Soggy in Pittsburgh
Thursday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Pittsburgh’s Oakland section, where you’ll find the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University and a staggering number of cultural organizations like the Carnegie Museum, is the most ‘urban’ part of the metro area – to my eyes. It’s crowded with high pedestrian volumes, stores operating at street level which are selling sandwiches and tacos, and there’s densely packed automotive traffic as well. There’s people zipping by on bikes, and crazy guys screaming ‘President got his hand in my pocket’ to no one in particular. The streets are noisy and narrow and kind of dirty… like I said – ‘urban.’
My soggy companion and I diverted from the ‘main drag’ and soon found ourselves walking down one of the many ‘alleys’ or ‘Way’ streets. They call an alley a ‘way’ here. Guess ‘way’ sounds better than alley.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The ‘Ways’ are proper but narrow streets, I’d mention, but this is where the garbage trucks operate and you see a lot of the surrounding building’s infrastructure along these alleys. There’s plenty of business addresses based along these back streets, I’d mention, as well as student housing and parking lots.
As described earlier this week, this walk was a bit of an experiment. My car was parked in the downtown area, and my companion’s was in a lot about a mile and change behind us. My friend and I’s goal involved walking mostly downhill from Oakland back to my vehicle, whereupon I’d drive him back here and we’d then go our separate ways.
It worked out, the plan, I’d mention.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This is a pretty interesting section of Pittsburgh, I’d also mention.
The post steel mill economic plan for the city is defined by the phrase ‘Ed’s and Med’s’ which indicates a ‘bend over backwards’ municipal policy to satisfy the aspirations of both the Universities (Ed’s) and the Hospitals (Med’s), and to draw in National level investments for both systems. Hey, the Polio vaccine was perfected by Jonas Salk just a few blocks way from this spot, so there’s precedent.
A few miles away, one of the most terrifying things I’ve ever heard of is being worked on – self driving and autonomous Semi trucks – so the plan is definitely pulling some bucks in from the tech industry and automotive sectors.
I’ve said it a bunch of times over the years – when there’s an example of a self driving locomotive, I’ll start taking that self driving car aspirational technology seriously. If ‘self driving’ hasn’t been sorted out on vehicles that operate on tracks…
Back tomorrow.
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The Newtown Pentacle 
Looking forward to you exploring Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall. I’m sure youve been told the interiors were used for the courthouse Hannibal Lecter scenes in “Silence of the Lambs.”
Jon H.
March 28, 2024 at 1:53 pm
It won’t occur here for a few weeks, but just yesterday I was checking out the westerly side of Ohio and one of the Corps’ dams at a spot called Buzzie’s Corner. Working my way into a larger circle right now, which unfortunately means I gotta drive everywhere.
Mitch Waxman
March 28, 2024 at 1:56 pm
Hello Mitch,
I grew-up in Pittsburgh in the 1950s and 60s. There are two small points I would like to share with you.
Alleys or Ways: the term once was “Alley-Ways.” My guess is that current usage is simply a shortening to either the two or one syllable part of the original. Older residential communities commonly had alley-ways that were often for secondary access to homes on a secondary floor due to hillsides that had significant slope. Commonly alley-ways provided a place for garages for the houses on the street.
Jonas Salk led a team of scientists in the discovery of a vaccine against Polo. His claim of sole scientist in this discovery was always seen as an insult to these fellow scientists.
I enjoy your stories about the city I still love.
Best, Leonard Seastone
leonardseastone
March 29, 2024 at 4:25 am
Thank you Leonard, I’m still feeling my way around here and local knowledge like yours is a treasure to me.
Mitch Waxman
March 29, 2024 at 10:13 am