Randyland in Pittsburgh

We have started on our annual trip to Australia and are visiting our friends Larry and Mary in Pittsburgh. They used to live in our community until moving to Pittsburgh almost 20 years ago and we meet them every few years. When we visit they take us to some interesting places that they have found in the rather quirky city of Pittsburgh. This year, it is Randyland.

It's worth reading the link about him.

He bought this for $10,000 in 1995 using a credit card.

Immediately I was reminded of the Magic Gardens we visited in Philadelphia a few years.

Map of the North Side.

One of the entrances.

Rand himself talking enthusiastically to visitors. He was concerned that people were stealing his paintings and they would be valuable one day.

As you will discover, he must go through a lot of paint.

Randy

The official meow bag.

At the main entrance. The exterior of the house next door has also been decorated.

The back yard of the main building is filled with 'stuff', mostly very colourful.

A play area for children.

It is a jumble, but somehow it works.

There is so much stuff that your brain gets overloaded, but notice the double bass.

Yes, it is all rather cool and it was fun to look at.

I didn't have anything to worry about so I did not put a note in the box.

The corkscrew topiary was interesting.

It was a lovely day and this tree really looked good.

Notice the bugs on the telephone pole.

House across the street.

What appears to be a former Fire Station on the opposite corner.

Even the newspaper holder got the treatment.

Now this is interesting. Pittsburgh has installed monitors that listen for gun shots. When a gun is fired the monitors can triangulate and determine where the gun was fired. Police can be dispatched even before somebody calls 911.

This area used to be part of what was known as Allegheny City which was situated across the river from Pittsburgh. It was annexed into Pittsburgh in 1907. The locals opposed the annexation but a decision was made by the US Supreme Court that allowed the annexation to go ahead.

We really enjoyed our visit to Randy's place. He is obviously a free spirit and I admire somebody who follows his dreams.