Okay, Folks! I
LOVE MY CITY!
I scream that from the
top o’ da hills o’ da burgh an@ every chance I can get!
It’s just nice
to read when others feel the same way. This will put a smile on your mug!
Enjoy!
Ciao!
412.454.6356 office
412.628.2755 cell
I Picked
For this pair of architects,
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
By Patricia Sheridan,
Michael Henninger/Post-Gazette
City stickers: Doug and Liza Cruze at Salt
of the Earth, the restaurant they're designing on
An occasional feature in Portfolio, "I Picked
Fresh out of architecture school in the mid-1990s, with their
T-squares in hand, Doug and Liza Cruze
had an unusual blueprint for success.
"We decided to look for a cool city
to live in and then find a job, rather than pursue jobs first," recalls
Liza.
As is so often the case, never did they
think
"We compiled a list of what possible
candidates had to have -- a strong urban fabric of manageable size, interesting
topography and, of course, good architecture," Liza explains. The couple
wanted a place where people felt like they belonged. But in order to belong,
you have to be able to afford the entrance fee.
"So a place where we could afford to
buy a house and renovate it was important," Doug notes. They also wanted
to be able to purchase properties and transform them.
Liza had visited here as a child and,
later, read Annie Dillard's "An American Childhood," a memoir of
growing up in
Doug, who grew up in
"We had dinner on the roof deck of
the artist's house in Polish Hill. The view overlooking the city made a lasting
impression," says Doug. "It was an industrial building he converted
into his studio and living space." Their lodging made another good
impression: Two complimentary cans of Budweiser greeted them when they checked
into the freewheeling Doug's Motel on Route 30. "I think that was the
first time we visited the city," he says. "It was another unusual
The couple logged a lot of miles that
summer nearly 15 years ago. "I think we looked at about 10 cities, and it
came down to a decision between
So after comparing bridges to bays and
earthquakes to potholes, the decision was made:
"We hashed it out over a fateful
Denny's hamburger on Route 51," Doug remembers. Liza was leaning toward
The cost of living, in the end, made
everything look brighter.
"In
They ended up settling in Friendship
and spent seven years renovating their home. "We had too many tools and
too many skills to stop," says Doug, "so we bought another building
... and then another." At this point, Doug is a self-employed
designer/builder, while Liza is a weekend warrior on their projects. She works
full-time at Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, a Downtown architecture firm.
Right now they are working on a new
restaurant in their
"We really like