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Written by David Titmus | Photos by David Pinchot
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The sun sets on Washington. Does the fun leave with it?
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The City of Washington is many things. It’s historic. It’s an attractive business community. It’s a friendly place to live.
But is it hip?
“Hip? You mean, like, cool. Is it a cool place?” asked 23-year-old Washington resident Brian Waid. His hands and arms covered in grime and grease, Waid is working on his dirt bike in a small garage along South Main Street.
“I’m not sure I’d go that far. It’s OK, I mean, I live here, so that’s got to count for something, right?”
Located 30 miles south of Pittsburgh and 30 miles north of Wheeling, Washington is home to county offices and The Wild Things baseball team. The Meadows is a short distance away, the county fairgrounds are here, too, and it’s home to the Little Prexies.
Nonetheless, its hipness still was in question. OK, maybe I was using the wrong lingo. Was hip even “in” anymore?
The Tower of Power asked, “What is Hip?” in the 70s, and Huey Lewis praised how it was “Hip to be Square” in the 80s, but chances are neither of those tunes are on any hip person’s iPod playlist.
Jamie Hartman, communications coordinator for the Washington Area Chamber of Commerce, said although the chamber is geared more toward the business community as a whole, she knows a little about the local scene.
The area has a few places that younger people like to frequent, such as the movie theater, restaurants and shopping areas, and the college crowd knows the ins and outs of a few local watering holes.
“But a lot of people drive into Pittsburgh for the evening,” she said. “It really depends on what you’re looking for.”
Hartman was right that the movie theater and food court at Washington Crown Mall are happening places on weekends. The mall, located in the shadow of Falconi Field, also boasts more than 60 stores, specialty shops and a restaurant.
But inside the mall this Saturday afternoon I find a group that looks much like you’d find gathered around cups of joe at McDonald’s.
The group of 60-somethings -- including Sam Heston of North Strabane and Tony D’Ancana of Washington -- have their own ideas on what’s hip in the city. “You can play ball -- football, stickball, basketball -- we used to play all day,” says Sam.
Tony suggests tinkering with engines and rebuilding cars as he did in his father’s garage as a kid. Neither of those suggestions, however, hold much attraction for 18-year-old Dana Weller.
“I know a few guys who rebuild cars, but it’s not hip,” she says. “I come to the mall once in a while, but it’s not a great hang-out. I’m not in high school anymore.”
Okay, the shopping plaza proved a dead-end in my search for hipness.
But maybe I was tackling this wrong way. Hip, according to Webster’s New World Dictionary, is to be knowing, aware, fashionable and stylish. And who’s more knowing and fashionable than college students? As luck would have it, there’s a college right around the block. Washington & Jefferson College is a four-year, private liberal arts college that’s home to more than 1,400 students, 80 percent of whom live on campus.
Student Geoff Royer is president of the Student Activities Board and he knows a little about what students do in their free time.
Through the committee, a wealth of programs and activities are planned for students, giving them a break from biochemistry and international finance and macroeconomics.
Royer says the school schedules small concerts and movie nights on weekends and opens Monticello’s -- a coffeehouse turned milkshake hut -- that serves up java, thick shakes and socializing. Karaoke nights are popular, too, at Monticello’s.
The on-campus clubs also provide outlets, including street fairs and international weeks. Many college functions are open to the community, but W&J students get first crack at choice tickets for events.
Royer says off-campus activities consist of trips to the paint ball range or the zoo, and student shuttles run on weekends to Pittsburgh, which reinforces the notion that some travel out of Washington for entertainment
“The Pittsburgh Pipeline is very popular,” says Billie Eaves, director of the Office of Student Activities. “You get on the shuttle and it will take you to the South Side or the Strip District. You can visit the galleries and museums and you don’t have to worry about driving or parking.”
But the question remains, is Washington hip?
“Ah, no, I wouldn’t say it’s hip,” Royer says. “There’s not a whole lot to do around here.” However, Royer says the VIP Lounge -- formerly the Big Room, located along North Main -- is a student hot spot. “Lots of people go there, it’s a nice place, they had a senior night there just a little while ago,” he says.
Ernie’s Freestyle is another local attraction. The restaurant/bar, located along North Main Street, is a popular with young adults. “It’s a good place to hang out and grab a bite to eat,” says Kim Yorke, a student at Washington & Jefferson. “Their wings are great, I highly recommend it.”
Freestyle manager Bill Nelson says the relaxed atmosphere is a reason for its success. “It’s like ‘Cheers,’ you know, where everybody knows your name,” he says. “It’s just a nice, friendly bar, it’s big, we have darts, we have an Internet jukebox.”
“We see a lot of people from the college, but we have people driving out here to see us, too.”
And that means something, that people will go out of their way to visit the city, stop at its businesses or attend college there. Really, being hip is a state of mind and maybe, just maybe, the fact that Washington doesn’t ooze hipness is what makes it so special.
“I don’t care what people say, I know what’s up,” Waid says, tightening the rear wheel of his bike. “I know I’m hip.” •
