In Pittsburgh's
Lawrenceville neighborhood, there's an old van customizing shop whose
windows have been boarded up. Usually, that'd make a building uglier
than a pig in a mincing machine, but in this case, someone took the
time to paint over the boards with Charming Scenes of Urban Life
(tm).
The van shop's sign alone is a classic. It evokes an era (before
my time, thankfully) when vans roamed the earth unchallenged and
unmocked. Note the text on the sign offering installation of "flares,
spoilers, & sunvisors", "custom grills", and of course,
"captain chairs". In case anyone wants to call the
number on the sign to inquire about getting their van customized, I'm
pretty sure that this place is in the 412 area code.
By the way, this building is on Penn Ave., near Main St., and right
across from Tram's
Kitchen. If you haven't been to Tram's, you're missing great
Vietnamese food. Especially the fresh rolls, which are the best I've
ever had anywhere (disclaimer: I've never been to Vietnam).
As always, click on the picture for a larger version.
On the side of Duke's bar, in Bloomfield on S. Millvale Ave., there's
a small mural commemorating September 11. I don't know when the dead
branches and graffiti were added. Perhaps some time after the
adjoining gas station shut. My girlfriend points out that this could
be a metaphor for how the country's patriotism has faded since the
initial surge after 9/11.
Here's a picture of the front of the building. Note the sign promising "no crap on
tap".
