The buildings on the left are on the south (far) side of Bank Street, as is the tall building far behind the stage. As a kid, I thought that Bank Street had been named for Gallatin Bank, which had a cavernous lobby that spanned the ground floor of the tall building. Back then, from that intersection extending in all four directions the streets were lined continuously with buildings on both sides. So it was hard to appreciate what connection Bank Street had to Dunlap Creek. Now with an entire block cleared, it's easy to see from this perspective the original thinking of the town fathers on that side of the creek. They established Bank Street along the south (far) side of the creek, straight and perpendicular to the Monongahela River, but giving a wide berth to the low, flood-prone creek bottom land.
The near (north) side had been mostly bottom land, until a little over a hundred years ago. Then Mr. Snowd[o/e]n used fill to create new retail space. His fill is now covered in part by level grass. I realize that it is not an even comparison, but the new park in Brownsville is a bit like the Marina Green public space in San Francisco: both resting on fill, both near water with boats and high bridges, and both with a panorama of buildings steeply climbing multiple nearby hills.
