Third of Syacamore
Thursday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Continuing with a scuttle down Pittsburgh’s Sycamore Street, in today’s post. Your humble narrator found his ‘bad ankle’ left leg cramping up midway through a walk down the face of Mount Washington, and a quick sit-down was enacted. When the symptom subsided, I took advantage of a singular POV – above – and back to being in movement.
If you stop moving, you’ll stop moving.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Sycamore Street is composed of a series of sharp switchbacks which conquer the verticality of route for motorized vehicles. The overflying ramp is part of the PJ McArdle Roadway, which follows a gentler path across the face of Mount Washington and allows vehicular egress from ‘down there’ to ‘up here.’
Get out of the house and experience something real, don’t look at your phone for as long as you can.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A ‘Bernie Hole’ was discovered in the fencing along Sycamore Street, which provided for an interesting point of view, including a cat seat over the Norfolk Southern RR tracks, and a fairly familiar area.
At the right hand side of the shot is the Liberty Bridge, nearby that brewery where I photograph CSX RR traffic frequently, for context. The flowing water is the Monongahela River.
Don’t stand in the past, it was prologue, and you’ve only got today.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Luckily, I had the ‘super zoom’ lens on for this particular outing, and was able to get all the way in on CSX #893 transiting beneath the Panhandle Bridge, which the T Light Rail uses. As it turns out, this particular ‘Bernie Hole’ offered me a POV on several cool features.
(It’s actually a surveyors hole, cut into the fencing. My old pal Bernie Ente was notorious for ‘opening’ fences back in Queens along the LIRR and all around Newtown Creek, so any fence hole is thereby a ‘Bernie Hole.’)
All the world’s evils begin with loneliness.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A cool work train appeared on the Norfolk Southern tracks. The locomotive is pictured, but it was hauling multiple cars worth of lumber ties, and they had an entire car devoted to the heavy equipment used by this crew. Those are photo links to Flickr, by the way. Neato.
Everybody sleeps alone, even when sleeping next to someone.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This one is from the base of Sycamore Street, showing how crazy steep this street actually is. When driving up, you really need to step on the gas to get past all those crazy switchbacks. Cool pathway.
Back tomorrow, with something pretty different.
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Syracuse Street too
Wednesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Well, happy summertime, I guess. The Newtown Pentacle Time Warp (patent pending) is still in effect, as your humble narrator has somehow managed to maintain his ‘good month or so’ of ‘lead time’ on these posts. The photos in today’s post were captured at the very end of April, and the words you’re reading were encoded at the end of May.
In yesterday’s post, the latest scuttle had begun, which saw my horrific countenance appear on Pittsburgh’s Mount Washington. The path for this day started on a particularly steep, and serpentine, street called Sycamore – which I’d only driven upon in the past.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Y’know, if this was NYC, I’d be able to say ‘east,’ ‘west’… all that… and then refer to something about the sun disappearing behind New Jersey. I’m of the opinion that the point of view in the shot above is ‘more or less’ north, but I’m often wrong about things. Ask anyone.
People just love to point out when I’m wrong about something or other. Not in the way I’d hope, where you point out something evidentiary that I missed and I’d offer Mea Culpas while presenting your evidence here in a seperate post. Instead: No. It’s not real, that’s AI. Used to be ‘that’s not real it’s photoshop.’
‘You said ‘such and such’ happened on July 1st, but it was 12:01 am on July 2nd, so thereby you’re wrong about every single assertion you’ve ever offered.’ I’m also a big fan of when somebody decides what my politics must be because I took a picture of a train or something.
Funnily enough, I don’t have any problem with being corrected, as that’s how you learn things that are outside of your experience.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
We seem to be living in a ‘no second chances’ stage of the American culture. The rules of morality shift and change every day, and what was ‘kosher’ last year may be heresy now. There is no room whatsoever for people to evolve, get educated, or earn redemption for past sins. You must be emotionally and politically perfect, from infanthood, and naturally.
If not – deeply problematic – as the Millenials would say.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Sycamore Street’s course consists of a series of switchbacks which carry it from the apex of Mount Washington’s ridge line down to the flood plain of the Monongahela River, coming to ground in the ‘South Side Flats’ zone.
There aren’t any sidewalks on this section, as it’s kind of a narrowed roadway path. What kind of a moron would actually want to walk this way, anyway? Why not just take the incline?
I should mention – It’s bad, between the ears right now.
A humble narrator finds himself existing in a constancy of annoyance. Cortisol levels are high, and internal rage is epic. A constant struggle is under way to ‘just pretend.’ Luckily, when out scuttling, I’m all by myself and don’t have to engage in the fantasy that World War 3 isn’t right around the next corner. Speaking of…
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Along the route, elevated trestles carry other roadways.
The one flying through the shot above is called the PJ McArdle roadway, which I’ve walked down several times in the past. There’s a car lot nearby, for a park’s hiking trail I haven’t experienced yet. It’s something which I’ve been holding off doing, due to the lingering annoyances emanating from the orthopedic incident and the fact that it’s ‘natural’ ground.
The broken ankle was a profound injury, actually, which seems to have changed me in weird ways. Beyond the helplessness and crazy amounts of pain experienced during the injury’s immediate aftermath, and the severity of the PTSD symptoms which I’ve been bitching about related to stairs, it’s been a year since I’ve started really moving around again and yet – the recovering joint still offers periodic surprises.
On this day, for instance, a wicked cramp popped up in a calf muscle. Big whup, I know, but this was the kind of cramp you can plainly see playing out under the skin. Looked like a snake was moving around inside my calf! Yikes!
I needed a quick break.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Luckily, some truck based business located mid slope, on a carved out flat lot, seems to have exited the space and their parking pad was available to me for a quick respite. I found a quick ‘sit down’ spot, and rubbed my non camera holding hand upon the limb, until the blood started flowing in a predictable manner again.
Back tomorrow.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
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Syracuse Street
Tuesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Grandview Avenue is a street which rides along the ridge line of Mount Washington here in Pittsburgh, offering visitors paramount points of view over the City. At either end of the landform, tertiary local streets drip down and away from Grandview, providing access to the surrounding hills, flood plains, bridges, tunnels, and the rivers.
This time around, my walk got started about a block back from Grandview Avenue, at one of the local roads ‘up there,’ which is called Shiloh Street. Shiloh, where a BID promotes several tourism focused businesses, leads down to Sycamore Street – which is a very interesting sort of pathway to one such as myself. Gotta stop saying that, as there really isn’t anyone else who is like myself. It’s a curse.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Sycamore Street is pretty steep in this section, and as soon as you leave Shiloh Street it transmogrifies from commercial to residential zoning.
Space is tight up here on Mount Washington, and the multi story buildings are practically built on top of each other, with only narrow alleys or driveways between them.
Behind me is a long residential section of Sycamore Street, but the section I was walking on this particular day is the fun part. To me, at least.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
At Sycamore’s intersection with Wyoming Street, there’s a large undeveloped lot. I’ve driven by this lot several times and have always wondered what was going on there. As it turns out, not too much.
I’m unclear as to what’s going on here. I’ve seen online speculation that some big real estate development deal fell through, or something like that. It doesn’t seem abandoned, this property. Somebody mows the grass here, I’d point out. There aren’t middens of garbage, or illegal dumping.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
There’s the remains of a public street there, pictured above, dubbed Vinecliffe Street. Notice the strip of sidewalk pavement, and the metal bannisters, on the right. One kicked his feet about, looking to see if there might be an interesting point of view, but when there was one it was largely obscured by the bush and I couldn’t justify getting closer due to my whole ‘I don’t want to fall off a cliff’ thing. That would be embarrassing.
Something used to be here, as there were large blocks of concrete and the remains of a few retaining walls spotted here and there. Additionally, there are the demapped streets like Vinecliffe.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
That was the best view I could find, above. The bridge at the bottom of the shot is the Smithfield Street Bridge, spanning the Monongahela River between the ‘South Side Flats’ and ‘Downtown Pittsburgh.’
Not that anyone would really care other than me, but I was likely trespassing, so a heel spin was executed and I headed back over to the particular pathway which was my day’s early focus.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Steep, it’s steep I tell you… steep.
Back tomorrow with more.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
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Ramps, ramps, ramps
Monday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Oakland to South Side
After a particularly scary street crossing, at a highway off ramp, your humble narrator was soon as safe as he could be. A busted series of sidewalks and pathways guided one along his scuttle, and one was heading over to the Birmingham Bridge, which I’d be crossing the Monongahela River upon.
There you are, all caught up…
One was staring to ‘run out of gas’ at this particular moment. I had attended a walking tour of around two miles in length, then started my peregrinations to get back to mass transit for my ride back to HQ.
One of the absolutely deepest mysteries involving Pittsburgh I’ve encountered is why they didn’t extend the T Light Rail service out to the actual population center of the city (at least for nine months of the year) from Downtown, in the areas surrounding the universities in Oakland.
The fact that the service doesn’t go the airport either is a mystery.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Inviting, no?
I took the opportunity hereabouts to have a quick sit down, and allow my batteries to recharge. As stated, my policy is to never stop moving for more than a minute or two, as it breaks momentum.
I did require, however, a couple of minutes without twenty pounds of camera crap hanging off of me. It wasn’t even my full kit, but on this particular day it felt like I had a cinder block in the bag.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A few quick steps found me angling towards the Birmingham Bridge, leading to the ‘South Side’ section. Part of me wanted to continue on, and on, but a louder internal voice cried ‘nay.’ As it turned out, I was spent.
A change of plan occurred. I desperately needed a beverage, and there’s a great bar right at the other side of the bridge where they habitually have Guinness Stout on tap.
There! Motivation! Onwards!
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I wasn’t scuttling, so much as I was ‘drag assing’ when this shot was captured. One was musing, after seeing the bicycle infrastructure of Squirrel Hill on the morning walking tour, about just how ‘effed up this section of the city is in comparison. There’s a reason, of course.
Wealthy and politically relevant people live in Squirrel Hill, so you do your ‘safe streets’ stuff there. For them. Poorer and less relevant people live in the direction I was heading, so…
– photo by Mitch Waxman
It is impossible for me to walk over this bridge and not take a photo of those mounds of raw materials, piled on the piers of a concrete company below. It just cannot happen.
My back was really starting to ache right about here, but I won’t mention what was happening to my front. Brrr.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This was the last shot from this walk. I stopped off at that local bar and had a pint of Guinness, which was refreshing and offered me a bit of carbohydrate based energy to walk the next mile or so to get to the light rail, and then back to HQ. Moe the dog seemed happy to see me.
He might have been faking it though.
Back tomorrow with something different – at this – your Newtown Pentacle.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
Buy a book!
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Bobbing, weaving, all that
Friday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Oakland to the Monongahela River
Hey, that’s PITT’s Cathedral of Learning pictured above. Lookit that.
As described in a prior post, your humble narrator attended a walking tour of Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood, conducted by the ‘bikePGH’ outfit – who are the local incarnation of the ‘bicycle people.’
In general, they’re a lot nicer in person than the analogue group you’ll encounter in NYC, the ones who styled themselves as ‘Transportation Alternatives.’ With a few exceptions, I always found the TA people to be blowhard keyboard warriors, and ideologues. They would show up looking for a fight, and would start one if they didn’t encounter opposition towards their goals. They fund raise on hostility.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Saying that, one of the TA ideologues in Queens is who the inspiration for my Toyota’s name comes from – the ‘Mobile Oppression Platform.’ Same person once described a driver sticking a key in the ignition of a motor vehicle as then ‘existing in a state of pre-murder.’
Honestly, they’re so good at this sort of deceptive and inflammatory political language that they should consider joining the Republican Party. Bah!
While heading for the river via Forbes Avenue, and ruminating, an unnecessarily Brutalist academic building was encountered. Whenever I see this sort of architecture, my first thought goes to ‘Conquest of the Planet of the Apes’ for some reason. Yuck.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
There are quite a few places in Pittsburgh where taking a walk can mean a street crossing can likely end your life. To wit, this is the ‘ass end’ of Forbes Avenue, where it just sort of terminates at a highway off ramp.
Another one of the routes that I commonly drive through, that’s I-376 down there, an east/west high speed road which leads to the Squirrel Hill Tunnel on one side (it continues on, and on, after the tunnel) and to the Fort Pitt Tunnel on the other.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Saying all that, the TA people back home are – in fact – right about certain things. So are their analogues here in Pittsburgh.
I’ve mentioned a few times that driving the roads out here in Pittsburgh are kind of like the Wild West, with little, or no enforcement of traffic law by the local gendarmerie. It’s common for people to travel along at 80 mph, on a highway with a posted limit of 40, thereby. When drivers come to an off ramp/exit, and enter the local streets, their vehicles are often doing so at highway speeds. It’s madness.
So… notice the cross walk paint on that off ramp? Yup.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I still can’t run for any protracted distance, but I do have my ‘burst’ speed back, post ‘orthopedic incident.’ See? Haven’t mentioned it in weeks.
The ankle still hurts, all the time. It’s a dull ache sort of thing, and while out for long walks a few distinct annoyances pop up. A cramp, or some part of the affected foot will start announcing itself to my nervous system, soreness, and every now and then a clicking sensation as a tendon pulls itself over the surgically inserted metallic hardware I now own down there. When I get back to HQ and doff my shoes, that’s when it gets fun.
Saying all that, I can walk pretty long distances again.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Man… me and mine always railed on about the way that the FDR drive cut New Yorkers off from their waterfront back home. Look at this… these highways and their ramps are the Theodosian Walls of cutting off any sort of access to the river. Sheesh.
Saying that, love taking pics of this sort of thing. Massing shapes and geometries…
Back next week with more.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
Buy a book!
“In the Shadows at Newtown Creek,” an 88 page softcover 8.5×11 magazine format photo book by Mitch Waxman, is now on sale at blurb.com for $30.
The Newtown Pentacle 