This run was all about finishing streets so familiar to me I should have done them already. I often cross Denniston or Hastings, but its rare that I actually run the length of these streets. Today was the day!
Denniston has a couple of disjoint segments, one in Squirrel Hill and one in Shadyside. Today I was concentrating on the one that goes nearly a mile from Darlington past Wilkins. This is a nice street in Squirrel Hill, tucked between Shady and Beechwood. The houses are mostly three or four bedrooms on small lots. Everything is well-kept, but kinda close. Denniston is “flat” by Squirrel Hill standards and straight. The street just stops in front of some houses. There is a tiny cul-de-sac, but a van might have a hard time turning around in it. Looking at the map, it’s possible that years ago Denniston went through to meet up with its Shadyside segment, but I that would take it through Mellon Park, and that has been around awhile. Squirrel Hill is rather interesting, being one of the later parcels of land developed in the Pittsburgh area. The Squirrel Hill Historical Society has a wealth of cool information.
Crossing Denniston is the little street, Hastings. If you’re zipping by on Shady Avenue, you might even miss it. My impression was that Hastings was a short little street which didn’t go anywhere. My impression, however, was wrong. Hastings goes from Shady to roughly the intersection of Penn Avenue and Fifth Avenue. Tree lined Tinsley Way and Light Way branch off of Hastings and provide backyard and garage access to the surrounding houses. Hastings itself continues past Point Brugge until flattening out and running into Fifth Avenue. It was fun and peaceful to run here.
Finishing off the run, I headed back toward South Dallas. However, I got a little mixed up and ended up on Glen Arden Drive. Whoa! Whereas Hastings and Denniston were comfy streets with mixed housing, the houses on Glen Arden were definitely more upscale. Instead of three and four bedroom houses, most of these houses looked to have five or six bedrooms. It was also tree-lined with large, mature oaks towering over the brick homes.