Archive for August 16th, 2024
Vagantur
Friday

– photo by Mitch Waxman
After walking down a set of steps leading away from the South Side Slopes, and encountering a Smash Truck, the next thing which caught my eye on this increasingly random pathway was Pittsburgh’s South Side Market House. Pictured is the 1915 replacement for an 1893 version that burned down, but sits in the same footprint, and it’s a protected historical building according to the National Register of Historic Places.
Neat.
My scuttle, which was being perpetrated on a very warm afternoon, began growing uncomfortable due to a humble narrator becoming quite ‘shvitzy.’ As is my usual habit when in this neighborhood – I was heading towards that nearby brewery I like, the one with the train tracks alongside it.
Hydration… yeah, that’s it… hydration.

– photo by Mitch Waxman
Street furniture was encountered along the way.
The route I used to take through this ‘zone’ involved accessing the waterfront trail, but in recent months a huge homeless encampment has sprung up along that section of the trail. I’m not overly worried about personal safety, but this particular encampment also hosts a pack of not so friendly dogs which are running around off leash. Factor in the dogs, an abundance of used drug needles, and the bags of human poop now littering the trail’s sides…
No thanks. It’s best to just walk around potential trouble.
‘That’s none of my business’ is something I’m trying to use as a mantra these days. ‘Nothing matters and nobody cares’ is the lesson I learned during the Covid seasons back in NYC, after all.

– photo by Mitch Waxman
Eventually, my scuttle led to that brewery which has become a part of this particular walk. I ordered some kind of micro batch Cream Ale, which was icy cold and yummy. I settled in at one of the ‘sit outside’ tables and set my camera up for the somewhat inevitable appearance of CSX branded freight trains.
I’ll show you all that next week. Choo-Choo!
Back Monday.
“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.




