The Newtown Pentacle

Wednesday

– photo by Mitch Waxman

Y’know… whoopsies… I did it again.

Went somewhere, tried to position myself for some grandiose march across Pittsburgh, got dropped off by a rideshare exactly where I wanted to be, and then walked off in the wrong and quite opposite direction. Again.

‘Say what you do, do what you say’ indeed.

Anywho…

Welcome to Pittsburgh’s Greenfield, and pictured above and below is the 2017 version of the poetically named ‘Beechfield Boulevard (Greenfield) Bridge II’ (municipal signage with all its details).

Version one of this thing was erected in 1922, when it was simply known as the ‘Beechfield Boulevard Bridge’ (more signage). There was actually an earlier wooden bridge on this spot, which collapsed in 1921.

The Yinzers will just say ‘Greenfield Bridge,’ colloquially.

– photo by Mitch Waxman

Down below, that’s I-376 (which the Yinzers call ‘the parkway east’) and the bridge connects the Squirrel Hill and Greenfield neighborhoods over a valley that’s dubbed as ‘four mile run.’

Check out the Wikipedia page about the bridge for more on its history, location, and details.

The plan had been to cross over a ridge in Greenfield, and then proceed down a steep but side walked slope to the banks of the Monongahela River, nearby the Hot Metal Bridge which I’d then cross over to the ‘South Side’ via. Was going to be a series of interesting points of view, descending down a steep prominence. Lots of ramps and other road bridges, too.

Instead, as I’m an idiot who once again neglected to double check his compass headings – AGAIN – before leaning into the walk… confirmation of my stupidity has officially been achieved.

– photo by Mitch Waxman

One last shot of this span – and then off – in the wrong direction. Yay.

The good news is that I paid for this idiocy in physical terms. It was pretty much an unrelenting, and quite steep, hill that I was walking upwards on. Mostly residential path, as well, which really ‘aint my thang.’

It was an excellent workout for the thighs, however, particularly those long and large muscles along the exterior of the limb which connect to the knees. Same ones you flex when bicycling. Also kind of ‘felt it’ in the muscles on the front of the calf which stretch when the foot is flexed up and pivoted off the heel.

– photo by Mitch Waxman

Interesting neighborhood, with fairly high density.

Lots of one and multi family brick houses, perched atop retaining walls. Off street parking, mainly, and I’d imagine that there are decent sized back yards behind these homes. It seemed nice, but I ‘felt’ eyes watching me. That’s a good thing, actually. People looking out for each other, when a stranger with a camera is marching past their homes.

What Brooklyn neighborhoods did this place force me to analogize about?

South east Brooklyn – there’s a Canarsie, Flatlands, Old Mill Basin sort of vibe going on around here. I kept on thinking about Brooklyn’s Remsen and Nostrand Avenues, specifically the neighborhoods around them that are found south of Kings Highway.

– photo by Mitch Waxman

I’ve watched a great documentary by local PBS station WQED’s Rick Sebak, called ‘Houses Around Here,’ wherein the post WW2 development and build out of large housing tracts in Pittsburgh is examined.

Charming, the film describes the efforts of two large scale developers in particular, who mass produced what you could very much make a case for as being the archetypical ‘Pittsburgh House.’ This production altered the manner in which I ‘see’ the built environment in residential areas, just like learning about Coal has done. I now see miners houses everywhere.

Check Sebak’s library out, if you’re signed up with a PBS account, and if not – happy hunting on YouTube.

– photo by Mitch Waxman

So, where was the wandering idiot with a camera randomly wandering towards? What did the idiot do then? Did the idiot scuttle himself onto a highway again?

Sigh… Find out what stupid thing the idiot did next!

Back tomorrow with more tales of moron in Pittsburgh getting lost.

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