The gateway to Pittsburgh's northern boroughs, Bellevue ("beautiful sight") offers some amazing vistas of the upper Ohio Valley from its cliff-side streets.  The caliber of mid-day walkers on Bellevue's central Lincoln Avenue, an extension of the Northside's California Avenue, rivals that of many other walkable communities in the Ohio Valley and the Pittsburgh region. The afternoon walk is a matter of unstated, daily routine, and the Friday evening stroll is a recognized weekly tradition.

Lincoln Avenue embodies Bellevue's slogan of "Live – Worship – Shop" that hundreds of commuters see daily on Ohio River Boulevard. The community's main artery unites stately early 20th-century homes, art deco apartment buildings, active religious institutions, and an eclectic collection of retail shops. In a single trip, one can find the day's groceries, vintage and antique items, nationally-acclaimed fine dining, and, sometimes on the same plate, comfort food. Lincoln Avenue's diversity of services and its surrounding streets make this town one of the region's hidden gems of a walkable community.

There are three award-winning eateries on Lincoln Avenue. The first is Vivo, a restaurant locally famed for its all-verbal menu and food. Another stop is BYOB-friendly Roberto's Pizza, which food critic Ed Levine selected as one of the 13 best pizza places in the country and one in a handful that makes an authentic Neapolitan pie. Finally, for dessert or a mid-day buzz, the café Affogato is AOL CityGuide Pittsburgh's 2006 top choice for coffeehouses. Affogato’s Friday night live music performances and Saturday night DJ sets typically draw a younger crowd. Victoria Green, Affogato’s owner and recent transplant from Washington, D.C., has noticed a more youthful spirit trickling into the town.

Bellevue is evolving along with the tastes of the new school of urban pedestrians. A vintage store in a space known simply by its street number, 517521 (for 517-521 Lincoln Avenue), carries costume jewelry, retro rotary dial and neon light phones, slogan t-shirts, a variety of comic books and graphic novels, and well-read traditional books in the back. Just upstairs is Thinktank, a collaborative concept in office and creative space.  Inspired by cooperative writing communities in New York City, the space has the "incubator-type atmosphere" of a coffeehouse and the professional necessities—a copier, fax machine, and generous electrical outlets—of an office. Here, members pay a small fee for a key to the space, where they can work anytime.  Anyone who wants a collaborative, creative environment is welcome to join.

A few blocks away from Lincoln Avenue, the former Grant School is being converted into loft apartments. Some of these spaces will integrate many of the old school symbols of older city educational institutions, like painted gym floor lines and cloakrooms.

Links

Borough of Bellevue

517521

Thinktank

Cool Space Award Winners

Metanoia Development and the Community of Bellevue (2007)

Lincoln Avenue

Lincoln Avenue

Affogato Coffeehouse

Grant School

Thinktank interior