Homewood-Brushton

This was a solo Saturday morning run on a cool, cloudy day in December. For once, I roughly mapped it out before I parked in North Point Breeze, near the bowling greens. The bowling green is an interesting feature of Pittsburgh. Maintained by the Frick Park Lawn Bowling Club, the greens look like something out of a 19th century country club. Many houses in the area also look the part.

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Once I cross Penn Avenue, the houses and the streets become more modest. Railroad lines and the Port Authority’s East Busway cut through the neighborhood like a large moat. There are only a handful of streets which connect the neighborhoods, over or under the moat. One of them is Homewood Avenue.

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I traversed a number of small streets which are nestled up against the busway, eventually going through the vibrantly painted Homewood-Brushton viaduct. I made an immediate right, running down Finance Street. I always chuckle at the irony of “Finance St” sign among the weeds and litter. It’s actually sad to see the neighborhood filled with broken buildings, but there are some signs of redevelopment, too.

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At the end of Finance, I made a left onto Brushton Avenue, and followed that as it made a slow ascent into a hill. I topped out on Stranahan Street. Finding stairs here too, I did a small loop and took the opportunity of a quiet Saturday morning to venture down a long, brick paved alley. Eventually I retraced my steps back to Homewood Avenue and my car, waiting to bowl at the greens.

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