This is the lower end of Brookline Boulevard, looking from the Breining Street intersection up the hill towards Whited Street, in the summer of 1973. The photo is taken from the parking lot of the East Brookline Shopping Center.

Only seven years earlier, this wide stretch of roadway was divided down the center by the old streetcar right-of-way, which was removed and paved over in 1966. The trolley line ran down the boulevard and passed through the dirt area to the right on its way towards the Brookline Loop two blocks further down the road.

Many residents lamented the loss of the streetcars, which were replaced with bus service, but their dissappointment was tempered by the widened roadway that now offered four lanes from Breining Street to Edgebrook Avenue.

Above is the East Brookline Shopping Center, which was built in the 1940s and stood until 1981, when the building was demolished to construct the Parkside Manor apartment complex. This was once a popular shopping destination for residents of the 32nd Ward of Brookline.

The shopping center contained a Laundromat, Open Pantry Food Mart, a beauty salon and Manco's Pharmacy, formerly known as Liepack's Pharmacy. Also shown in the photo are two popular businesses that stood on Brookline Boulevard near the corner of Breining Street, Jay's Hardware and Mary and Bob's Bar, now called Marshall's Lounge.

The final picture was taken that winter during a heavy snowfall. Aside from the rising snow and the recently plowed and salted boulevard, it shows the front of the Brookline Fabrics building at 1250 Brookline Boulevard.

The spacious building, which was later used as a staging are to sell movie cinema accessories, actually houses a mini-theatre on the second floor.

It is currently owned by Pro Knitwear, a company that specializes in the manufacture of athletic uniforms. Their clients include the Pittsburgh Steelers, Pittsburgh Pirates, Pittsburgh Penguins and Pitt Panthers, for whom they supply game day uniforms.

Click on images for larger pictures.

* Photos provided by Joe Masullo *