Pittsburgh hot spots

Attic and Cruel Noise are also Lawrenceville-adjacent. There were a couple record stores on Butler a few years ago, but one closed and the other relocated to Brookline.

The downside of being such a successful neighborhood may be that the rents are too high for a record store.

 

Had a similar conversation about Primanti’s the other day..... when I lived in Boston for 5 years after college we hit Primani’s every time I was home. In 19 years since settling back here I bet I haven’t eaten there 5 times, mostly with out of town guests. Perhaps not ever being in the city and drunk at 1 AM anymore has something to do with it but mostly - there are better options.

Agree on Lawrenceville’s lack of record stores but since we go to Row House Cinema pretty often maybe it’s better that way.

 

It's hit or miss between Jerry's and The Attic. Sometimes you'll have a better day at one or the other, it's all about timing. The Attic has new releases and RSD participation where Jerry's stays away from new stuff. Also, The Attic has CD's,Jerry's not unless that's changed recently. But, Jerry's does share the building with Galaxie (or maybe Galaxy) Electronics so you can get your audio components worked on by Vince and pick up a few record supplies and used gear. I like them both. Music To My Ear is more swanky, laid out better and more room to move, plus, cleaner. I hope it keeps a small footprint though and doesn't try to be Jerry's or The Attic volume wise. It's got high end audio/video gear upstairs and a few new TT's and headphone section near the vinyl and CD's.

Half-Price Books and The Exchange are really picked over and you'd have to be there frequently to pick up re-stock items as they fly off the shelves quickly. They're usually a waste of time but I have to admit if I'm near one I'll stop and browse. A few times a year I'll find something great but usually leave empty handed. I look out for the discount days but so does everyone else in the burgh. The competition is healthy.

 

I found a couple Bowie RSD things at Dave's Music Mine on the Southside, in addition to the Jaco big band live Truth, Liberty & Soul, which I never saw anywhere in Northern NJ or even at the Jazz Record Center in Manhattan.

Found the Robert Johnson Centennial Collection from RSD last year at The Exchange, also on the Southside.

Got some nice used jazz, blues and the best original Katy Lied I've seen in quite awhile at Vinyl Remains, a small shop just off West Liberty in Dormont. It's a tiny shop, but very well done. NYC expats run the shop, and I really hope they stay in the 'Burgh.

I found mono Beatles for Sale and With The Beatles at the Barnes & Noble in Homestead, and picked up a few of the good Coltrane reissues I don't see here. Usually, it's Ole and Giant Steps and that's it.

Didn't make it to Jerry's, but I'll try next time.

Pittsburgh's so small, but people drive really slow, every red light lasts 3 minutes, and lots of side roads in the South Hills were closed due to flooding. I was there for 10 days, and it rained literally every single day, often torrential downpours that were like mini-hurricanes that lasted 15-40 minutes. It's always been a grey, rainy place, but it was something else this time around.

Didn't make it out to Lawrenceville this time, but no record stores there?? Sounds like an opportunity just waiting to be exploited.

 

Nice finds but the weather is usually hot and sunny when I go. Whole summer has been pretty moist in the NE,PA in particular.

 

Does anyone know where I could rent a real time analyzer in the Pittsburgh area? I don’t trust any of the equipment that I have, nor do I want to buy one because I don’t anticipate using it that often. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

 

Government Center just opened on East Ohio St. (North Side) a couple weeks ago. Attractive space with friendly, knowledgeable owner. More of a 'collector's store' with an inventory skewing more toward higher-priced rarities across rock, electronic, punk, jazz, etc. Instantly one of my favorite stores in town.

 

What exit would that be coming down south on 28? I usually get off at Millvale and not familiar with what's past that. How's parking near the store? Thanks for the heads up on Govt. Center.

 

Government Center sounds interesting.

I may brave the hell that IS Rt. 28 to check it out!

 

Looks like Juke's in Bloomfield is closing it's doors i'm afraid.

 

That's a bummer. There's been a record store there for years.

And people aren't exactly rushing to open stores on that stretch of Liberty Ave.....not sure why they're closing, but commercial real estate rates are being jacked up everywhere.

 

There's actually been a lot of new businesses that have opened up on Liberty Ave in Bloomfield lately... mostly bars and restaurants which can afford higher rents than niche retail like record stores. Baby Loves Tacos, Azorean Cafe, Froggy's, Pad Thai House, Gryphon Tea, Sugar & Smoke, Big Shot Bob's House of Wings, etc.

With areas like Bloomfield and Lawrenceville heating up... record stores are going to have to find 'emerging' business districts... such as the newly opened Government Center on E. Ohio St.

It's sad how it works... record stores make an area cool and desirable... resulting in rent increases that push the cool record stores out.

It's actually quite amazing that this is the first record store casualty in Pittsburgh in a few years considering the boom in openings lately.

While Juke was mostly incompatible with my genre interests... I loved the enthusiasm of the owners and the shop always seemed busy and vibrant. Sad loss.

 

Was this place there before with a different name? I stopped by a place once a few years ago that sounds like the same area. I don't think it was a particularly well-known place.

 

Are you thinking of Stedefords (or was that Son of Stedefords at the end there), that was a few doors down i think on E. Ohio. They closed up a couple of years ago i think quite quickly.

 

I used to live directly across from Juke when it was Paul's. Liberty always felt a bit more chaotic businesswise - L'ville went through an entire renaissance and Bloomfield for a LONG time was still "on the cusp."

It still boggles my mind that L'ville doesn't have a store. It seems like the perfect place for one, foot traffic and audience-wise. I know rents are high, but one of the vintage furniture places or some other big store should carve out a section and sublease it to a record seller.

 

Thanks for the name. Found it in a search & yes, that is the place I was thinking of:

Stedeford's Records closes on the North Side

 

Found this too: The Government Center record shop now open on East Ohio Street

 

Philly67, somehow your formatting smushed your comment together with mine up at comment 66.

"I'm entirely a digital CD guy myself, i've often thought of getting into vinyl again, but the idea of re buying my collection all over again just kills it for me. I miss the heydays of Paul's CD's...does anybody know where he's at/what's he doing now??"

I know he retired and I thought he moved out of state. He sold to Karl Hendricks who sadly died just a few years after taking over, and that's how it came to be bought by the folks who own Juke.

 

Post Gazette JUST posted this

Juke Records in Bloomfield to close

 

yeah, i must of deleted something by accident (clumsy fingers/cramped laptop) Thanks for telling me about Paul, i wasn't around when the shop was closing, glad he made his money out of it and got out while it was good. Yeah, Karl going really was terrible, a great guy. Like i said, i'm totally a digital listener so when Jukes went vinyl only at the end that kinda killed my interest aside from picking over the leftovers. I'd been going to that spot since Jim's was there...i remember a time or two being down at Eides when they got busted for bootleg cd's and made the quick beeline up the road to warn them to hide their stash just in case. Will be so weird to go past there and it be some vape shop or cell phone thing. Thank goodness Tessaro's is still there!

 

One of a handful of things that still are.

Although Bloomfield has really retained a slightly worn-down edge.
Lawrenceville is almost unrecognizable from what it was 15 years ago when I lived there.