Don't be surprised if you're driving down Wylie Avenue in the Hill District in coming weeks and you look over to where the Crawford Grill has long stood and instead see a grocery store or fish market. The landmark is for sale.
Attorney Joseph K Williams III, who is handling the sale of the property for owner William "Buzzy" Robinson, said he has received approximately 15 inquiries since posting a "For Sale" sign on the building last week. Listed for $250,000, it also includes four two-bedroom apartments above the former club building and a parking lot.
The Grill, which opened in 1943 and closed four years ago, was for decades the hub of Pittsburgh's lively jazz scene at a time when the city was drawing international attention for its music and musicians.
"I've had all kinds of calls" since putting the building up for sale, said Mr. Williams. "Some ... were from people who wanted to know what's happening with the Grill and others were from people wanting to put a grocery store and other things in there."
As a jazz fan, Mr. Williams would like to see the building fall into the hands of someone who is going to appreciate its cultural and historical significance, not to mention its international reputation. Over the past five months or so, he said, two different investment groups have expressed interest in the building but were unable to come up with the funding.
"These groups had ideas congruent with what I had in mind for the building," he said. "I would hate for the place to sell and people in our community say the building should have been sold to someone that was going to respect the cultural and historical significance of the Grill."
That's Mr. Williams' dilemma.
Mr. Robinson just wants the building sold.
"At this point, Buzzy feels as though he's tried to accommodate the community with respect to keeping the Grill going," said Mr. Williams. "He rented and leased the building over the years and suffered financially because of that. He doesn't have the energy or the interest anymore in trying to run the place."
The Grill has been idle for the past few years. The last occupant locked the doors in 2002 after the building fell victim to sewage and electrical problems. The New Crawford Grill in Station Square was subsequently named in its honor, but the inability to generate customer traffic forced the owners to close in January.
Outside the Wylie Avenue club, the only reminder of its jazz lore is a historical marker. Waist-high weeds on the side of building lead to the parking lot.
Across the street, construction workers are building an apartment complex for senior citizens.
"Things have really changed around here," said Neal Buice, owner of Buice barbershop. "It would be really nice if the Grill came back to the neighborhood. We need a place where we can take out-of-town guests, sit down and have a nice dinner without having to worry about being shot or any other nonsense."
Mr. Buice has been in the Hill District for more than five decades. He spent the past 30 years working across the street from the Grill.
"Years ago, the Grill was where everyone wanted to be," he recalled. "Every Friday and Saturday night was like a homecoming for the old-timers. The first time I saw James Moody and Max Roach was in the Grill. Max took the Turrentine brothers [Stanley and Tommy] on the road with him when he played the Grill.
"It was a small place, but it was happening and it was very accommodating."
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A "for sale" sign hangs outside the Hill District's legendary Crawford Grill.
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First Published: November 15, 2006, 5:00 a.m.