Pittsburgh has transformed itself over several decades from a historically grimy city into one of the cleanest and greenest in North America. One man embraced the idea of cleaning up his own Pittsburgh neighborhood to make it a more pleasant place for himself and his neighbors.
Randy Gilson ran full steam ahead with his cleaning up and coloring up via gardens and artistic repurposing. The results have now become a tourist attraction and yes, made the neighborhood known as the Mexican War streets a much more hopeful and inspiring place to live.
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While he spread his touch throughout the neighborhood, there is a grouping of several buildings and a courtyard that make up the most impressive portion of his endeavors….RANDYLAND!!
Yes, RANDYLAND really should be introduced with a joyful shout to do it justice. It consists of gardens and murals set off by artistic groupings and sculptural assemblages of found objects – most painted in a rainbow of vivid hues.
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If you can't get there in person, you can find RANDYLAND online.