for… Pittsburgh’s Garfield, Lawrenceville and Bloomfield neighborhoods were originally built for the working class and mill workers, and during Pittsburgh’s prolonged economic downturn, these areas fell on hard times.

But recent economic growth in these neighborhoods has led to an influx of ethnic restaurants, art galleries, cafes and bookshops that appeal to college students who wish to take a break from the modern campus buildings that dominate Oakland.

“Part of its charm is that it’s this old, working-class neighborhood,” said Jared Rossi, 34, adding that his family traces its Lawrenceville roots back for at least three generations.

Rossi attended Pitt from 2003 to 2006 before graduating from the Community College of Allegheny County, where he also worked in a laboratory for the department of endocrinology. He currently works as a hairdresser in Bloomfield. He said that the newer, trendier businesses appeal to the young professionals he sees moving into the area.

About a mile and a half northwest of Oakland, Bloomfield is within walking distance of Pitt’s campus. Garfield is just beyond it, across Penn Avenue, and Lawrenceville borders Bloomfield to the northeast.

While there is no direct bus route from Oakland to Garfield, Bloomfield and Lawrenceville are both accessible via the 54 and 93.

One of Rossi’s favorite spots is the 300-acre Allegheny Cemetery, which touches all three neighborhoods and includes the grave of legendary American composer Stephen Foster. Rossi compared the cemetery’s rolling green hills and surrounding wrought iron fence to a peaceful national park.

“I go there a lot of times if I just need to go somewhere and think,” he said.

In Bloomfield — historically regarded as Pittsburgh’s Little Italy — Thai, Japanese and Chinese restaurants have appeared among the older, more traditional Italian eateries.

The area has also drawn artists recently.

Nicole Capozzi, 36, said she and her husband opened Box Heart Gallery on Liberty Avenue 12 years ago. She said they chose the area for their gallery, which deals in art and fine crafts by more than 400 artists from around the world, because the shops and long-standing restaurants provide a lot of foot traffic through the neighborhood.

“It has that stability of these places that have been here for the long haul, and that’s why we chose here to open up an art gallery,” Capozzi said, explaining that there are many establishments that reflect the older feel of the neighborhood, such as some popular Italian restaurants.

Laura Jean McLaughlin, 46, opened Awesome Books two years ago on Penn Avenue in Garfield, where weathered brick edifices still dominate over newer-looking renovated structures. McLaughlin said her store focuses on books about poetry and art, although she and her business partner, Bob Ziller, also include new and used fiction as well as books on anthropology, gardening, and other subjects.

She said that in the nine years since she bought the building for her shop, the neighborhood has become much more accommodating to businesses and families.

“It was really pretty bad here when I first came in. You would not see people walking around at night,” McLaughlin said. Now, she explained, the neighborhood has developed into more of a community.

Rossi attributed much of the upswing in the area’s economy to the 2009 opening of the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC in Lawrenceville.

“It seems like [new establishments] are doing a good job of revitalizing but keeping it artsy in a good way,” Rossi said, explaining that he hoped Lawrenceville and the adjacent neighborhoods would not become “too commercial.”