posted by Mike Madison at 10:17 AM /
In her comment on the "Ground Round" post below, Marjie strikes a theme that came up at last December's "Meet the Bloggers" session: Could Blog-Lebo understake a "things that aren't there any more" series about Mt. Lebanon?
Absolutely.
There are several ways to do this, and they can all be pursued simultaneously. Call it "crowd-sourced urban archaeology."
One: Comment away on your favorite thing or place that isn't "there" any more, and share your memories about the role that the thing or place played in the lives of you, your friends, and your family.
Two: Pick a current location or storefront in one of Mt. Lebanon's business districts and talk about what business (businesses?) used to be there.
Three: Someone with much more time on their hands than I do could integrate responses to One and Two with Google Earth data, and create an interactive memory map.
Have fun!
Absolutely.
There are several ways to do this, and they can all be pursued simultaneously. Call it "crowd-sourced urban archaeology."
One: Comment away on your favorite thing or place that isn't "there" any more, and share your memories about the role that the thing or place played in the lives of you, your friends, and your family.
Two: Pick a current location or storefront in one of Mt. Lebanon's business districts and talk about what business (businesses?) used to be there.
Three: Someone with much more time on their hands than I do could integrate responses to One and Two with Google Earth data, and create an interactive memory map.
Have fun!
Labels: history
11 Comments:
Holy moly, where to begin? There are so many things from my Lebo youth that have changed that I'm not sure what to choose. Uptown is so drastically different (and better!) than it was 20-30 years ago that it would be easier to pick out the things that haven't changed.
I guess if I had to pick one single favorite "thing" that's not there anymore, it would have to be the greenspace on the property now occupied by the Main Line development. It was mostly wooded, but also contained a large open field/meadow. So much of my childhood involved those woods and that field that my old neighborhood is really a different place for kids now than it was then. Sometimes I find it odd that my childhood memories of Lebo have an unusually rural character for such a solidly suburban town, but I'm sure that it has to do with all the time I spent in the "cemetery woods," as we called them.
The upper part of the woods (between Adeline Ave and Scott Rd) housed a continually evolving BMX track, built and maintained entirely by the kids who used it, without (to my knowledge) any help or organization by their parents. The lower woods had a creek in a little wooded dell with a hollow tree big enough to crawl inside. The field was great for sledding in the winter, kite-flying in the spring and football in the fall. The woods generally provided a home for uncounted made-up adventures when I was little, and as well as cover for a certain amount of illicit beer drinking when I was older.
The creek behind Park Entrance Drive where we used to catch crayfish. It is now
Lynn Haven.
Buying new sneakers or a baseball mitt @ Ideal Sports Shop on Washington Rd.
Shopping @ Dickler's Market on Beverly Rd.
And of course, Bimbo's. What I wouldn't give to have that back in Lebo, especially with 3 kids. It was a great way to spend a Fri/Sat night.
In fact, if Dickler's and Bimbo's were still here today they would both be making an absolute killing. No doubt about it.
Amen Dave. Everyone that grew up in Mt. Lebanon in the 70's and 80's had a birthday party at Bimbo's or went there for someone else's. That place was awesome.
If we wanted to bring it back, where would/could we put it? It would have to be in Mt. Lebanon, but where?
And who owned it? I thought that a Mt. Lebanon resident did. Maybe they could consult on the "new" Bimbo's. Just a thought!
And for those of you new to Mt. Lebanon, Bimbo's was not cheesy clown-themed kid's place. Instead, it was almost like a Western saloon, with wooden floors, wooden benches, a stage where there was a great band and other entertainment, and huge root beer floats (which were accompanied by 3 foot long straws). In fact, it was more of an adult place that knew how to throw a kid's birthday party.
Bimbo's is where I first played Space Invaders. Even then, it was obvious that it was something different. It was orders of magnitude cooler than pinball and even way cooler than Sea Wolf, the only other contemporary video game that I knew of. Of course, it was just the beginning...
How about the Merry-Go-Rounds in Iroquois and Main Parks or riding bikes on Sundays in the Kaufmanns (now Galleria) parking garage and ramps - when the store was closed. (Until the MLPD would run us off.)
Oh bring back Bimbo's please!!! A heck of a lot better than what they have today for kids (the cheesy rat). Two things about Bimbo's not yet mentioned...how they cut the regular round hand tossed pizza into 4x4 squares and the whipped cream pie in the face for the birthday kid.
Mentioning creeks & crayfish, we did the same in the one behind the Allstate building on Cochran. And missing green spaces, the woods at the end of Pinetree now Scott Towne Center extended all the way through to Scott Twp and all the way down to Cochran/Greentree.
Cinema South movie theatre located in the building next to Benihana which used to be the Samuri House.
Joe - I think Froggy Morris owned Bimbo's at one time?
Bimbo's was great, as was Isaly's and Algeo's.
I think this location is technically Castle Shannon, but does anyone remember the hot dog place on Mt. Lebanon Blvd? I think it operated on the Mr. Magic Car Wash property. Was it named "Burg n' Dog Inn?"
Ah, the old cinema near Benihana! That's where I went to see my first "R" movie -- Friday the 13th. Hard to believe that franchise is still around today for my teenagers to see!
Bimbo's was super; we had a couple of Rockette Halloween parties there. And Isaly's had the best chipped ham in town. I remember shopping at Horne's uptown before the mall was built. Yikes! Now I am showing my age!
And do you all remember running around in the yards behind Woodland and White Oak Circle before Hoodridge Highlands was built?
These are old posts but had to jump in on the Bimbo's thing. Froggy Morris did own Bimbo's, wish he wouldn't have sold. He passed away some years ago.
I posted a pic on Facebook of my brother Gary getting a pie in the face on his birthday and the responce was the same there; EVERYONE loved Bimbo's! The band was the Steel City Stompers & when they weren't playing it was the one-man band & a good Juke in the back room. I still have, to this day, a rootbeer mug (all their drinks were served in beer mugs)w/ the original BIMBOS logo on it. It's never been through the dishwasher. Their pizzas were great too, lots of cheese & lots of dough bubbles! I have the one photo... wish I had more.
After work at Castle Shannon Animal Hospital we all went to Bimbos on Thursday nights. It was mostly adults but we acted like kids. Singing If you knew Suzie Like I know Suzie with our tongues sticking out. Conga lines, pies in the face, and Polkas. The Steel City Stompers were the Best band. And then the lights flashing because it was over. :-( Alan Yurchak
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