The Rocks rock
Friday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
McKees Rocks, and the Borough’s circumstance, was discussed at some length in yesterday’s post so rather than repeat all of it I’d ask you to just scroll back to that one as an introduction to the place these photos were gathered. Suffice to say that this particular section of McKees Rocks, called the Bottoms, is largely an industrial zone with a smattering of centuried homes and a collection of rather interesting looking churches. I was just driving around the industrial zone slowly, seeing what’s what and where that might be found. Scouting, basically.
The big player down here, other than a CSX intermodal yard, is a company which manufactures rail cars and rail ‘stuff’ called ‘Standard Forge Products.’ Venture Capital money is flowing through this economic sector right now, seeking to consolidate all the remaining national players in the space into a single conglomerate.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
These shots were gathered on New Year’s weekend, if you’re curious as to why the place was so thoroughly deserted. I’m planning on a few return trips here when the place is buzzing during the work week. I’d also like to get a good look inside some of the intriguing Slavic churches that I spotted on the way in here.
Of course, given all of those terrifying statistics about McKees Rocks, maybe I’ll convince somebody to come along with me to watch my back. Saying all that, there is an interesting discussion thread at Reddit which gathers observations from locals about the place.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As is my habit, a Google map of points of potential interest was created prior to the drive over here. I had several things way-pointed, and mostly stayed sitting behind the driver’s wheel while shooting. I got out of the car a few times, of course, but this was mainly a ride rather than a walk.
Walking a distance is still a somewhat elusive goal for me in this post broken ankle recovery period. The other night I managed to scuttle about 1,500 feet, and then I needed to sit down. It hurt for two days. It wasn’t pain from the ankle that was biting, although there was some (it’s omnipresent), rather it was soreness from the atrophy of muscles in the upper thighs, no doubt caused by me sitting in a wheelchair for two months.
Back next week with more, at this – your Newtown Pentacle.
“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 
Leave a comment