Yes Pittsburgh at one time had Two Red Light Districts

 

 Hard to believe but in the 1980s Pittsburgh had 2 Red Light Districts one in Pittsburgh's North Side on Federal Street which had the Mini Ritz Adult Theater and infamous  Garden Theater  and the several block long one in Downtown on Liberty ave Liberty ave was full of Adult Theaters , Massage Parlors and Adult Book stores  and ruled by one of the most colorful characters  of the time   Dante Tex Gill who was a women who dressed as a man and had a wife. 

 

https://www.them.us/story/the-true-story-of-dante-tex-gill

 

 

 

https://www.wesa.fm/arts-sports-culture/2018-04-26/people-were-afraid-to-come-downtown-when-pittsburgh-had-a-red-light-district

 

 

Unfortunately all this vice lead to a War between  Dante her boss George Lee  and the  Pittsburgh Mob and resulted in a bombing with killed one masseuse.

 I had a customer on liberty ave Ace Amusement owned by the colorful Character Larry Hirsch and one night  while working fixing his alarm we had to evacuate when they found a bomb in  the mens room in the Liberty Adult Art Cinema next door. The stupid ass bouncer . Brought the bomb in a cigarette pack out on to street before calling police. as we evacuated it was sitting on side walk and had a red blinking light. .

 

Ace  Amusement was to the right 

 

After the war ended Tex Gill went to jail  for tax evasion Mr Lee was Killed  and the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust started buying up renovating and tearing down these seedy establishments .

The only remnants left today are the old Edison Hotel now known as a Blush Exotic gentleman's club and the adult book store at Smithfield street .

But what an exciting and interesting period it was.

There was almost a 2nd Boston Tea Party in Leetsdale Pa in the 1980s. when some one opened a British Tea Shop?

 As you ride down Pa 65 South  thru Leetsdale you pass some industrial building and then come to an intersection with an old railroad building which has been many things over the years including a dry cleaners. The railroad crossing has been long closed but this is how you got back to the industrial park at one time .

It sits empty at the moment but in early 80s  Cathy Windsor  turned the building into a British Tea Room and restaurant what a neat ideal for tea lovers and history buffs . Unfortunately as part of the decor she put a large British flag on a flag pole out front and that's what doomed her project from the start  and saw it closed in less than 6 months.

Town citizens ignorance  where outraged she put up such a large British flag on American soil and threatened to burn the place to the ground and not patronize it, 

Actually it was a very nice place for those of us who love tea and town-folks where acting very ignorantly to the Decor there was no slighting on the USA ever in the owners mind. 

There is a very similar place up on Pa 19 in Wexford minus the big flag and everyone thinks its great to be able to enjoy British Delicacies 

The Forgotten Oakford Park Tragedy which killed 21 people in Jeanette Pa on July 5 1903

 Imagine its 1903 and  you are sauntering in your Sunday Best clothing enjoying a local Trolley Amusement Park  in Jeanette unaware the park will see a very dark and terrifying tragedy about to happen to them

.

When a sudden unexpected cloud burst would overflow and break the dam of Lake Placid which is one of the attractions of the park 

https://www.thirdstopontheright.com/oakford-park/

the park manager seeing water starting to rise in the park and flowing over the dam tried to get people to go to higher ground but it was too late for over 20 of them being swept away.

  The park was destroyed but was quickly rebuilt in 1904 and lasted well into the 40s 

and the swimming pool till the 80s. '

Today a gas station sits where Trolley Entrance was and an old garage across the street was the one time trolley shed. 

and the park just a memory .

The strange looking metal markers at Washington blvd and Allegheny River Blvd. in Pittsburgh

 As you ride down ARB  Allegheny River Blvd you come to the intersection of Washington Blvd and are greeted by 2 out of place metal monuments that are the entrance way to the City of Pittsburgh  Brilliant Yard Asphalt Plant 

 

What makes them even stranger is the holes in the side of them. so what are they and where did they come from ?

Well these 2 metal monuments where originally railing pieces for a bridge on Murray Ave between Green Field and Squirrel Hill neighborhoods  and when bridge was replaced instead of being discarded they where placed at the plant entrance. 

But Why? good question as I have looked for and not been able to find a good answer .

Now you would think they would have honored the neighborhood where they came from with them but no there at the entrance of a asphalt plant and now you know .

Lake Go Go in Indiana County Pa. a one time strange place to go to.

 I just recently learned about the one time  absolutely bizarre displays which adorned GO GO Lake  in Indiana County Pa  the 70s  put there by the Frye ? Family from what I can find out  who lived in a white trailer across from the lake off  Stadtmiller Rd.in Ernst

 

 

The lake still exists but all the bizarre stuff has been removed over the years

But what was it ever all about ?   As I do more research I will fill you in  about this strange place . But it was the place to party apparently for young teens .

Abandoned Coal Mine Exploring . Some people are getting their kicks exploring old workings and it can get you very dead

 Exploring old abandoned  building and workings has always been an interesting hobby  and for most part can be done so safely . But a newer fad of going into old abandoned Bituminous and Anthracite Coal Mines is a downright Dangerous Game .

But there is a group of young people who show off their exploits on Face Book and You Tube 

who-are not taking anywhere near the precautions an experienced Mine Rescue Crew would use to enter old dangerous mine openings. 

Black Damp , Gray Damp , Collapses and deadly Explosive Methane Gas is always a possible danger when entering old mine workings .

That's why Rescue crews carry a multi gas meter which warns them if their is lack of oxygen or gas building up. 

But not these explorers who wander about mines in very dangerous risk of collapse at any time with no apparent protective equipment

 Just one breath of Black Damp and your dead. Many times no one knows they have gone in and many times it is a single person doing the exploring .

The State of Pa. has been sealing off mines every chance they can but there are still hundreds out there open for exploring . Recently 3  mine entry's near a popular bike Trail in Kiski Twp Armstrong County  where sealed by the DEP .

Yes all the pictures are neat to see but at what cost? If some one gets trapped a Mine Rescue Team must risk their lives to rescue or recover a body of some one who screwed up being in an old mine they have no business being in. 

In some case explorers have gone in and never came out and crews could not locate them 

Remember Stay out Stay Safe and report to Pa. DEP mine openings you find.

Strange case of the lighted memorial wreath

 If you drive along Allegheny River Blvd  in Pittsburgh Larimer  section  there is a now deteriorating memorial to a gentleman who suffered a heart attack and died a horrific death when he slammed into a tree and car caught fire 

I remember it well it was a hot summer day when I passed by workers recovering the the burnt up car.

Afterwards for several years the family members built and maintained a good sized memorial to him and passed them several times when they where working on it. 

Then for Christmas one year they hung a wreath of pine branches  and I as well as others came by and it had twinkle lights that where lite  which was kind of weird see them lighted and now power any where

Battery powered we figured  but then upon closer examination we saw no wiring no battery pack or lights in the wreath. 

Kind of strange  one evening on and then gone  where they removed ? or stolen ?

Since the wreath was put up I have not seen anyone around it for a couple years now and as you can see its about to fall. 

Wanted to talk to one of them and get whole story  but they seem to no longer be  maintaining it. 

So for now a mystery as to how that wreath was lighted .

Reports of Large Thunder Bird like Activities are all over Western Pa and I possibly saw one

 A very large all black bird with wingspan up to 20 feet  has been rumored to be seen all over the mountainous areas of Fayette and Somerset county's but lately its been spotted closer to Pittsburgh 

I was on Neville Island when a extremely large  bird  came down to pole level height at the Waste Management  Recycle  plant on Grand Ave scaring workers waiting for a bus home 

a Native American Mythological bird 

https://www.historydefined.net/thunderbird/#:~:text=According%20to%20Native%20American%20folklore%2C%20the%20Thunderbird%20is,twice%20the%20length%20of%20the%20traditional%20war%20canoe.

 At first i thought it was some ones kite or drone but no this was a real gigantic bird but what is it? 

is it off  its migration track from a rash of storms this summer ? Maybe  There are many large birds in South America  so maybe its from there .

But what ever it is it has been scaring and amazing people all over . Hopefully some one will be able to get a good picture and we can positively identify it.  Hopefully no one takes a trophy shot at it in the mean time .

 UPDATE  this past Thursday 8-27  while driving on US 6 from Bradford to Sugar Grove I spotted another one of these large unknown birds

Gambling ,Prostitution in Pittsburgh's South Side ? The Interesting place known as The Lotus Club

 Gambling ,Prostitution, Loan Sharking at one time you could find it all in Pittsburgh's South side up into the 80s  There was a notorious After Hours club known as the Lotus Club. along the 2300 block of Sydney Street 

Little did people know when it first opened just what would go on there once the clubs charter was taken over by the mob  

27rooms to do what ever floated your boat when it came to gambling and other vices 

Run by Chester Stupak  considered the king of Dice Games  the club operated with impunity from law enforcement .

 I spent a lot of time in South side as a teenager attending South Vocational High School in 76  

where i went for Electrical wiring Courses and never knew about it. 

If you would like to learn more about it a walking tour of mob activities in the south side is run occasionally

info is available at  

https://steelcityvice.com/south-side-by-the-numbers

 

also check out the whole Steel city vice.com website for some fantastic storys