Engaging Introduction

If you’ve ever driven through Pittsburgh in the winter, you’ve probably seen it: an old lawn chair, a dining room throne, or even a beaten-up recliner sitting sentinel in a cleared parking space on the side of the road.

Your first reaction might be confusion. Is someone selling furniture? Did this fall off a truck? Why is there a chair in the middle of the street?

But if you ask a local, they’ll just smile and say: “That spot’s taken.”

Welcome to one of Pittsburgh’s most beloved, peculiar, and surprisingly enduring traditions: saving your hard-earned parking spot with a chair after a snowstorm.

It’s quirky. It’s technically illegal. And yet, it’s a practice that embodies the resilience, community spirit, and practical ingenuity of a city that knows how to handle winter’s challenges.

I remember the first time I saw it. I had just moved to Pittsburgh from the South, where snow was a rare event that shut down the entire city. When I saw a plastic lawn chair sitting in a freshly shoveled parking spot, I was baffled. I almost moved it. Then I saw the note taped to the seat: “Please don’t move. I spent two hours shoveling this.”

I left it alone. I asked a neighbor about it later. He laughed. “Welcome to the ‘Burgh, kid. That’s how we do things here.”

Let’s dive into the story behind the chair—and why Pittsburghers wouldn’t have it any other way.

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