The Strip

Pennsylvania is one of my favorite states to drive through with multitudes of lush mountains resulting in quaint villages and a variety of bridges to cross through, over, and under.  Since we had a couple of places to go to in Pittsburgh and just half a day to accomplish this, we didn't have much time to smell the roses.

Somewhere along the PA turnpike

We weren't sure what to expect when we arrived at the Strip, a district of repurposed warehouses converted into clubs and shops in downtown Pittsburgh along two streets -- Smallman St and Penn Ave.

The Pittsburgh Public Market takes up several loading dock spaces. Brightly lit, the small market is a busy place, but not obnoxiously so. The walkways were clean and wide enough without having to rub shoulders walking along stalls of fruits, vegetables, soaps, prepared foods, and textiles.

A little further along were a couple of nifty looking buildings with clubs and a haunted house. It would have been interesting to walk into one to see how or if the upper floors are utilized.

Clubs along the Strip

Further along Smallman St, I noticed a crowd snaked into a small door leading into a hole in the wall and people trickling out of another door with containers of doughnuts. I stood in line and found out it was a line for doughnuts at Peace, Love, and Little Donuts.

The regular doughnuts were dry, so I ended up eating the toppings and leaving the a bit of topping and the rest for Bug. Maple bacon and Treehugger (granola) toppings were good - no surprise. After we got home, I was disappointed to find out this was a national chain and one in the west side of Cleveland had been open for several months.

Mini doughnuts

Grudgingly, Bug toted around the box of doughnuts as we came across the breakfast place he had heard about and wanted to try. Packed with people waiting to get in and being carbed out, he decided to pass it up.

Adjacent to a McDonald's along Penn Ave is a church converted into a nightclub. Bug and I have often joked about opening a club in a large old church. The older and more gothic, the better.

The Altar

It would have been great to catch Rammstein when they played there, or My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult, scheduled to play on Monday, October 22nd!

- Cassaendra

The Strip
Smallman St
Penn Ave
Pittsburgh, PA