I spent half my childhood life in Pig Tails Alley. Our house on Myrtle Avenue backed up to it. It wasn't so bad, aside from the occasional mugging (I once found a purse with a broken strap containing a bunch of loose change - paper money gone). There was also a drunkard sleeping it off behind the Presbyterian Church, a few dozen guys on Harleys, endless broken glass and garages with caved-in ceilings. But other than that, it wasn't so bad. We played there. These days, Moms won't let their kids out of the house in Pleasant Valley USA without an armed guard.
We used to play there all the time from the mid 50's to the early 60's. We would play catch one/catch all. There were so many things to climb on and places to hide. Never saw any pig tails.
I understand most of it is gone because of RT 280.
I used to hang out occassionally with a group of friends at Pig Tails Alley. We would play cards and hang out on the fire escpae at the rear of Roseville Ave. School. We would climb onto the roof and gather up the balls that were on the roof.
