Journey Home

Stories

Braddock and Juneau

I’ve been getting this weird feeling of similarity between Braddock and Juneau for a while…

The similarities I like are the ability to know people in the local government, participate in it and cause change, and get to know your neighbors. The parts I don’t like are corrupt officials who take their small town positions of power to work for imagined monetary benefit at the expense of the people who live there.
Read More...

Finding a place to live

We were told from the start that you need to be in Braddock to find the place that’s right for you.
Read More...

Demolition

Our aim is to do as much of the house rehab ourselves as possible. Which mostly means that Kevin works there full time while I sit at the computer trying to earn some money to cover it and finish up my dissertation so my tuition can be re-appropriated to fixing the house.
Read More...

Sprucing Up

There is a lot of major work going on at the house now, but sometimes it’s the little things that make a huge difference. Yesterday one of the guys working on plumbing brought a red rose in a water bottle to cheer things up. It got me thinking about what we were doing on the front porch in a different way.
Read More...

Getting Out

We’ve been hearing from adults and kids alike how fantastic the fireworks at Kennywood are on the Fourth of July. This year we were lucky enough to have access to a rooftop in the middle of Braddock Avenue.
Read More...

Beliefs About Braddock

People in Pittsburgh are constantly asking us why we moved here, with fear or disgust in their voices. They tell us the streets aren’t safe and warn us not to walk past any recessed doorways after dark. To be sure, Braddock has had its share of violence that we’ve heard of—community history. But we have not seen any firsthand nor ever felt threatened.
Read More...

The roof, the roof … the roof is on fire

Jeb has been calling our roof the Miracle Roof. That’s the optimistic way of looking at shingles attached to rafters without a subroof in between. The miraculous part is that the house survived the many years between its last occupant and us. The roof part is what was missing ...
Read More...

Demo complete … now what?

We’ve been aiming to have the demo complete by this week so the electrical could be put in. The electrical was postponed, and after a week out of town we’re feeling a bit out of our own loop.
Read More...

Plumbing

The story of our plumbing is the worst story with a contractor I could imagine. Unfortunately, I didn’t imagine it.
Read More...

Living the same day over and over and over …

We kept thinking the demo was done. Almost done. But then something would happen. Like taking down a ceiling to put in a dryer vent revealing a giant rat’s nest encompassing the entire utility room.
Read More...

Braddock Events

Braddock is never dull. Sometimes it is a respite from the crazy drivers and intense traffic in Pittsburgh, but most of the time it’s its own ball of vivid energy that always keeps things exciting.
Read More...

Good Press

Things are changing quickly. Just a few weeks ago I pointed out that Braddock news coverage was consistently negative. I’m happy to report that this past week my news feed has been flooded with positive coverage of Braddock.
Read More...

Never-ending Planning

New things we need to do just keep popping up. We knew the electrical, roof, and plumbing needed to be overhauled. We thought we could salvage the heating system, the floors, and most of the windows.
Read More...

Forward Movement

Our house is finally progressing again!
Read More...

Braddock Word Clouds

I fed this site into Wordle to create a visual representation of what I discuss here ...
Read More...

Changing Landscape

The compound is looking different these days. From small things left by passers-through to the greenhouse and brick oven, this place is shaping up.
Read More...

The Bad Habit

Friday at noon I stopped working and started cleaning. 48 hours later we had completed the set up of a two-room cafe and opened the doors for a surprise brunch: Espresso, fresh oj, hot cocoa, bloody marys, iced toddy, tea, vegan waffles, peach crepes, quiche, muffins and more in Braddock’s own The Bad Habit cafe!
Read More...

Mural Removal

When I started writing about my experiences in Braddock I was encouraged to write about the bad as well as the good. The stereotype of Braddock as a violent place has not proven to be true. People on the streets are friendly, we’ve felt safe exploring this city. What has surprised me is the ongoing attention of a church in Braddock to a mural that was removed. I didn’t expect that I would need to write about aggressive acts by a church.
Read More...

Food in Braddock

Food may be one of the most difficult transitions in moving to Braddock, depending on the city of comparison. There are very few options for purchasing food, prepared or not, in Braddock. A far cry from our short time spent in Portland, but not too different from Juneau.
Read More...

Contractors

This is an evolving list of contractors to hire and to avoid at all costs ... Every time someone new is added it will come back to the top of the list of stories.
Read More...

RADical Days 2008

Pittsburgh showcases its regional assets—fun things like museums, kayaking, the zoo, aviary, etc—every year by offering free admission. The event list is posted at the Allegheny Regional Asset District site.
Read More...

We’ve Got The Power!

It’s amazing what a difference framed in walls and some light bulbs make!
Read More...

Breaking & Entering

Today we had our first experience with someone breaking into the house and stealing something.
Read More...

Changing Landscape Update

Last month I posted about the changing landscape in Braddock. No surprise—things keep moving forward!
Read More...

Wood-Fired Words, reading in Braddock

This weekend Braddock will be hosting a Gist Street Reading. I’ve also heard there will be an urban hike earlier in the day, though I don’t have details on that. Below is the information on the reading:
Read More...

Contractors & Law

A contractor in New York was arrested for scamming over $80,000 from an 88 year-old. It was the Attorney General who pressed charges, which led me to investigating information about contractors through the Pennsylvania Attorney General.
Read More...

Changing Landscape: Orchard

Volunteers planted the orchard the day I flew out to Atlanta.
Read More...

Braddock in Brooklyn

Art Makes Eye Contact, a fund raising art show for the Transformazium church, was this past weekend.
Read More...

The Great Depression & Art In The Dark

Bill Daniel has an upcoming photography and video installation at the Pittsburgh Filmmakers Galleries, opening the same night as Art in the Dark at Jeb’s gallery.
Read More...

Fall Colors

We took a trip up to Cranberry to stay in a hotel for our anniversary. It was a nice break from the house and everything else going on here. It was on the drive out of Pittsburgh that we noticed the colors. Beautiful fall colors. The seasons didn’t really change much in Juneau—it went from summer to winter. There was a lot of rain and grayness, and that’s about it. The west coast in general and Florida don’t have seasons either. So we both stared in awe.
Read More...

Obscurae Art Photography Show & Lottery

On December 5th & 6th Obscurae will premier with one-of-a-kind framed photographs of Braddock’s details—showcased and given away in Braddock. I’ve had the immense pleasure of working on this show with Jodi Morrison and Ryan Brubaker, and I’m so excited about the event itself that I keep forgetting to post about it here!
Read More...

<< Back to main

Braddock, PA

Braddock is an urban 'burb of Pittsburgh that has been drawing in DIY types willing to put their time and energy into making this a better place for everyone here. We heard about it in January 2008 from a friend of a friend whose brother had moved to Braddock in December. We made it here for a visit in February and were back for good in March. It's an almost empty town somehow full of energy.

This site is a chronicle of our journey to and within Braddock.