The Newtown Pentacle

Altissima quaeque flumina minimo sono labi

Archive for January 11th, 2024

Glass, & Ceratops Quīnquāgintā Septem

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Thursday

– photo by Mitch Waxman

Pittsburgh does a ‘Holiday Market’ dealie near the PPG tower, which is a castellated office building complex that was designed by architect Philip Johnson. Johnson was a guy who would regularly cast stones, even though he literally lived in a glass house for 58 years.

Personally, I’m not really a fan of Johnson’s sterility architecture, as his installations generally create urban deserts around the buildings, blighting any sort of organic street life in an antiseptic and uninviting order. I prefer the chaos of urban heterogeneity, me.

– photo by Mitch Waxman

An ice skating rink is set up in the ‘plaza’ of PPG Place for the Holiday Season, and locals drive in from extant points to indulge. Our Lady of the Pentacle wished to visit a nearby holiday market which was set up a block or two away.

While there, I was closely watching her every move and mentally recording whatever she reacted to positively, as far as the holiday market’s offerings. All of this was in the name of filling her Christmas Stocking, of course, so when I revisited the spot a couple of days later…

On this particular day, however, our sole purchase was a bottle of mull wine, which we would serve at a holiday gathering for a couple of the new neighbors back at HQ.

– photo by Mitch Waxman

A statuary display of a Ceratops Quīnquāgintā Septem (that’s how you’d pronounce the number 57 in Latin) or perhaps it was a Heinz Triceratops, was on holiday display nearby the entrance to the PPG tower.

PPG stands for ‘Pittsburgh Plate Glass’ just in case you’re curious. They’re one of Pittsburgh’s ‘anchor’ companies, born and bred.

Back tomorrow.


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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.

Written by Mitch Waxman

January 11, 2024 at 11:00 am