The Newtown Pentacle

Wednesday

– photo by Mitch Waxman

This is the start of a spate of posts, detailing what ended up being the longest scuttle I’ve been able to undertake since the ‘orthopedic incident.’

One used a rideshare to carry the bloated pre-corpse he dwells within, traveling from Dormont in the South Hills section to a community known as ‘East Liberty,’ which is found on the peninsular ‘Golden Triangle’ central section of Pittsburgh where it begins to widen out.

East Liberty is historically an African American community, I’m told, but the gentrification furnaces burn brightly hereabouts. The usual urban story plays out in its past – oblique and heavy handed City Planning, race based redlining by insurers and banks, massive poor populations trapped into vertical spires of poverty built as public housing, all that.

Same story as North Brooklyn, LIC, and the Bronx, actually.

Crypto fascist Le Corbusier strikes again, huh?

As an aside, East Liberty was Gene Kelly’s hometown.

– photo by Mitch Waxman

Motor Square Garden. That’s what this structure was called when built. These days, it’s the Pittsburgh HQ of the AAA outfit. This is another one of the structures which I hope to actually have a reason to enter soon.

It’s ‘bizness.’ The last holdover from New York State that I’m still carrying around is a NYS focused EZ Pass on my windshield, to pay for tolls. Have to convert that gizmo over to a PA issued one sometime soon. It’s so low priority for me that I just keep on not doing it.

Before the start of this walk, I had mentioned to Our Lady of the Pentacle that I’d be trying to get into a few of the churches along the route. As it turned out, the main entrance to that church featured photographically in this post was locked. Denied the lord’s succor, me.

– photo by Mitch Waxman

‘East Liberty Presbyterian Church’ is what this building is called, and it was built with private funds offered by a branch of the Mellon family. This is the fourth church to exist on this plot, but you can just read all about that right here.

One was disappointed that the entryway to God’s Kingdom was locked, and after tugging on the door I said – out loud – ‘well, let’s just see if the Methodists are any friendlier.’ Some lady, sitting on bench while waiting for a bus, busted out laughing at my remark.

I still got it.

– photo by Mitch Waxman

According to Google’s AI:

The most prominent public sculpture near East Liberty Presbyterian Church is Virgil Cantini’s 1969 “Joy of Life” fountain, featuring cubist-style figures holding hands in a joyful dance, symbolizing unity and cooperation, located right next to the church and Carnegie Library branch.

The plan for the day started with a quick circumnavigation of the church. I’d be walking along Baum Boulevard, then heading off into the hills and then downtown, and since this was a warm day – eventually end up at that brewery with the CSX trains on the South Side that I haunt.

– photo by Mitch Waxman

This was literally the only day, in a two week long interval, where the forecast wasn’t calling for ice or snow or sleet and during which the air temperatures were predicted to never get lower than about 50 degrees.

The day after this walk, temperatures plunged and snow began to fall. A week later and snow would still be arriving, in discrete daily bands, and was accompanied by bone chilling temperatures and high winds. Fun.

Your humble narrator was ‘traveling light,’ with a sling bag full of essentials and a 24-105 zoom lens installed on the camera.

– photo by Mitch Waxman

I’ve got to get inside of this building, with my full photo kit, sometime. As is often mentioned, however, I’m like a Vampire inasmuch as I need to be invited inside to do my work. Social networking, that’s the ticket…

Back tomorrow, for the actual start of a very long scuttle.

“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.