21BLOOMBERG BUSINESSWEEK- PLACES
businessempirethatincludedvineyards
andlaundriesandproducedsilkand
crudeoil. Word of Economy’s suc-
cesstraveledfar.Amongitsadmirers
wasFriedrichEngels,co-authorofThe
CommunistManifesto.
A commitmenttocelibacyultimately
doomedtheHarmonists.Thegrouphad
dwindledtojusttwomembersby1904,
whenitsleader,JohnDuss,soldtheland
onwhichEconomystoodtoAmerican
BridgeCo.Aneccentricmusicteacher,
Dusscelebratedthedealbyrentingout
MadisonSquareGardenandtransform-
ingit intoanindoorVenice,complete
withcanals,fora musicalextravaganza.
American Bridge,a subsidiaryof
J.P.Morganthatsuppliedthesteelfor
architecturaliconsliketheEmpireState
BuildingandtheBayBridgebetween
SanFranciscoandOakland,renamed
Economy after itself and turned it
into a company town. Immigrants
fromGreece,Italy,Ukraine,andother
Europeancountriesmovedin,swelling
Ambridge’spopulationtomorethan
20,000atitspeakinthe1930s.Butby
the’80s,withtheblastfurnacesgoneor
leaving,thetown’seconomic fortunes
begana downwardspiral.
Eversince,Ambridgehasbeen in
thegripsofanidentitycrisis—onethat’s
intensifiedwiththepandemic.Doesits
destinystillliewithindustry,thefinal
remnantsofwhichseemtobedepart-
ing?Orshouldit reinventitselfasa bed-
roomcommunity—agrittierversionof
neighboringSewickley,anaffluentsub-
urbfullofgrandVictorianhomesthat’s
toPittsburghwhat Greenwich, Conn., is
toManhattan?
Although Ambridge sits just a
10-minutedrivefromSewickley,it has
a longwaytogotocatchup.Yes,the
housingischeap:Themediancostof
a homeis $70,000,halfwhatit is inthe
Pittsburgharea.ButmostofAmbridge’s
schoolsratebelowthestateaverage.
Its main shopping drag, Merchant
Street,hassomanyvacanciesthatit’s
cheaper to lease one of the downtown
storefrontsthantorenta storage facility
ontheoutskirtsoftown.
Inshort, Ambridge doesn’t have
muchtorecommendittotheyoung
familiesit badlyneedstohaltitspopula-
tiondecline.“Nobody’souttheretalking
about‘Well,I needtomovetoAmbridge.
It’stheplacetobe,’” saysSteveRoberts,
a localrealestateagentandcommunity
activist.Thisyear’sdecennialcensusis
expectedtoshowthat7%fewerpeople
liveintheboroughthanin2010.
SincemovingfromPittsburghalmost
a decadeagotobuya homeinthehis-
toricHarmonistdistrict,Robertshasbeen
workingwithotherstorestorebuildings
inthearea.It’sslowwork.Acrossthe
streetfromtheoldlogcabinheusesas
anofficesitsa vacantbuildingthatonce
housedtheHarmonists’bachelors.A fad-
ingsignoutsideadvertisesthatin 2015
it wasdesignatedasoneoftheseven
mostendangeredhistoricpropertiesin
Pennsylvania.Andthatit’sstillforsale.
SomeofAmbridge’soldindustrial
lotsdowntownhavebeenrepurposed.
Themunicipaloffices,a hotel,anda
theologicalschoolallsitonthesites
ofdemolishedformersteelfoundries.
Butthere’salsoa freshcarcass.InJuly
a mysteriousfiretorethroughSukup
SteelStructures, guttingtheplant’s
main building,whichsitsacrossthe
streetfromthebuilding that houses the
councilchambers.
Thecompany’sowners,Sheffield,
Iowa-basedSukupManufacturingCo.,
continuedtopaytheplant’s 120 workers
throughAugust,butthecompanystill
wasn’tsureaboutreopening.Coming
hard on theheelsof the twoother
steelplantclosures, thefireseemed
likeanothersignthatwhatwasleftof
Ambridge’s industrial economy was
beinggutted.
“There’s downsides with heavy
industry,”saysKimberlyVillella,the
ownerofa localhairsalonwhogrew
upinAmbridgeandjokesthatsheused
totellfriendsthefishinherstretchof
the Ohio River had three heads. “Peopleherehadtosweeptheirporcheveryday
becauseofthepollution.ButI’drather
havebreadonmytableandsweepmy
porcheverydaythannothavebreadon
mytable,”saysVillella,whoalsoheads
thelocalchamberofcommerce.
Thenagain,she andherhusband
madetheirownexitfromheavyindus-
trylastyearwhentheysolda company
ontheoutskirtsoftownthatproduces
boltstoa rivalfromNewJersey.Herhus-
bandworksforthenewowners,though
hewaslaidofffora spellinthespring.
If anyoneisofferinganexampleof
howAmbridgemighttransformintoa
cozysuburb,it’stheownersofAltered
Genius,a microbrewerythat’stheonly
businessofsubstancetoopenintown
thisyear.It’shousedina remodeled
buildingonMerchantStreetandfea-
turesexposedmasonryandreclaimed
wood,amongothermarkersofindus-
trialchic.Thetwoteachersfromoutof
townandtheAmbridge-bredproperty
developerbehindAlteredGeniushave
bigambitions.Besidesservingupa rotat-
ingmenuofIPAsandportersandmaking
theirbrewsavailableforsaleincansand
kegs,thetriohavetheireyesona vacant
buildingacrossthestreetscheduledfor
demolition.They’dliketoturnit intoa
venueforfoodtrucks,whichwoulddraw
biggercrowdsthanthebrewpubalone.
Theendgoalis Ambridgeasa desti-
nation.“We’veseenthemodelworkin
othersimilarsituations,andthatmakes
methink,Man,thisisa realopportu-
nitytohelpthistownandhelpour-
selves,”saysMichaelHaas,oneofthe
owners.Whichallsoundsgreat—until
youlearn AlteredGenius has all of
nine employees.In April, when Police Chief Mark
RomutisdiedsuddenlyfromCovid-19
atage64,it hitthetown hard.Paul
Bohn,whosefamilyrantheBohn-Matich
FuneralHome,succumbedtothedis-
easeshortlyafter,promptinga parade
ofmorethan 400 carspasthishome.
For a time it seemed as if those“WE ARE CLOSER TO PURPLE
THAN SOME FOLKS REALIZE”