the ace hotel opened a new outpost this year in pittsburgh, pa. inhabiting an old restored YMCA building and boasting swoon-worthy views of the city, this newest edition of the nearly-20-year-old brand stays true to ace’s mission of being a collaborative space for the city’s creative types. the first ace hotel opened in seattle in 1999, with low nightly rates and rooms filled with art made by the owners’ personal friends. in the years following, ace has cultivated each new hotel not only as a lodging, but as a meeting place, where you’ll find different bars and cozy sitting areas to meet for a drink or a coffee. better still, these myriad spaces also double as venues for events, and ace hotel pittsburgh is actively committed to creating programming for local artists, musicians, and performers to keep that dialogue between business and community alive and thriving.
as cities develop and neighborhoods change, it’s hard to ride that line between good progress and potentially harmful change. we wanted to showcase this hotel as an example of a business that makes its mission to know its city’s heart and expose the true and beautiful bones of the building it moves into. though it is distinctly ‘ace,’ it’s still thoroughly pittsburgh. we’re especially big fans of their preservation of the old YMCA gym, where they host sports screenings for diehard PGH fans, beer events for local breweries, and movie nights. definitely got us plotting our next trip to steeltown. you comin?
photos: Top Gallery, Ace Hotel Pittsburgh. Gym Gallery: Ace Hotel Pittsburgh; far right photo is from Sidewalk Hustle, by Tristan Banning.