Millvale
Although Millvale is just a stone's throw north of the Pittsburgh city border, it has all the trappings and charm of a small town.
Most mornings, residents gather at P&G, the corner diner, where waitress Flo Silbach who has worked there nearly four decades, knows most every customer's name and their order. The diner also shares space with Lincoln Pharmacy, which doubles as a quirky gift shop and the town museum of sorts with old photos and memorabilia hanging on the walls.
The 4000 or so people who call Millvale home are a group of resilient residents who have had to rebound from a flood three years ago that wiped out many of the town's businesses and homes. They tackled it the way they tackle most challenges here, with neighbor helping neighbor, business owner helping business owner.
They rebuilt their business district which is again home to some of the area's most unique food and cultural offerings. Sites worth visiting include a hilltop church filled with breathtaking murals, not one but two soda fountains, a record store that draws international visitors for its rare vinyl offerings, and a restaurant famous for its turtle soup.
An order of Franciscan nuns, whose mother house sits high on a hilltop overlooking the town, operate a Montessori preschool and a series of health seminars for local residents.
Mr. Small's, a convert venue on the site of a former church has become well-known for bringing nationally-known alternative acts to town. And Chatellier's French Bakery attracts Pittsburghers from all over with its baked delicacies and chocolates that seem almost too beautiful to eat. Well, almost. Just one more reason many people find Millvale to be so sweet.
Millvale is served by four Port Authority bus routes that connect to Downtown Pittsburgh. 1A uses East Ohio Boulevald, while 1D and 1F loop through Millvale, offering quick access to one of Pittsburgh's top concert venues, Mr. Smalls Theater. 1F also connects to the Millvale Park and Ride, as does the ML Millvale-Lawrenceville Flyer, which accesses Downtown via the 40th Street Bridge and Liberty Avenue.