Braddock Journey

Thursday, October 09, 2008

Volunteers planted the orchard the day I flew out to Atlanta. 

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Last month I posted about the changing landscape in Braddock. No surprise—things keep moving forward!

The brick oven now has a roof and was set in motion with a pizza and bread baking evening. Today the oven is puffing away again as Josh bakes up bread and pizzas for the Post-Gazette coverage.

What I thought was going to be a sculpture garden on the lot behind the Verona bus stop was actually being made into a mosaic garden. The Post-Gazette covered Braddock’s mosaic and linked efforts to create an art community.

This weekend volunteers will be planting fruit trees on the lot at the entrance to town near the steel mill. The urban orchard will take the place of an abandoned lot, which already looks better since it has been leveled and seeded.

And down on 6th street between Talbot and Braddock the building that burnt down this past winter is being rebuilt at an impressive speed.

Saturday, August 09, 2008

The compound is looking different these days. From small things left by passers-through to the greenhouse and brick oven, this place is shaping up.

The greenhouse atop Kristin & Joel’s building brightens up the sky, bestowing an almost beachy feel on sunny days.

Joe Bonifate’s crew is finishing up the brick oven in the courtyard beside the convent. Over the next year I’ll be volunteering on Braddock projects, and one of my goals is to get a series of healthy eating/living events set up using the brick oven and Braddock Farms produce.

And down Braddock Ave at the Verona bus stop, there is construction underway to create what I’ve heard will be a sculpture garden.