A South Side homecoming
Modern townhouse gives Chicago man a warm welcome
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Damon Powell’s townhouse is one of 10 stops on the Historic South Side Home Tour, but its history is pretty short — barely two years.
No matter. Pittsburghers love to see the inside of houses, whether they’re 1890s Victorian rowhouses, a loft in the old Duquesne Brewery or an apartment in the former South High School, all of which are on the May 20 walking tour sponsored by UPMCMercy.
Mr. Powell’s 2015 walk-up in the Flats was added to the tour list just three weeks ago, when he bumped into a neighbor while walking Cooper, his almost 3year-old Labradoodle. The neighbor and other members of the South Side Community Council, the tour’s beneficiary, were impressed with Mr. Powell’s modern yet warm interior. He gives credit to his decorator, Cindy Pagac of cindy & max design consulting.
“I wanted something that keeps with the modern style but is also comfortable and livable,” he said.
The result is a blend of cool grays and whites, warm brown leather and dark-stained, handscraped hickory floors. The floors, kitchen and bathrooms were there when Mr. Powell moved in in the fall of 2015, but the rest was “empty space,” he said.
The 37-year-old pharmaceutical sales rep grew up in Peters, Washington County, but moved to Chicago and stayed for 10 years. He liked the Windy City’s neighborhoods and historic town homes but ended up in a new mid-rise condominium in the West Loop. When he decided to come home, he set his sights on the South Side.
“I wanted to be close to Downtown and I liked the restaurants and bars. I was looking at lots of historic houses,” he said.
Then he toured this three-story townhouse on 27th Street, one of four in a row and three on nearby Larkins Way built by developer Brian Young.
“It was less work than an old house,” Mr. Powell explained.
He liked the low-maintenance stone and COR-TEN steel exterior and its three bedrooms, 2½ baths and two-car tandem garage, a real bonus in parkingscarce South Side. But his favorite part is what he sees from his deck and a balcony off the master bedroom.
“The view is awesome! I sit out here at night. The sun sets behind the buildings,” he said, gesturing toward the Downtown skyline.
The view inside is pretty nice, too. The kitchen has gray Caesarstone quartz counters and a marble tile backsplash with a pot filler faucet. Mr. Powell says he uses it often while making pasta and other Italian dishes. One feature he doesn’t use much is the glass-front wine fridge. Since he prefers beer, he says he might swap it for a draft system.
He finds lots of good craft beer close to home at the Birmingham Bridge Tavern and Hofbrauhaus, and his food choices are many. “Nadine’s has a great breakfast,” he noted. Mr. Powell’s love for his former home is clear, from the graphic map of Chicago’s neighborhoods on the wall to the Illinois beer growlers above the bar to the signed Ernie Banks bat in a display case. But visitors also can’t miss the Roberto Clemente picture by the front door or the juxtaposition of gritty South Side rowhouses and modern skyscrapers in the distance.
He’s a Pittsburgher again (and he doesn’t say “dibs” when he uses a parking chair).