Riverlife’s ‘Shore Thing’ continues upgrades around Pittsburgh’s Sister Bridges

Change doesn’t have to take forever.

Three years ago, Matt Galluzzo, president and chief executive officer of Riverlife, talked about the agency’s vision of using the Three Sisters Bridges and the Allegheny River as the focal points for a world-class destination area linking Pittsburgh’s Cultural District with the North Shore.

Since then, a number of things have happened: Docks on the North Shore at Allegheny Landing have been replaced; programmable LED lights have been installed on the recently updated Clemente, Warhol and Carson bridges; The Andy Warhol Museum opened the Pop Park in a lot across from the museum; Riverlife started construction in the spring to revitalize Allegheny Riverfront Park on the Downtown side of the river; and Pittsburgh Cultural Trust began work on Arts Landing, a 4-acre site adjacent to the riverfront park with a band shell, 100 trees, green space and playgrounds.

And Tuesday, the agency held the formal ribbon cutting for Shore Thing, a $1.3 million floating family entertainment venue on the Allegheny adjacent to the Clemente Bridge. The venue is actually 10 small barges linked together to create a platform with picnic tables; a refreshment stand; artwork; river nets for lounging above the water; tables for board games and reading; and space for musical performances, yoga classes and exercise programs.

Galluzzo told a news conference that Shore Thing is the culmination of input from residents who told the agency the types of things they want to see on the city’s waterfronts.

“We heard loud and clear people wanted experiences on the water,” Galluzzo said.  

So Riverlife cobbled together a grant from the Allegheny Regional Asset District with funds from the state Waterfront Development Tax Credit and other agencies and foundations to buy barges from Iowa, rehabilitate an old shipping container as a refreshment stand and enlist artists to beautify the facility. In keeping with the agency’s strong environmental theme, the shipping container has 10 solar panels mounted on top to power the operation.

But it wasn’t easy to navigate getting all the permits because there isn’t a lot of precedent for floating entertainment complexes with a liquor license. Brew Gentleman, the Braddock brewery, is operating the refreshment stand with a limited variety of taps, cocktails, soft drinks, sandwiches and snacks.

Galluzzo said Shore Thing is deliberately “quirky” with a variety of things that might not ordinarily go together. It’s sort of a floating version of OpenStreetsPGH without the bikes and retail stores.

What isn’t artwork is painted bright blue to make it stick out. It’s located along the riverfront trail with entry from a boarding ramp that is lowered to the trail.

Shore Thing had a soft opening a few weeks ago – two previous ribbon-cutting events were canceled due to rain because it has no roof – but early returns have been promising. It was very busy during Picklesburgh last weekend, and more than 125 people showed up for 10 a.m. yoga on Sunday.

Targeted area

Galluzzo said it hasn’t been an accident that all of the elements around the bridges are happening at the same time. When Riverlife announced its $247 million goal to complete the 15-mile loop of riverfront development from then the Hot Metal Bridge on the Monongahela River to the West End Bridge on the Ohio and the 31^st Street Bridge on the Allegheny, the Sister Bridges were considered an easy first target.

“Our vision was we could use the bridges and the water to bind all of this together,” he said in an interview after the news conference. “Now it’s all moving forward.”

He said the agency has had “great partners” such as the city, cultural trust and Warhol Museum come together to concentrate on this area at the same time. Arts Landing and Allegheny Riverfront Park are scheduled to be finished by the time Pittsburgh hosts the National Football League draft next April.

The next area for riverfront development is expected to be around the West End Bridge, where Riverlife has been working behind the scenes to develop plans for a scenic walkway along the bridge – something Galluzzo called a potential “world-class tourist destination” when it was announced in 2022 – facing Point State Park. That walkway would spill into trails in Manchester on one end and the West End on the other, and riverfront parks would be added along the trails.

Galluzzo said the agency has been working on those plans with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and Pittsburgh officials. Plans are about 90% complete.

Additional parts of the loop scheduled for later development would be the Strip District around the 31^st Street Bridge and extending South Side Riverfront Park several blocks to Station Square.

Art elements

Shore Thing also has special art elements incorporated in the venue’s design.

The picnic area, where visitors can bring their own basket but not alcohol, is shaded by what’s called “the Pittsburgh chandelier.”

Fran Ledonio Flaherty, an art professor at Carlow University, worked with students and other volunteers to put 30,000 Capiz shells from her native Philippines on 7,200 strands. It was intentionally designed as a labor-intensive project, the artist said, to reflect Pittsburgh’s diverse culture and working-class roots.

But more difficult than stringing the white shells, also known as windowpane oysters, was acquiring them. Flaherty said in an interview Tuesday her contacts in the Philippines were reluctant to ship them to her with pending U.S. tariffs, so she had to scrounge around on Amazon and other retail locations until she had enough.

The result is a well-shaded area with hanging strands of white shells that create a soothing tapping sound in the breeze.

“Every time the wind blows and it’s quiet, it’s like a gift from the rivers,” she said. “It turns out well when people understand where it came from (labor) and what it means (working-class struggles).”

The second art element was painted on the floor of the complex in the area for reading and board games by Janel Young. Called “A New Wave,” it is broken into 13 segments that include moving water and a series of colorful symbols.

Everything at Shore Thing is free except refreshments. As long as there is no rain or lightning in the area, it is open 3 to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and noon to 10 p.m. Friday through Sunday. Check the calendar for scheduled events. It is closed on Mondays.