Colors Along Pinehurst Avenue Brighten the Grays of Everyday life

The short street just south of Pittsburgh is a quiet treasure in a busy urban landscape.

Behind the hustle and congestion of West Liberty Avenue in Dormont, a two-block street made of faded-orange bricks and called Pinehurst Avenue is bursting with color. On an unseasonably chilly and gray August morning after summer rolled past its midpoint, I decided to take a walk and explore the details of the sleepy, hidden gem that is less than a block from my home in the South Hills of Pittsburgh. This is what I learned.

A U.S. Flag flies from a pole attached to a home on Pinehurst Avenue in Dormont. In front of it, an evergreen with yellow flowers drapes down the hillside.

The faded orange bricks of Pinehurst Avenue climb toward Dormont Avenue in the South Hills of Pittsburgh.

Purple flowers grow along a faded-green, pipe-style hand rail that follows a set of concrete steps. Photo taken along Pinehurst Avenue in Dormont.

There are only 40 houses and a handful of garages along Pinehurst. It starts on a steep grade downhill from Dormont Avenue and runs southwest from there. It intersects with Biltmore Avenue at the bottom of the steep grade, and then climbs again toward Peermont Avenue after it briefly flattens. There are alleys near its intersections with all three of its main cross streets.

Most of the houses along Pinehurst also face it, but not the houses on the corners. They face the opposing streets, except for one on the western corner of Pinehurst and Dormont. These corner houses are much bigger than most of those that face the avenue. Some have large leaded and stained-glass windows, and one had a curved-slate roof. Every house on Pinehurst also has columns, and all of them are brick except for one house near the road’s intersection with Peermont. Those are wood.

There’s one more block of Pinehurst that doglegs at Dormont. However, it is not made of orange bricks and is like a different street. Although beautiful in itself, this is just about the two-block section of Pinehurst that is made of orange bricks.

Along the route, a clapboard fence that is about 6-feet high briefly follows the sidewalk near Peermont, but it is the only barrier of its kind that separated Pinehurst from its yards. However, there are many retaining walls. Some of them are made from concrete blocks while others are wooden railroad ties. Steps cut through these walls toward the houses above. Many still have old pipe-style handrails with faded paint.

Flowers of colors orange, pink, and yellow grow along Pinehurst Avenue in Dormont. — Orange, pink, and yellow flowers grow along Pinehurst Avenue in Dormont.

Points About Pinehurst

Black & Gold pride within the neighborhood began to show as I walked down the street, and then it swelled. Homemade signs for the Steelers and the Pirates were attached to one porch and the owners of another house were flying a Pirates flag. Five U.S. flags also flew along Pinehurst, as well as a couple of welcome flags with pink flowers. There were lawn ornaments, like the blue metallic ball or the spinning wheels staked into the ground. Meanwhile, a green ceramic turtle rested in a garden across the street.

The two-block section of Pinehurst Avenue that is paved in orange bricks slopes downhill from Dormont Avenue.

A single yellow lily grows in a garden along Pinehurst Avenue in Dormont.

A U.S. Flag is curled around its pole that hangs from the roof of a house along Pinehurst Avenue in Dormont. Blue juniper and many shades of green are shown against the red brick house.

The street was pleasing to the eyes, too. Summer flowers were blooming along the sidewalks of the old worn path. A lone yellow lily popped out of one garden along the road, while white and purple petunias clung to the steps leading to a house. Despite dry conditions, a little rain earlier in the day left a spring green highlight on the tops of some ornamental bushes. Nearby, young blue juniper crawled along a sloped front yard. Even a couple of pumpkins, still showing many streaks of green, sprouted in a small garden right on the street. Meanwhile, rose of Sharon invaded some of the yards, while others made it work.

Signs of Life

If you’re searching for a mailbox, Pinehurst has two of them. They are painted in a faded government green instead of the traditional dark blue. One is at the corner with Dormont, while the other is on its corner with Biltmore. There’s even a small free library between Biltmore and Peermont. It’s one of a few in the neighborhood.

In the yards, signs revealed few opinions of the people who live along the street. Only one sign appeared to have a political message, while another was a fitting advertisement for concreate retaining walls. Still more honored veterans who have died. In fact, there weren’t many signs at all.

Not many people were about, either. That meant I could walk around the street a little more freely to take photos. Only one older man was outside, and he was mowing his lawn. A few cars passed as they climbed their way toward one hill or another. In each direction, they were heading out of the quiet comforts of Pinehurst Avenue and back into the hum of daily life.

Behind the hustle and congestion of West Liberty Avenue in Dormont, a two-block yellow brick street called Pinehurst Avenue is bursting with color.

colors-along-pinehurst-avenue-brighten-the-grays-of-everyday-life

Pinehurst Avenue