Dan Antion

Pittsburgh Leftovers

Welcome to Thursday Doors! This is a weekly challenge for people who love doors and architecture to come together to admire and share their favorite door photos, drawings, or other images or stories from around the world. If you’d like to join us, simply create your own Thursday Doors post each (or any) week and then share a link to your post in the comments below, anytime between 12:01 am Thursday morning and Saturday noon (North American eastern time). If you like, you can add our badge to your post.

Important Note: There will be no Thursday Doors challenge next week. Accordingly, there will be no Thursday Doors Recap on Sunday September 5th. Thursday Doors will return on September 9th.

This will be the last week that I’ll be running doors from our visit last month to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Some of today’s doors are ones that didn’t fit the previous three themes. Some fit but were left out because there were too many doors. Some were going to be the subject of additional research.

When we were growing up in Pittsburgh, we were quite familiar with a street called Boyce Road. Boyce Rd, connects, albeit in a circuitous fashion, McLaughlin Run Rd and Mayview Road. Until I was about 10 years old, my family lived on McLaughlin Run Rd, in an apartment building my grandmother owned. She lived there until her death when I was 16. Mayview Rd was home to Mayview State Hospital, a State operated mental hospital. My mother worked at Mayview as did my future sister-in-law. My father was a mailman. His route included Boyce Rd and Mayview State hospital. Later, when I worked for the Post Office during the summers while I was in college, I delivered mail to Mayview.

1) McLaughlin Run road – 2) Mayview State Hospital – 3) Boyce Road.

During this visit, we wanted to hike in Boyce-Mayview Park, the park that was built on part of the old hospital grounds. That plan was washed out by a thunderstorm, but I did snag a few photos. The “Boyce” House was the first house in the area. The Boyce family arrived in 1772 and began farming the area along Chartiers Creek. In 1871, the Charties Railroad was established, and Boyce Station was constructed across the road from the Boyce farmhouse. These two building remain.

While some farms remain, the area has largely been built up with residential housing. Mayview Hospital was abandoned by the State in the 1990’s, removed and turned into a park. The Boyce house and the station have been maintained/restored and are currently occupied by businesses. As I was trying to get photos of the Boyce house, a woman from the business came out to greet me. The house is currently for sale, she thought I might be interested. I explained the concept of Thursday Doors, however, I did not get a good picture of the front door – bushes and a large for-sale sign blocked the beat view.

I don’t know much about most of the other doors. What I do know is in the captions. One photo is of my Grandmother’s Church. It stands opposite the cemetery where she is buried. We always visit her grave when we visit Pittsburgh.

I also snapped a few photos as Faith drove us through the Fort Pitt Tunnel on our way home. The exit from this tunnel is often referred to as Pittsburgh’s Front Door. The slideshow block below will show you why.

Thank you for visiting Thursday Doors. Please visit the doors of the participants in this challenge. If you are unable to wade through the comments today. Return here on Sunday for the Recap, where links to all participant blogs will be presented.

One last note: Many of you may have become “disconnected” from No Facilities as a result of the random “unfollowing” error with WordPress. Engineers feel this problem has been solved, but you will still need to follow this blog, again. I sincerely hope this is the last time I have to ask you to do this.

One more last thing. The Classic Block gallery I was using was not working correctly in all browsers. I hope you can read the captions. If you want to see the photos clear, you can click on one to start a slideshow…I think.

  • Caraopolis, Pennsylvania is pronounced “Cory- opolis” Don’t ask. The Cory Cafe looks like the typical blue collar bars that characterize the region.
  • Yellow-ish brick and glass blocks are found in many buildings in the area.
  • I love the details in the brick.
  • I’m guessing that the stone faced on the lower lever was applied over the original brick face.
  • This building reminds me of many apartment buildings in the area,
  • Boyce Station was a train station, Post Office and general store for many years.
  • Boyce Station, restored in 1980
  • The Boyce House from the east side while we were parked in the parking lot.
  • The Boyce House from the southeast.
  • The Boyce House The door is barely visible in the center.
  • I don’t know anything about this church. Faith was probably driving.
  • More yellow brick.
  • The name is enticing, isn’t it?
  • Barto’s – Note the two ghost doors.
  • Seoneri’s – I think Faith and I ate here about 12 years ago. The Linguini in clam sauce was excellent.
  • St. George Orthodox Church. This is the third building to house that church. My grandparents helped build the first two. I think they would be proud of this one.
I hope this gallery option works for everyone. It does appear to work for me.

If you are in a hurry and don’t wish to scroll through the comments, click to Jump to the comment form.

122 comments

    • I think they began building brick buildings in the mid-1800s. Most of the highly decorated ones that I’ve seen around here are from 1860-1910. A lot of the ones in Pittsburgh were built as the city expanded due to the growth of the steel industry. It was a favorite building material. Our second house was brick, and it had been built in the 1950s.

      You have a couple sad structures today, but a good story and photos.

      Liked by 1 person

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    • I’m glad you like this post, Robbie. The Boyce house has been well maintained. The station had fallen into disrepair but was restored in the 1980s. I read that it’s the only multi-purpose station remaining in the area. I’m not sure if it was Norm or an early follower of his who coined the phrase ‘ghost door’ for doors which have been filled-in, but it stuck. If you study them, they usually tell a story about the building. In this case, it looks like two small shops became one large bar.

      I hope you had a great trip!

      Liked by 2 people

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  8. So many memories for you in this town, isn’t it? Remembering the buildings during various seasons, then seeing them now as new life strolls past them it’s bitter-sweet.

    I was about to say the yellowish brick buildings are my favorite, with their lace details and warm appeal.
    But your last image is of a Christian Orthodox Church and this is my religion, so recognition and the comfort that familiarity bring along placed this little building on the top – for me :)

    How can I read what you wrote after “I think the…” ?

    Have a lovely holiday, Dan!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Thanks Pat. I had to change the gallery option, as the Classic gallery wasn’t working very well. You should be able to read the captions on top of the photos (not my preference) or under the photos in the gallery. I’m glad you like my grandmother’s church.

      Liked by 2 people

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    • Driving around with me and my older brother, Faith could hardly escape learning about just about everything we drove past. I even learned a lot from my brother. Growing up almost five years apart, we have many common memories but also many different ones.

      Liked by 1 person

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    • Thanks GP. I’m glad you liked this. Pittsburgh is a richly diverse ethnic area. The communities in the suburbs were often established by immigrants or collections fo cultures. So you find buildings, particularly churches, reflecting those cultures.

      Liked by 1 person

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    • Thanks Sherry. I was using the mosaic gallery in the Classic Block. It was not working this morning. It was locking up and not showing the captions. I switched to a modern block gallery. I may have to stick with that. Your photos were fine and I love that church!!

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  21. BTW, if you can remember the linguini and clam sauce from 12 years ago, it must be good!

    Which is one of the marks of a good restaurant, or movie. If you can remember it, it made an impression.

    Liked by 1 person

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    • It was very good. I remember because it’s a locals restaurant, not one popular with travelers, When I ordered the Linguini, the waitress asked me how I had heard about that dish and the restaurant. We had just stopped to give it a try, but apparently that dish was their specially.

      Liked by 1 person

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  22. Followed you again. Let’s see if this one takes. You’re still worth looking for. These are some beautiful looking buildings. And how special to have childhood memories to connect with them.

    Liked by 1 person

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  23. LOVE your grandmother’s church! Some churches, though beautiful, don’t look welcoming. How sad. This church, however, is beautiful, cute and welcoming all rolled up into one wonderful package!

    The yellow-ish brick buildings used to be plentiful, but not anymore. I remember when I was a kid seeing lots of block glass windows, particularly in warehouses. But also in private homes, usually in the bathroom.

    I really admire the Boyce House. Nicely maintained as are the other buildings. Awesome brickwork and detail throughout all these buildings.

    The fact that you remember what you ate in that restaurant, 12 years ago, and how good it was, blows my mind! ‘Course, you might be remembering it because you still suffer from the heartburn! Just sayin!
    Ginger

    Liked by 1 person

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    • Thanks Ginger. My grandmother would be happy, and she would always make you feel welcome in her home or her church.

      I love the details in the brick, and the way the Boyce house has been preserved.

      As I mentioned above, When I ordered the Linguini, the waitress asked me how I had heard about that dish and the restaurant. We had just stopped to give it a try, but apparently that dish was their specially. It was very good, and I could not possibly finish the serving they offered.

      I hope you have a nice couple days sliding into the weekend.

      Like

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  24. ‘The Linguine in clam sauce was excellent.”–I love that! My husband and I do that, too–remember the great meal we had, but not the place we had it. I do like the yellow brick buildings–I don’t see too many of that color, mostly red brick. Yellow brick is older? Dan, I think your grandparents would marvel at the new church. It is a beauty.

    Liked by 1 person

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    • My best friend seems to remember every meal he’s ever had. I’ve recalled business trips we went on, and he’ll say, “we ate at that little place on the corner, I had…”

      I don’t know the story of the yellow bricks. Maybe it’s just the clay available in the area. There’s a lot of yellow brick buildings in and around Pittsburgh.

      I do think my grandmother would be happy with here church.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  27. Enjoy your doorliday, Dan! Today I love the most the soft sun-kissed brick colour of the first building and the shape of the last. Beautiful all.

    I’m posting some photos today but they are not mine, really. (Photography is forbidden in the underbelly of the Arena “under construction”.) That dog just happens to look like mine.

    https://manjameximexcessive6.wordpress.com/2021/08/26/thursday-doors-26-8-21-ljubljana-stozice/

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Thanks Teagan. It was such a good trip. We are already looking forward to a trip next year.

      Thanks for joining us today. I love it when people extend the reach of Thursday Doors, and yours are wonderful.

      Liked by 1 person

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    • You have a good point about getting around in that area. It does take some effort, and it’s usually the fact that you need to find a bridge.

      You had a nice selection of doors today and perhaps added a new entry to the doors lexicon.

      Liked by 1 person

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  45. There are so many doors that we have walked through in our lifetime. I appreciated reading about your family history, Dan – especially that you father was a mailman who delivered the letters – the letters that brought people together across the miles. I can only imagine all his stories. I wonder what he would think of how mail has become even more important during this past year.

    Liked by 1 person

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    • Thanks Rebecca. The stories he brought home from his mail route were often told during our dinnertime. They covered all the bases. It’s had to imagine all the doors we’ve been through. Maybe that’s what makes them so interesting.

      Liked by 1 person

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  48. Thank you, Dan, for the tour and sharing your family connections to Pittsburg. I like the whole collection. The Boyce house looks like it’s in excellent condition for its age. Before COVID, I was planning a trip to Pittsburg and if I recall correctly, there are a lot of bridges in Pittsburg. Your tunnel photos reminded me of that. Have a wonderful break!

    Here’s my entry (more garage door art): https://natalietheexplorer.home.blog/2021/08/27/laneway-art-and-canoeing-fun/

    Liked by 1 person

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    • Pittsburgh has more bridges than any other city in the world. Almost every trip you take will be defined by which bridge(s) you need to cross,

      The doors you shared are are remarkable, Natalie.

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  49. Hi Dan
    I have not even heard of linguini with clams for many many years- I never ordered it but when I worked in hospitality had the chance to eat so many foods and once in a while enjoyed this-!
    And the Cory cafe opolis reminds me of so many little bars in the north east –
    Also live the bricks and different structures
    I have been thru the tunnel and front door is a good name for it
    (Ps – no doors post for me this week – so see you in two weeks for more door exploring and hope you ha e a nice break)

    Liked by 1 person

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    • Those bricks are interesting. We still don’t know the story behind them. I’m guessing it’s something about the local clay. In any case, I do like seeing them.

      I enjoyed the Doors of Berwick. You covered a lot of ground, and they were all nice.

      Like

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    • Thanks Marsha. We’re open to almost anything serving as a door, but I can’t take credit for that moniker. It’s been called that by many people, but I do agree. When you emerge from that tunnel, you can’t help but be impressed.

      I’m glad you shared your post with us. I enjoyed the artwork.

      Like

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  59. Dramatic entrance to Pittsburgh. In the unlikely event I ever visit, it is good to have a preview when driving unknown roads. But that’s pending the hubs letting me behind the wheel. lol I blame his law enforcement past being driven by others in high speed pursuits. Anyway, gives me free reign of the camera :) Love the brick designs too!

    Liked by 1 person

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    • The first time through that tunnel, you don’t want to be behind the wheel. Depending on your destination, you have a very short bit of time to change a few lanes. The shock of that view will keep you occupied for about half that time and you’ll be exiting going the wrong way.

      Thank Joel for inspiring your doors.

      Liked by 1 person

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      • Will do although he’s currently asking who turned out the lights with a pair of sunglasses on. Lol never a dull moment 🙃 Honestly probably best I don’t get behind the wheel in any big city that’s unfamiliar lol

        Liked by 1 person

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    • You’re well within the post window, Jean. The yellow bricks are popular in that region but they aren’t found very often outside that area. I don’t know why that color is common there. We’ve looked into it, but we’ve come up empty.

      I enjoyed the doors you found for us.

      Like

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  62. Great doors, Dan, as always! The Fort Pitt Tunnel is like the Harbor Tunnel near Baltimore. Many’s the time we drove through that when I was a kid, en route to visit my father’s family in Philadephia.

    Liked by 1 person

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  65. I have always loved yellow brick. The Boyce House and St. George Orthodox Church are a treat to see. Yes, your grandmother would be pleased. I dearly remember your post about her when you were a boy. It’s high time you ran it again.

    Liked by 1 person

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  66. Hi Dan – yes … thankfully the slide show and captions worked … I’m happy! Sounds like you always have a nostalgic trip back home and a visit to your grandmother in her final resting place. Our early places of living are so different today, as to their lives when we lived there … I know mine is. Great to see these – cheers Hilary

    Liked by 1 person

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    • Yeah, the places around there have changed so much. My grandmother would be shocked at the sight of her little town. Although, her neighborhood was already built up so it hasn’t changed much. Except for the absence of local stores.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

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