The Newtown Pentacle

Wednesday

– photo by Mitch Waxman

Your humble narrator is ruled by obeisance to several aphorisms of his own creation, one of which is ‘say what you do and do what you say.’

The first part of that is about being honest and frank when the subject involves personal failings, whereas the latter revolves around getting shit done. Back before all that arctic weather had taken over Pittsburgh for a month – with the ice walls, slush lakes, and treacherous pavement – one had declared that he would return to a certain place for a deeper look, and to explore a secondary lower pathway through the landform.

Last time through this landform, I had followed the upper Gold Way and Melwood Avenue path, which clings to the side of Polish Hill and looks down into a ravine, which I later learned bears the wonderful nomen of ‘Skunk Hollow.’ I said I’d be back, and I do what I say.

– photo by Mitch Waxman

This scuttle, which ended up being about ten miles all told, started along Baum Boulevard, in Pittsburgh’s Bloomfield. First stop was called ‘Gross Street,’ and Y’know what? It kind of was.

This point of access to that ravine is blocked off by some sort of secure site, all fenced with cameras and signs and all of the ‘stay out’ sort of stuff. The street grade here would be surprisingly steep anywhere else, but it’s Pittsburgh. It was climatologically lovely out, with temperatures in the high 40’s and a clear sky. Nearly all of the ice and snow had rotted away.

– photo by Mitch Waxman

The steel structures pictured are the support piers of the Millvale Avenue bridge, spanning the ravine. It’s a pretty simple truss bridge, carrying local traffic high above. I didn’t see much point in heading all the way down there on this walk, since I was in ‘scouting mode.’

As an aside, it is just so joyous to me that I can actually walk like this again. After the ‘orthopedic incident,’ wherein my left ankle was shattered in an accident at home, it wasn’t entirely certain what my capabilities would be afterwards. It still hurts, all the time, but there we are.

I’ve also got arthritis in the joint now, and that’s also a joy, but at least I know when it’s going to rain.

– photo by Mitch Waxman

Abandoned houses… you start not noticing them as there’s so many.

A new Mayor has been elected to lead Pittsburgh, and declarations have been made that the abandoned building problem is a high priority for the new administration, and expensive solutions have been offered. Apparently, it’s all about the budget, as it costs the city about $35k to demolish a house and cart away its remains. Estimates by the new administration state that there are north of 3,000 such properties just within the municipal borders of Pittsburgh, and that ends up being a whole lot of municipal cheddar which they can’t spend on far more sympathetic groups like widows and orphans instead.

I spent a lot of time trying to get the politicians to care about sewers and garbage back in Queens. They’d much rather cut the ribbon on a new park or school, than one on a new sewer plant.

– photo by Mitch Waxman

Bloomfield, which I’m told was historically Pittsburgh’s ‘little italy’ section, uses every single inch of space that a property lot defines.

The NYC way of describing the setup out here would say ‘they live ‘cheek by jowl’ with each other.’ The residential setups in this part of Bloomfield are small one and two story private homes, of the type called ‘mill worker’ housing, which you’ll see all over Pittsburgh. These aren’t ‘coal town’ houses, as that’s a different category. Gotta imagine that this neighborhood must have been a fun place to be a kid, and it reminds me a bit of the part of Flatlands/Canarsie where I grew up back in the world’s one ‘true’ place – Brooklyn.

Onwards, ever onwards…

– photo by Mitch Waxman

Where Edmond Street meets Juniper Street, that’s where I’d be leaving what passes for a street grid in Pittsburgh’s Bloomfield, and heading down into the Skunk Hollow Ravine for a bit of low core exploring.

As is my habit, I had clicked through the route in advance using Google Maps’ street view function, to know what to expect and to ensure that I wasn’t walking into a ‘cul-de-sac’ with a steep price of exit.

More tomorrow.

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