They say you should write what you know.
As the new content creator for Mt. Lebanon Magazine, I decided to go exploring to learn more about the community I’m covering.
Full disclosure. I live in Robinson Township, but don’t hold that against me!
On one of my first few days on the job, I drove around for a few hours, challenging myself to visit all the neighborhoods within Mt. Lebanon and find all 10 of Mt. Lebanon’s public schools. I knew where the high school is located, but I wasn’t so sure about the two middle schools and seven elementary schools. I’m glad I made this trip because the following day, I found myself covering a story at Markham Elementary School and I now knew where it’s located. Then I was at Foster Elementary School a few days later.
In my travels through Mt. Lebanon, I saw lovely tree-lined streets with names like Sweet Gum, Pinoak, Fernwood and Old Hickory. No wonder this municipality has a Tree City USA [1] designation.
Along with the trees came lots of squirrels. They must be delighted to live here, especially with 13 municipal parks at their disposal.
I noticed lots of babies in strollers, joggers and dog walkers, and “Kids at Play” signs.
Driving around, I couldn’t help but notice the housing styles that make this area so distinctive.
I did some research. According to Living with Styles: The Houses of Mt. Lebanon, this community has perhaps the largest concentration of Tudor-style houses in western Pennsylvania, due in part to its rapid growth in the 1920s and 30s when that style was so popular. Many of the homes were custom designed.
In addition to the Tudors, I passed colonials, bungalows, foursquares, ranches and split-levels, post-war traditional and some contemporaries.
There’s truly something for everyone in the market for real estate.
I must admit. I fear the hilly terrain and the brick streets I encountered might make driving a challenge in winter, but I’ll withhold judgement on that until it snows. Someone warned me, it’s called MOUNT Lebanon for a reason!
On the next leg of my adventure, I set out on foot to walk the business district, which was bustling with activity at 10:30 a.m. I quickly found out it doesn’t take long to chalk up 10,000 steps.
I did so much walking, I started to get hungry and found a plethora of food possibilities on Washington Road. Since it was before noon, I settled on coffee and a biscotti. I decided I’ll return another day to sample delectables like pizza, shawarma, sushi, tacos, fine Italian, Chinese, ice cream and candy.
With my stomach full, I continued my walk and soon realized I was just steps away from the conveniently located Mt. Lebanon T station. I didn’t have time to hop on, though, because it was time to head back to the office to start working on the stories I hope you’ll enjoy reading in the weeks ahead.