Friday, January 12, 2007

A Little Comparison: Penn Ave Arts

I don't have time to do a point by point analysis right now, but take a look at this article on recreating a neighborhood through art. I've read about this area before (I really like their website, it's got a cool map similar to the Atlas District website [temporarily offline]) and it sounds cool. I've never been to Pittsburgh, but this makes me want to visit (just to see this area). They've done a great job of packaging the neighborhood for outsiders. I wonder a bit what it is like for people to read about the stuff on H Street if they've never been here.
There are many differences between H Street and Penn Avenue Arts, but there are also similarities worth noting. We're doing a bit more of an entertainment based revitalization, so we've got less art production (we also don't have a huge number of massive buildings), but maybe this won't always be so. They've got cheap real estate (it's Pittsburgh, ok?), while ours is probably overpriced (I submit as exhibit A the price tag sitting on the Sun & Moon building). Their neighborhood, notably, came close to being branded "The Zipper District," so we're not the only ones struggling with names for an area. Their planning seems far more comprehensive. They've got a cool sounding program to help artists secure cheap housing. Anyway, check it out.
Thanks to Rebuilding Place for the the Pop City Link. Check out what Richard has to say on the issue of arts based revitalization.