Midtown Mall demolition, Downtown McKeesport, 2003

The much-despised Midtown Plaza Mall and parking garage are being demolished to make way for a cluster of more pedestrian-friendly stores.

Constructed in the 1970s where Balsamo’s, the Club Car diner, and other McKeesport landmarks once stood, the Midtown Plaza covered Fifth Avenue, turning an entire block of the narrow (but busy) street into a cave that was populated by winos and derelicts.

The few stores that moved in after the mall opened closed within a few years. Even in my youth, I remember it as a dark, foreboding place that smelled of urine and mildew.

This was a mid-’70s public works project at its worst, and I’m glad to see it meet the wrecking ball. Photos © 2003 Jason Togyer, all rights reserved.

Lysle Boulevard elevation, Midtown Plaza Mall (demolition in progress)

Midtown Plaza mall demolition, 2003, showing beams across Fifth Avenue. These once supported the parking garage that covered the street for more than 20 years.

The top of the McKeesport National Bank Building emerges.

Sunlight strikes the pavement of Fifth Avenue between Huey and Sinclair streets for the first time in more than two decades.

Demolition detail, to prove that I can take artsy-fartsy photos.