The big house
Thursday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
After walking out from under a few bridges on Pittsburgh’s North Side, your humble narrator headed for the Ohio River while on a recent scuttle.
One of the many rail trails which I’ve been frequenting, this one follows the shoreline of the waterbody, but first you need to get to it. Large industrial sites, and the skeletal remains of a prison, stand in your way.
I’ve mentioned and described Western State Penitentiary before, in this 2024 post. It’s got a real ‘Gotham City’ vibe to it, and you half expect Killer Croc or the Riddler to be locked up within. Of course, there’s no one in there these days except for security guards and the asbestos remediation people. Dreams of avarice in the real estate world have placed a target on this property, whose footprint is enormous.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As is my habit, a quick heel spin was executed. Sometimes I’m just checking to see if anyone’s following me (which happens occasionally), but it’s mainly to see if there’s something I missed while looking in the opposite direction. The guard tower caught my eye.
Unfortunately, I didn’t notice a cool bit of architectural detail while in the field. If I did, I would have zoomed in right on it and got a proper shot.
Notice the parapet, with the fencing, and the iron thingies sticking out?
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This is a cropped version, which is at a terribly low resolution… but check out that attention to detail which was applied to something superficial on something as ugly as a prison.
Looks like part of a lighting setup, to me? Whatcha think?
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Word has it that a deal has been struck with a real estate group to annihilate this entire ‘zone’ and replace it, with what would basically be a shopping mall that offers affordable housing, and a giant Ferris Wheel.
Wow. Where have I heard that one before? Staten Island, maybe?
One rounded the bend, stepped off of the street, and onto the rail trail.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Officially, I was walking on the Ohio River Water Trail.
Y’know, when I moved out here, I knew there were plenty of waterfont trails. It’s one of the things that sold me on Pittsburgh, to be honest. Saying that, I had no idea about how many of these rail trails actually exist. I’m still finding ones I didn’t even know about, and am training up for a walk to West Virginia next year. (No way I can do 30 miles on foot right now)
Awesome!
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I love this guard tower, which looks like it wad cobbled together from odds and ends. In the midst of all the stolid masonry and thick walls of the prison, you’ve got this hodge podge lumber construction, which would probably be familiar to the Romans (except for the razor wire and chain link, of course).
Back tomorrow with more.
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The Newtown Pentacle 
That looks like a mace.
dbarms8878
May 24, 2025 at 7:16 pm
[…] described in a prior post focusing in on Western State Penitentiary, also found along this trail, this ‘zone’ is about to struck with the gentrification hammer. […]
Rail trail scuttling, north side style | The Newtown Pentacle
May 27, 2025 at 11:01 am
[…] walked the waterfront trail surrounding that disused penitentiary before. Check out this May of 2025 post for that, or this one from 2024. My understanding of things is that this POV is set to change fairly soon […]
Caelum ad siphona ambulans | The Newtown Pentacle
December 4, 2025 at 11:00 am