Trizzino: Zelienople is full of third spaces
A drive through Zelienople’s Main Street can take a while. There are only three traffic lights on the stretch of road that breaks up Route 19 into a few blocks of a business district, but motorists can often find themselves stuck at an intersection because of the sheer number of cars on the road.
So if you are heading to Main Street from a residence within the borough, it’s probably best to walk.
Zelienople encompasses 2.1 square miles, and there are sidewalks on many of the roads that lead to Main Street. So if you live in town and want to get to a restaurant, drug store, clothing shop or even a grocery store, you could probably be there on foot within a half hour.
Zelie is a one-of-a-kind borough — not only because it shares its name with no other municipality in the world, according to the Zelienople Historical Society — but because it is a stretch of town in the middle of a major highway. It has more than 10 places to get an alcoholic beverage, several clothing stores, a swimming pool, a skate park, a library, plus recurring community events that aim to bring people in front of all these spaces. Places like ShuBrew, Papa Joe’s Wine Cellar and Fisher’s Bar and Grill offer places for trivia and live music, and the Strand Theater has live entertainment on the regular.
In a world where third spaces are disappearing, Zelienople still has places that people of all ages can gather for social activity and enjoyment. Places like Zelienple Community Park, where there is a playground, skate park and pool, can be accessed without a person having to spend any money.
The northernmost end of Main Street is a bridge that leads people out of Zelienople and into Jackson Township, which has a few more stores as well as Sippel Reservoir Park, which features even more outdoor space for activity-seeking individuals.
Harmony is Zelienople’s sister borough, and is just a short way away from its center. Harmony has a personality of its own, with the historical roots of the borough as plain to see as that of Zelienople, but also with its own modern hangout spots like the Harmony Inn, Wunderbar and Union Brothers Brewing. It’s easy to make Harmony your home, too, if you live in Zelienople, and vice-versa.
The southwestern part of Butler County is growing in population, and Zelienople is one of the municipalities primed for new people.
Just be prepared to sit at a red light for more than one cycle.
Eddie Trizzino is the Butler Eagle community editor.
