Author | Lester Goran |
---|---|
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Publisher | Houghton Mifflin |
Publication date | 1960 |
Media type | Print (hardback) |
Pages | 243 |
OCLC | 1673143 |
The Paratrooper of Mechanic Avenue is the first novel by the American writer Lester Goran. It is set in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and spans a time period from the Great Depression to the postwar era.
It tells the story of Ike-o Hartwell, born into the fictional Pittsburgh slum of Sobaski's Stairway, and how he learns to survive amid the neon glow of pawn shops and poolrooms on Mechanic Avenue peopled by racketeers, pimps, gangs, and ward heelers. Then the army drafts him for the Korean War. After a dishonorable discharge, he dresses as a paratrooper and expects a hero's s welcome back on Mechanic Avenue.
Oakland is the academic and healthcare center of Pittsburgh and one of the city's major cultural centers. Home to three universities, museums, hospitals, shopping venues, restaurants, and recreational activities, this section of the city also includes two city-designated historic districts: the mostly residential Schenley Farms Historic District and the predominantly institutional Oakland Civic Center Historic District, as well as the locally-designated Oakland Square Historic District.
Greenfield is a neighborhood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. It is represented on Pittsburgh City Council by Barb Warwick.
Bloomfield is a neighborhood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is located three miles from the downtown area. Bloomfield is sometimes referred to as Pittsburgh's Little Italy because it was settled by Italians from the Abruzzi region and has been a center of Italian–American population. Pittsburgh architectural historian Franklin Toker has said that Bloomfield "is a feast, as rich to the eyes as the homemade tortellini and cannoli in its shop windows are to the stomach." Recently, the neighborhood has attracted young adults and college students as a "hip" neighborhood.
Highland Park is a neighborhood in the northeastern part of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Highland Park, the neighborhood, fully encompasses the park with the same name.
Lincoln–Lemington–Belmar is a neighborhood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is located in the northeastern section of the city and spans the Allegheny River. Lincoln–Lemington–Belmar houses PBF 15 Engine, and is covered by PBP Zone 5 and the Bureau of EMS Medic 1.
Garfield is a neighborhood in the East End of the City of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Garfield is bordered on the South by Bloomfield and Friendship, on the West by the Allegheny Cemetery, on the North by Stanton Heights, and on the East by East Liberty. Like many parts of Pittsburgh, Garfield is a fairly steep neighborhood, with north-south residential streets running at about a 20% incline from Penn Avenue at the bottom to Mossfield Street at the top. Garfield is divided into “the valley” and “the hilltop.”
Uptown or The Bluff is a neighborhood in the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to the southeast of the city's Central Business District. It is bordered in the north by the Hill District and located across the Monongahela River from South Side. The predominant area zip code is 15219.
California-Kirkbride is a neighborhood on Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania's North Side.
Banksville is a neighborhood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The neighborhood of Banksville is located in the West End of the city and borders the South Hills region. Real estate agencies frequently refer to the Banksville area as Greentree City due to Banksville's shared border with the borough of Green Tree. It has two zip codes of both 15220 and 15216, and has representation in Pittsburgh City Council by the council member for District 2. Theresa Kail-Smith is the current Councilperson for district two. Banksville's primary corridor, Banksville Road, is frequently used as a gateway between the South Hills of Pittsburgh and downtown Pittsburgh via the Fort Pitt Tunnels. Banksville, formerly Union Township, joined the City of Pittsburgh around 1928.
Central Northside is a neighborhood in the North Side of the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It has a zip code of 15212, and has representation on Pittsburgh City Council by the council member for District 6. Originally known as "The Buena Vista Tract", it is densely filled with restored row houses, community gardens and tree lined streets and alleyways.
Marshall-Shadeland is a neighborhood on Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania's North Side. It has a zip codes of both 15212 and 15214, and has representation on Pittsburgh City Council by the council member for District 1.
Morningside is a neighborhood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania's East End. It has two Zip Codes, 15201 and 15206.
Lester Goran was an American writer best known for his works about growing up poor the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Bing Crosby's Last Song is a novel by the American writer Lester Goran set in 1968 in the Oakland neighbourhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Maria Light is a novel by the American writer Lester Goran set in 1940s Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
The Candy Butcher's Farewell is a novel by the American writer Lester Goran set in the 1930s and 1940s in a small town near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and in Atlantic City, New Jersey
The Stranger in the Snow is a novel by the American writer Lester Goran set in the 1960s in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Mrs. Beautiful is an historical novel by the American writer Lester Goran set in 1909 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
The Pennsylvania Railroad Station-Wilkinsburg is located in Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania, on Hay Street at the foot of Ross Avenue. The building was completed in 1916 when the railroad embankment through town was elevated above street level to eliminate hazardous grade crossings. The two previous stations had been located three blocks southeast along Wood Street between Franklin and Rebecca Avenues.
The Pittsburgh Stock Exchange was a large regional stock market located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from November 11, 1864 until closing on August 23, 1974. It was alternatively named the Pittsburgh Coal Exchange starting on May 27, 1870, and the Pittsburgh Oil Exchange on July 21, 1878 with 180 members. On July 25, 1896 the Exchange formally took the name Pittsburgh Stock Exchange though it had been referred to by that name since the spring of 1894. The Exchange, like many modern day exchanges, was forced to close during sharp economic crashes or crises. On December 24, 1969 The Philadelphia-Baltimore-Washington Stock Exchange bought the Pittsburgh Stock Exchange. At its height the exchange traded over 1,200 companies, but by the last trading day in 1974 only Pittsburgh Brewing Company, Williams & Company and Westinghouse remained listed.