Monster in the map: Yinzilla becomes a Pittsburgh pastime
Greenfield artist Matthew Buchholz has spent the past decade turning old photographs, maps and ephemera into scenes of playful mayhem — inserting a Godzilla-like creature he calls Yinzilla into Pittsburgh’s familiar skyline and bridges. The work, produced under Buchholz’s shop name Alternate Histories, has grown from a quirky idea into a neighborhood business and community presence.
Buchholz, 49, moved to Pittsburgh after attending New York University and arrived in the city in 2008. His early work took shape while he was working at Wild Card, a gift shop in Lawrenceville, where he first experimented with photoshopping a monster into an old city map and making it look as though the creature had “always been there.”
“People love monsters. Kids love dinosaurs. Something bigger than Mom or Dad. Bigger than themselves,” Buchholz said. “A lot of us have that childlike wonder about those things — the surprise, looking at something and noticing a little detail, zooming in and seeing something there. I like my work to be fun first and foremost.”
From cards to a storefront: Alternate Histories grows
What began as images on maps quickly expanded into a line of novelties. Buchholz has produced greeting cards, books, calendars, T-shirts and pins featuring Yinzilla and other imagined intrusions — UFOs over landmarks, dinosaurs behind old buildings and zombies woven into historical scenes. Local retailers picked up his products early on: Wild Card continued to sell his pieces, and Independent Brewing Co. in Squirrel Hill displayed his work as well.
As demand increased, Buchholz moved his operation out of his home and into a dedicated studio on Greenfield Avenue in 2022. He said he works at the studio almost daily and sells directly from the space on Fridays and Saturdays.
| Studio | Hours |
|---|---|
| Alternate Histories (Greenfield Avenue) | Noon–5 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays |
Community events and collaborations
Buchholz has used the popularity of his monster imagery to stage neighborhood gatherings and interactive moments. His company has hosted block parties, pop-up markets, live music and artist collaborations, bringing together shoppers and neighbors around his work and other local makers.
- Products: prints, cards, books, calendars, T-shirts, pins
- Retail partners: Wild Card (Lawrenceville), Independent Brewing Co. (Squirrel Hill)
- Studio open for sales: Greenfield Avenue (weekend hours listed above)
The appeal of Buchholz’s concept, he and others say, rests on a mix of nostalgia and surprise. By inserting a fantastical creature into archival imagery, the pieces invite viewers to look closer at familiar places and imagine a different history layered over the real one. That interplay — part humor, part homage — has helped Yinzilla become a recognizable local motif.
For Pittsburgh residents, the work does more than amuse: it connects neighborhoods through shared landmarks and memories, reframed with a twist. Whether discovered on a greeting card, a T-shirt, in a brewery or window of a Greenfield studio, Yinzilla is now part of the city’s cultural texture — a reminder that small creative enterprises can shape how residents view their own streets and histories.
Customers and passers-by can see Buchholz at his Greenfield studio most weekends, and his products remain available through longtime local stockists. As he continues to build Alternate Histories, Buchholz says his priority is simple: to keep the work fun and accessible while involving the community through events and collaborations.
