Allegheny Commons Park Restoration

The latest phase of the restoration of Allegheny Commons Park, the Victorian era park that was the center of old Allegheny City (now Pittsburgh's North Side) got underway last week. The plan is to restore the park to its former 19th century glory. Located only 3 blocks from the Priory Hotel, the park hosts many events throughout the year, including a "Fresh Fridays" farmers market and the annual "Celebration in the Park." Here is a link to an article in the North Side Chronicle discussing the project. Pictured: Lake Elizabeth, Allegheny Commons Park

New Deutschtown Facebook Page

Our neighborhood, Deutschtown, is nestled across the Allegheny River from downtown Pittsburgh and it is named for the German, Swiss & Austrian immigrants who settled here in the 1830's and 1840's. It's a dynamic neighborhood with a very dedicated population of residents. The Community Council's website is www.Deutschtown.org; the community council also just launched a new Facebook page, which gives them the opportunity to announce events and happenings, and also to interact with residents and others. It's a very dynamic page and well worth a visit. Deutschtown Facebook page can be reached by clicking here.

Wawadoo!!!

I had occasion to meet with Tim Kern, who is one of the founders of a new online event organization system called Wawadoo. Their offices are on the South Side, and the concept of Wawadoo seems very innovative. Here's a summary:

Pittsburgh is a great city with lots of events to keep you entertained. Sometimes, however, they might be difficult to find. It seems a Pittsburgh website is getting a handle on this. It promises to be a great way to find something fun to do on a Friday night, Saturday morning, or Sunday afternoon.

Wawadoo recommends events to you based on your interests. The service does this through a “thumbs up” or “thumbs down” voting system: you view a number of things to do and indicate whether they sound interesting. Then, the website gives you recommendations that are more accurate every time you vote. Food, music, activities: any special event at a location. This means you’ll be able to skip the reading and get straight to the Jazz lounge you wanted.

Wawadoo is accepting the first users. Visit the website at www.wawadoo.com, enter your email address, and they will send you an invitation once it opens.

You also may want to check Wawadoo out at its Facebook page.

Views from the Roof

Our General Manager Tim McGlothlin had occasion to take to the roof of our new wing recently, and took some photos while he was up there. Here's the view from the roof.

Top: The view to the west - looking toward PNC Park & Heinz Field.

Middle: The view north toward Allegheny General Hospital.

Bottom: The view south toward downtown and the Convention Center.

Pop City on Priory Hotel's Expansion

Pop City, the E-Newsmagazine covering all things Pittsburgh, ran a nice piece on our recent hotel expansion. You can read it here.

Hotel's New Wing: Before & After

One of our neighbors posted the following comments on the New Colonist blog site, with before and after photos of our new wing. Just for the record, the old building was demolished and our new wing was built from the ground up. The blog comments can be found here.

North Side Chronicle Coverage of Guest Room Openings

The North Side Chronicle authored a nice story about our new wing and the guestrooms in it this week. You can read the article here.

Updating our progress, our new guest rooms are open and booking even as I write. We are all super pleased with the end product. We are still working on our Ground Floor, which houses our new meeting space, business center and fitness center, but we estimate that they will be on track to open next week.

Our new Monk's Bar is nearly ready as well. We've installed a custom built bar into what had been our library, re-done the plaster walls, and installed completely new solid maple flooring. Our custom built benches should be arriving in a couple of weeks, but we will open before they're installed.

Stay tuned for more news -