A long… wait a minute, say what?
Monday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
So… as you might recall from last week, your humble narrator was involved in a long scuttle along the Allegheny River side of Pittsburgh’s central peninsula, one filled with lots of self-recrimination. Fun walk, lots to see and ponder. Everybody hates me. All caught up.
One had wandered into the Lawrenceville section, and encountered a passing freight train at street grade, and then…
I saw this street sign.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Now – for some ‘behind the curtains’ POV – I’ve started inserting shots of street signs into the flow of photos at my Flickr account, to act as visual bookmarks and to remind me of where I was when one photo or another was captured. At the end of the week, when you’re looking at a thousand raw captures, this practice aids in the organizing of things, from a cogently geographical and narrative sense.
Yes, that is a real Pittsburgh street sign, signifying the intersection of Willow Street with 43 1/2 street.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I stood there staring at this sign for a couple of minutes, in disbelief. Was it a fake? Something some real estate yahoo screwed onto a pole?
Nope.
From Google’s AI:
Origins and Naming Original Name: The lane was originally called Snowden Alley.
Landowner: It was named after H. Snowden, who owned property on both sides of the alley north of Butler Street around 1852.
Fractional Renaming: The city changed the name to 43rd ½ Street via a city ordinance in 1871. An 1881 ordinance accidentally listed it back as Snowden Alley, before it was officially updated again to “Forty-third and One-Half Street” in 1896.
Local Lore: Early Pittsburgh historian and columnist George T. Fleming joked in a 1915 Pittsburgh Gazette Times column that the quirky fractional name meant the street “surely has a name and a half”.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I have no information, regarding the artist or intention of that mural painted on the residential building pictured above, but I dig it.
As you can see in the shot’s background, this is right about where a bunch of the ‘new’ construction, found on the border between Pittsburgh’s ‘Lawrenceville’ and ‘Strip District,’ collides with older real estate schemes.
Were I as loquacious as I was back in Queens, I’d christen this as ‘an angle between’ those two neighborhoods. I’m not.
Neat.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
By this point, my walk through the ‘Butler Street Corridor’ had transmogrified into ‘the Willow Street Corridor is more interesting right about now,’ so I followed it under the 40th street Bridge where the roadway becomes a narrow pass for pedestrians and bike riders only.
The predominance of my scuttle having been accomplished, the route now became an expedient one, designed to angle my toes towards a T light rail station that was still at least a couple/three miles away in the ‘Downtown’ section.
Yep, could have always hopped on a bus, but that’s not the actual point of these endeavors. Got to keep moving or I’ll stop moving.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
At 33rd street, where a gargantuan railroad bridge is found right along the waterfront of the Allegheny River, that’s where I walked past next.
There’s all sorts of signage from the railroad people warning off trespass, camping, and other morbid occupations, but I continue to operate in compliance with the rules of 1980’s Brooklyn.
‘Things are only illegal if there are Cops around,’ or if you break into or graffiti onto something, and as there weren’t any Cops hanging around and I had no intention of painting my name here, there we are. I did find a private spot in the bushes for a piss.
There’s rail tracks on the ground, I’d mention, but they are clearly not active and are quite overgrown. I’ve seen videos of camera wielders getting hassled around here by the RR Cops, but have a feeling that those particular videographers made themselves ostentatious to the gendarmerie.
Back tomorrow.
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A Long Walk, part 5
Friday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Oh boy, Pittsburgh’s Lawrenceville really does remind me of the late 20th century version of North Brooklyn, in so many ways.
Centuried buildings standing alongside brand spanking new luxury residential towers, ancient and insufficient infrastructure which was built for a low density industrial zone suddenly finding itself handling a high density residential population – composed of self important ‘master of the universe’ type tech and real estate ‘bros’ – with their artsy fartsy hipster hanger on’s and arounds… all that good stuff.
After luckily running into a passing freight train, and having kicked around five to six miles of dirt around by this point, one realized that he was somewhere around the half way point for the day’s effort.
From this spot, I’d be angling my feet in the direction of a still distant series of T light Rail stations, where I’d find a ride back to HQ in Dormont.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
In the meanwhile, the area I was moving through was fairly deserted and I had a camera, so ‘wheee.’ Massing shapes, structures of expedient execution, busted up crap… all my kinds of bag.
It was a good time to remind myself of all the usual tropes;
- Everybody hates me, on sight.
- Nobody has a real friend.
- It’s best to not even try, anymore.
- No hope, and no future.
- All is dire, and colored a sickly pinkish gray.
- When I die, people will say ‘Good, that’s finally over with.’
Actually, I’ve long held a desire to have my corpse frozen solid in liquid nitrogen, and then fed into a wood chipper on the back of a boat on NY Harbor, which would then spray scarlet rainbows of ‘Mitch bits’ into the Newtown Creek.
At least I’d feed the fish on my way out…
My own corruptions, mixing with those of the Creek, and… and…
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Yeah… I do miss it sometimes. New York, I mean, not the human infestation it hosts.
I’m the type of person who feels completely alone in a room full of people who would profess to love me, but I’m sure they’d just be saying that anyway to set me up. As soon as I’d turn my back….
Me? I’m perfect, just like Caligula, and like that long ago Augustus I set the standard of sanity for the rest of the world to follow.
Anything that goes wrong when I’m in the room is something I should, or could have, stopped from happening. Everything bad is my ultimately my fault, somehow. You got cancer? Sorry, my bad.
It’s never been a good place, between my ears.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Hey, I think that those might be some of the ‘murder bots’ which Carnegie Mellon University is working on for the Marines.
Yep, whereas the conversation about AI has centered in on the resources that data centers will consume, we’ve all forgotten that the United States Military is currently working on building autonomous ‘Hunter-Killer’ battlefield technologies – here in Pittsburgh – with young geniuses whom I can tell you have never read Asimov. I know this because I’ve asked several of them, and in addition to ignorance of Asimov, they haven’t read Stanislaus Lem or Phillip K. Dick either.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Sigh… I’m old and won’t last too much longer, so this is not my problem yet – but AI is likely to somehow be my fault somehow. Ask anyone.
Some street furniture was encountered. Looks like a comfy park bench, if you ask me, but it’s likely very unpleasant during rainy weather.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Pictured is one of the more frustrating ‘things’ you regularly encounter in Pittsburgh, with some working guy parking his truck right in the middle of a narrow street.
No doubt the truck is there to facilitate something practical, but damn does it suck when you make a left turn and then see this in front of you.
Back next week with a bit more from this long walk – at this – your Newtown Pentacle.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
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Hey Now! and then, back to my long walk
Thursday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Lucky. To start, that locomotive engine pictured prominently in today’s post is older than I am – and that’s saying something at this point in time.
Built in December of 1966, the ‘GP40’ engine originally showed up for work as engine number 183 for the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad. In 1970, it changed jobs after a merger and went to work for the Burlington Northern RR as engine number 3013.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
In 1987, BN retired the engine, and it found a new job and identity at the National Railroad Equipment Company, where it became known as NREX 3013. In 1994, this old trooper received a rebuild which brought its emissions into line with modern regulation, whereupon the ‘Carload Express’ outfit bought the unit and branded it as ‘Allegheny Valley/AVR 4001.’
This particular set of tracks, as I understand it, is a part of what AVR calls its ‘Valley Line.’
I asked Google’s AI about this, and here’s its result:
AVR-2 (Valley Line Freight): Primarily a third-shift night job working Sunday–Thursday up the Allegheny River valley to New Kensington and Arnold. However, heavy fracking sand demands mean regular Saturday morning “Sand Extras” run in daylight along this corridor.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Before you ponder, I was on the ‘correct side’ of the signal arms with my back planted firmly on some factory’s chain link fence.
Y’know, was kind of glad that I decided to divert from the Butler Street corridor right around here. Yeah! I’d been ‘out of sync’ with RR shots for the last few walks.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
All that I can tell you about their cargo is that these are the the kind of train cars which get filled up from chutes found above, and which then deposit their cargo into chutes found below. Maybe this is that ‘fracking sand’ train Gemini mentioned above? Could be, but as is often stated – I don’t ‘guess.’ All I can offer is the most general form of visual observation, which boils down to what sort of rail car this is.
Covered Hopper Car, I’d wager.
What do you think, railfans?
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As I backed away, the secondary locomotive engine appeared. It’s what they call a ‘DPU’ in railroad world.
Also via Google’s AI:
A Distributed Power Unit (DPU) is a locomotive or group of locomotives positioned in the middle or at the rear of a long freight train, rather than just at the front. These units are uncrewed and are operated remotely by the engineer inside the lead locomotive cab using a radio-based control link.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Sated, your humble narrator returned to his miserable course.
If defeat, humiliation, and personal dissolution could be given human form, it wouldn’t appear as pathetic or horrific as that which greets me in the reflections of store windows while scuttling past. I used to be pretty.
I look like the personification of six of the seven deadly sins these days, manifested within a badly functioning human body that’s armored in scars and drowning in sorrow.
Children cry, dogs howl, birds fly away in a panic.
Well… most birds… the Canada Gooses are always a different story.
Back tomorrow.
“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.
A Long Walk part… Hey Now!
Wednesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Butler Street in Pittsburgh, which your humble narrator recently scuttled down. This post is the third part of a longer travelogue. Scroll back a couple of posts for the beginning, or you can just jump in here. All are welcome at Newtown Pentacle, as nothing matters and nobody cares – after all.
I should mention that the Newtown Pentacle time warp continues to swirl. I’ve intentionally cut the lead time down a bit, by largely goofing off in September, but these images were captured on the 14th of September, and the posts they are embedded in should be arriving in your inboxes during the first week of November if I’ve got my scheduling correct.
This section of Butler Street enters into a neighborhood called ‘Lawrenceville,’ which is where the gentrification furnaces burn most brightly in Pittsburgh. An infusion of ‘tech’ investments in the area has brought a new population to Lawrenceville in the 21st century – a group referred to locally as ‘the tech Bro’s.’
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Me? I’m of course focused on what used to be here, since the past is usually far more interesting and less worthy of an argument than the present is. On the register of ‘historic places’ is the former Hunter Saw & Machine Company’s 4 building complex. Caught my eye.
Now, I’m told by the locals that Lawrenceville used to be considered a dangerous and quite ‘crimey’ area, and was one of Pittsburgh’s ‘hoods.’
The gentrification hammers began to fall here sometime around the start of the 21st century, sort of analogous to the same real estate driven process that played out in North Brooklyn and Long Island City back in New York during that same interval.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I’ve learned to identify where gentrification zones begin in the various Pittsburgh neighborhoods – and it’s right where you see a royal blue painted house with odd exterior modifications sticking out, right in the middle of a block of row houses. Over the next few weeks, I’ll be offering more real world proof of this observably ‘gentrification blue’ theory of mine.
It was right about here that I decided to abandon Butler Street for a spell, as I had walked the following section during an ‘Open Streets’ event just a few weeks prior. I headed vaguely northwards, towards the river.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A quick bit of gazing into Google Maps and at my compass ensued, just to confirm that I was heading towards where I thought I was going. Given my recent proclivity for walking in the opposite direction of where I intended to go, it’s best to double check. Had to make this a habit.
Yup, I was fixing to head off in the wrong direction, again.
After ascertaining the correct path, once more did I begin sloshing forward, like some sort of antagonistic jelly carrying a camera.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
There’s a section of Lawrenceville which is still quite industrial, and… there happens to be an active set of rail tracks back there… so…
Big skies. You also get ‘big sky’ in industrial zones.
Honestly, wasn’t expecting to see a train back here, but…
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Hey Now!
Here comes Allegheny Valley RR #4001!
More on all that tomorrow.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
Buy a book!
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A Long Walk, part 2
Tuesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Your narrator continued his shambling scuttle, humbly, along Pittsburgh’s Butler Street in a generally north-westwards direction that followed the serpentine southern shorelines of the Allegheny River.
Observationally, the Allegheny or ‘North Side’ of the peninsular landform which Pittsburgh occupies seems to be a lot more ‘post-industrial,’ and long term residential, than the southern side along the Monongahela River is. Just an observation from a newcomer, there.
Have I mentioned how much I’m enjoying not knowing everything about everything out here? Back home in NYC – and particularly so in North Brooklyn or Western Queens – if you picked up a random stone off the street, I could have probably told you a story about it.
Ice ages and boloids, mammoths and osage oranges… that’s me.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The cool thing about this route was that for much of it, I was scuttling along a protected bike and pedestrian space. There were a few street crossings in front of me which would be causes of concern and caution, but there are signal lights and crosswalks so it wasn’t anything crazy.
A former steel mill property on the flood plain has been redeveloped, and there were multiple corrugated steel buildings housing all sorts of light industrial outfits down below. An auto parts warehouse stood out, but amongst the many organizations found at this site is a cool non-profit outfit called Tree Pittsburgh.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
That’s what’s known as an ‘albino roof’ in environmentalist circles.
Passive cooling system, using a light colored paint on the roof which rejects a whole lot of solar radiation during the warm months. Kind of surprised it’s not all covered in solar panels, to be honest, as the redevelopment here was done under the auspices of the Governmental ‘URA’ or Urban Redevelopment Authority.
The ankle was holding up just fine, thanks for asking.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
They are really, really big on renaming pre-existing bridges after their politicians in Pittsburgh, which is how the 62nd street bridge ended up being called the ‘Senator Robert D. Fleming’ bridge.
This is a modern trend, and NYC has suffered the same sort of thing with the ‘Ed Koch Queensboro,’ the ‘Robert F. Kennedy Triborough,’ and others.
Oh, the urbanity….
My answer to this urge amongst the electeds to rename bridges for their friends had always been: ‘hey, why dontcha rename the Brooklyn Bridge for Bloomberg? The kids can call it the ‘3B’ then.’
The fancy people were not amused, as Bloomberg wasn’t a member of ‘the club’ which gets preexisting bridges named after them.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
One had scuttled out onto the 62nd street Bridge for this shot, and it looks back on where I had been walking in the first shot (above).
The weather was on my side for once, as it was lovely out. The temperature was struggling to get up to 70, there was a breeze, and zero chance of precipitants. For once, I didn’t need to urgently piss.
I was walking to the rythym of the song ‘Sweet Caroline.’ Step, step, drag left foot and bum ankle… pause, step, step, drag left foot and bum ankle, step… step, pause, step, drag left foot and bum ankle… and so on.
Just kidding there, I was walking in tune with the rhythms of the Gorilla Biscuits’ seminal ‘Start Today’ album.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
An enormous fuel transfer facility was encountered, branded with the logos of the Sunoco corporation. I wanted to stand at the fence and photograph this operation in some detail, but my ‘spidey sense’ was alerting and intuiting that I’d certainly get to meet the Cops were I to start doing that.
It was gigantic, this facility, and when you got a bit closer to these tanks – tanker equipped semi-truck toys seemed to be arranged around their bases. These were, of course, not toys, but full sized fuel trucks.
I definitely would have gotten to meet the cops.
Back tomorrow.
“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.
