Thank you… Hardees?

Years ago, after attending art school, I found myself managing a Hardees fast food restaurant… I think there may still be one in Millvale??? I digress – I spent a short while working at the Hardees on East Ohio Street. I had to be all of 23, but it made such an impression on my mind. The street looked majestic, with it’s amazing architecture and late 1800′s style – yet time had weathered the merchants and the locals. Such diversity, both economically and culturally. My time at Hardees was brief, but I couldn’t get it out of my mind.

There was such opportunity for something magical to happen. I could visualize from black & white photos a time long ago – like the street cars my grandmother rode to bring me down to Woolworth’s. It was a big deal to come into “town” back than! But the years wore on and people left the cities for suburban living. East Ohio Street was no exception and soon empty shops would predominate the business district that once provided a central experience.