"... never made in St. Louis or Wheeling."

If you're into old bottles this might be of interest to you. Our new builder found this old medicine bottle in the basement of 408. The product is "Doctor McLane's American Worm Specific" and it dates from approximately 1844 to 1860. American Worm Specific was an intestinal parasite treatment manufactured in Pittsburgh.

http://odysseysvirtualmuseum.com/products/Dr.-McLane%27s-American-Worm-Specific-Bottle.html
http://glswrk-auction.com/061.htm

Who Knows This Coffee Brand!?

Our new contractor, who is awesome, saved these tin patches for us. The patches had been nailed into the original siding planks that lined both sides of the "horse walk" (the 1-story walkway running between the two houses, front to back). To keep the boards from cracking, the previous owner nailed them in place to cover the resulting hole when knotholes popped out. Oh and we're 38% funded. We're so blown away by the support. Thank you so freakin' much! If you haven't seen it, our fundraiser is here: https://life.indiegogo.com/fundraisers/you-can-help-restore-an-historic-home/x/2255575

Early spring in Pittsburgh.

The snow has melted. My neighbor's are wearing shorts. It's "spring" in Pittsburgh.

So Cool!

"Nearly 20 years ago, historian Dolores Hayden published her renowned book The Power of Place, in which she argued that preservationists were neglecting sites and buildings associated with women and minority history, social unrest and the lives of the working class. Hayden expressly called for historic preservationists to take seriously “ordinary buildings”—worker’s houses, factories, warehouses and other buildings whose significance is probably not architectural. As long as preservationists take the National Register as a veritable gospel, we are blinding ourselves to all aspects of historic places. Places that matter to people don’t always matter because of the way they look—they matter because of what they mean." (Written by Michael R. Allen, founder and director of the Preservation Research Office and a lecturer in American Culture Studies at Washington University in St. Louis. This is an tiny excerpt from his article entitled "Is the National Register of Historic Places Helping or Hindering Legacy City Preservation?" as published in the Preservation Leadership Forum Blog.)

PGH Retail.

Stephanie Lauren Stauffer (love!) organized the Cedar Arts Holiday Market in Pittsburgh's Allegheny Commons Park last weekend and I set up a table to talk about my project. I met neighbors, made friends, and ate goodies from A Bird And A Dog. What a lovely day!

Pittsburgh's WWII memorial.

The North Side is home to a WWII veteran's memorial located near Heinz Field on the North Shore (which is not too far from the huge riverside sculpture honoring Mister Rogers). The memorial was dedicated in December of 2013. Dominick and I were impressed by the wealth of information printed on it, some of which resonated personally. This quote is not attributed, but I'm inferring that it is from David L. Lawrence, former mayor of Pittsburgh.

River of Words.

I just discovered that our River of Words word "persistence" now shows up on Google's street view. (And no more green vinyl siding!)

For more on River of Words:
http://www.cityofasylumpittsburgh.org/2014/05/29/river-of-words-public-art-project-inaugurates-city-of-asylums-garden-to-garden-artway/