DIRECTIONS TO "WEST PENN REC CENTER" AKA "POLISH HILL" please keep in mind that there are many ways to get to polish hill depending on where you are coming from. here is one of those ways (there are probably better ones if you know the back roads)... ---------------------------------------------------------- IF YOU ARE COMING FROM DOWNTOWN, AIRPORT, SOUTH HILLS, OR OAKLAND/EAST END.... 1. get yourself onto bigelow boulevard...if you don't know, this road is the part of route 380 that runs between the University of Pittsburgh in Oakland and Downtown on the Allegheny River side of the Hill District. if you get on near pitt/oakland, head toward downtown. if you get on downtown head out of town (toward pitt/oakland)... if you are coming from the south hills or airport area, one way to do this is to go through the liberty tubes and across the liberty bridge. as you are going across the bridge stay in the lane for 579 north. shortly after you get all the way across the bridge, you will see an exit lane split off to the right for route 380/bigelow boulevard. take that. if you are coming in 279 (like from the airport), get off at the Route 51 south/Uniontown exit right before the Fort Pitt Tunnel. Then follow that road (route 51, called Saw Mill Run Boulevard, I think) to the exit for "Downtown" which will take you through the Liberty Tubes--then see the paragraph above. 2. go to the intersection of bigelow and heron avenue... ...if you are coming from downtown (on bigelow heading out of downtown)... it's the first light you come to after you get out of downtown. take a hard left on (I think) Paulina Street. there are two roads to the left here, both going downhill. the one you want is the one to the extreme left that is NOT heron ave. (i think it's called Paulina Street). it is almost a switchback...the most left you can possibly go. (if you get to the bloomfield bridge, you have gone one intersection too far.) ....if you are coming from pitt (on bigelow heading away from pitt, across center ave, and eventually toward downtown).... it's the first light you come to after you go past the bloomfield bridge interection. take a soft right. there are two roads to the right here, both going downhill. the one you want is the one that goes to the right at like a 45 degree angle that is NOT heron ave and NOT the hardest right you can take. (i think it's called paulina street). 3. go down the hill until the road bends to the right. you will see a big building in front of you as you approach the bend (this is the west penn rec center). as you go around the bend, you will see the field on your left behind a little playground. 4. continue down the hill about 200 feet to a stop sign. turn left. 5. go downhill for about 200 yards. the road bends sharply to the right across a bridge, but you want to go straight (which is technically a left turn, but really you are going straight.) 6. at the first chance, turn left (about 20 feet after you went straight/turned left in the step above.) 7. go about 100 feet almost straight up. take the first left you can into a black chipped stone roadway/parking lot. that's where we park, the field is right in front of you. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- IF YOU ARE COMING FROM THE NORTH or the STRIP or LAWRENCEVILLE... 1. Depending on exactly where you are coming from, take 279 south to Route 28 north or just take Route 28 south to the 40th street bridge (or possibly the 31st street bridge, but i'm not sure if you can get on it from going both ways on 28). Take either of these bridges to Penn Avenue. If you come across the 40th Street bridge, it is the second light (you go through one light at Butler street and then up a hill. At the top of the hill is another light. That's Penn Ave, take a right. 2. Take Penn Ave to 28th Street then take a left. 3. 28th goes across Liberty Ave and then bends immediately to the left. Then bends again to the right and across a bridge. 4. Immediately on the other side of the bridge take a right (the main road bends to the left) 5. go about 100 feet almost straight up. take the first left you can into a black chipped stone roadway/parking lot. that's where we park, the field is right in front of you.