braddock: a flourishing city of 20,000 residents. home to andrew carnegie’s first steel mill and free library. wealth. amenities. expansive shopping district. dozens of churches. movie theaters. furniture stores. breweries. schools.
braddocc: a malignantly beautiful town of 2,500 residents. unofficially renamed by dropping the ‘k’ for a ‘c’ by young and disenfranchised for its crip allegiance. still home to carnegie’s first steel mill and free library. no movie theaters. no furniture stores. no breweries…no hope?
the battle for braddocc: can a town that lost nearly 90% of its population, homes, and businesses come back? could braddock’s remaining assets be leveraged by new ideas, energy, individuals to spark a cultural and economic revitalization?
richly historic. large enough to matter. small enough to impact. an unparalleled opportunity for the urban pioneer, artist, or misfit to be a part of a new, experimental effort.
This beaver-like mammal calls Braddock home:
See: www.15104.cc
oh wow, i looove braddock! i was born there, but mostly for other reasons it is very near and dear to my heart, which most people don’t understand, but i don’t understand how they could not understand, so it all comes up even. except for braddock, of course. nothing has come up even for that town in a long time. it’s so cool to see something like “transformasium” going on. and of course, also cool that a blm still calls braddock its home.
Hi Phoebe…
It’s indeed a small world. Both of my parents grew up in Braddock, PA, so this post brings back some good memories for me. This article describes well what I can remember from my early childhood… A small hilly town with brick roads and culture- currently transformed into a desolate area with boarded up homes and gangs. The high schools that my parents attended in the early 60’s no longer exist. I’m even sorta afraid to drive through there now-a-days. But it looks like this BLM has found a cozy little home there. My dad use to tell stories of rats in back allies of his home that were the size of small dogs. BLMs? I dunno, but funny anyway. I look forward to adding my own BLM pic to this site someday!