Archive for the ‘Pennsylvania’ Category
Squirreling through the hills
Tuesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As described previously, your humble narrator was heading for a historical lecture being offered at a library, in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood, and one had just crossed the South Tenth Street Bridge over the Monongahela River in order to facilitate a ride share pickup to carry me to said library.
The horizon line in the shot above is where I had been walking around in the posts published last week – an area called ‘The Bluff’ – which hosts both Duquesne University, and the neighborhood called ‘Uptown.’
I used Uber for this ride. Common practice that I’ve picked up here in Pittsburgh is to query both Uber and Lyft and see which one is cheaper for the same ride. Uber beat Lyft by about $7 so ‘win.’
– photo by Mitch Waxman
One arrived at the library, and it was thankfully quite cool within. This was one of the first truly warm days in late Spring for Pittsburgh.
Yes, the Newtown Pentacle time warp persists. Photos from May 11, words from early June, and you’re in mid July if I got my scheduling right.
The lecture itself was academic in nature, with a detailed description of the historian’s methodology. Personally, whenever I was doing one of these kind of talks about Newtown Creek back in Brooklyn or Queens, I liked to drop in a few jokes and use colloquial language, and avoided getting into the slog of how I researched the presented information, but then again I don’t have a PHD in Jewish history as the presenter did – as I’m just some schmuck with a camera who knows far too much about Newtown Creek.
I learned things, though, it was worth attending.
After about an hour, the presentation was over and one was vomited forth back onto the streets, where he belongs.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Squirrel Hill is a really nice neighborhood, and kind of pricey to live in as well due to desirability, at least compared with the rest of Pittsburgh.
This ‘zone’ is literally Mister Rogers’ neighborhood, as a note.
The plan… and this is where the second half of my efforts for the day begin… was to walk all the way back to the T Light Rail on the South Shore of the Monongahela River, and use that to get back to HQ in the Dormont section. More or less about a seven mile walk. Best to just lean into it.
I had more or less decided on a path, but left it kind of fuzzy to accommodate serendipity, should it manifest.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As mentioned, really lovely neighborhood.
Reminds me a great deal of Brooklyn’s Midwood, in the section where it nears Coney Island Avenue and Ocean Parkway in the east ‘teen’ streets, and along the H-N avenues. Historically speaking, Squirrel Hill is meant to be a Jewish majority neighborhood, just like Midwood is back home. Most of the ‘important’ non Jewish people live out here – politicians, and university brass, the wealthy corporate types.
It was hot on the streets, I tell you, hot. Your narrator was humbly shvitzing while scuttling.
I’ve got a whole routine for this sort of weather, by the way. Number one thing is breathe through your nose and keep your mouth shut or you’ll dehydrate quickly. Number two is walk in the shade if you can. I’ve mentioned that I’ve recently started carrying a water bottle, yes?
– photo by Mitch Waxman
There’s a lot of weird traffic interchanges in Pittsburgh, and the one pictured above is an example. It’s at a border where Squirrel Hill bumps up against Oakland, where a large park and the two big universities are found. Hills and valleys, hollows and peaks…
This leg of my day would end up adding about seven miles of wear to the hiking shoes. After returning to HQ, I noticed that the treads on those shoes had essentially been ground smooth in the last few months, and I had to order another pair. Merrel Moab 3, if you’re curious. Been wearing this model of shoe for years, and they’re a critical part of the ‘kit.’
– photo by Mitch Waxman
That water bottle recently added to the kit came in handy on this walk.
A paroxysm of comparison shopping led me to purchase one of the fairly leak proof offerings from the Nalgene outfit, and I now have a 16 ounce parcel of travel liquid to rely upon during scuttles.
A big difference between NYC and Pittsburgh revolves around the presence of Bodegas. NYC has them, Pittsburgh doesn’t.
In NYC, you’re never more than a mile from someone wanting to sell you a cold drink, in Pittsburgh you have to rely on a coroner retrieving your water starved husk of a corpse, found lying on the side of a road pointing towards a Bodega which doesn’t exist.
Back tomorrow with the next leg of this 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.
Under bluffed
Monday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Hey, that’s where we left off last week – with your humble narrator about to scuttle into the Armstrong Tunnel in Pittsburgh’s pedestrian and bike path. Fun!
Said tunnel pierces a land form dubbed ‘The Bluff,’ connecting Forbes Avenue to Second Avenue, along the Monongahela River waterfront nearby the South 10th street bridge. Whew… all caught up.
This would be a two part scuttle, with an intermission in the middle. Your humble narrator had signed up to attend a lecture.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
One of the cool things which I’ve found to do here in Pittsburgh revolves around the availability of a vast numbers of academic presentations, historical talks, and live lectures that are offered at the City’s many libraries, historical societies, and cultural institutions – mostly for free.
Going back to a recent question of ‘is walking around all that I do,’ learning new things is also something I enjoy doing.
One entered the Armstrong Tunnel, secure in the knowledge that I would not bump my head on the ceiling, as I would enjoy some 7 feet and 11 inches of headroom and approximate leeway, therein.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
It’s fairly grim within, and kind of loud. Saying that, pedestrian path!
The lecture I was heading to was being offered at a library, in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood, and presented by a historian from the Heinz Museum who held a PHD in Jewish History.
One of the Pittsburgh neighborhoods which was historically considered ‘Jewish’ back in the day, was the same area I had been walking around for the last couple of hours – ‘Uptown’ on the Bluff.
I wasn’t attending this lecture to find some lost relative or anything, instead it’s just another part of learning about this crazy place.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I’ve attended Hebraic oriented tours here in Pittsburgh, which included visits to the monumental Rodef Shalom Synagogue in Oakland, and Poale Zedeck in Squirrel Hill. Both made me think about Eldridge Street in Lower Manhattan.
I grew up Jewish. People ask me all the time if I still practice Judaism, and my answer is always ‘nope, I’m really good at it, no need to practice anymore.’
In case you’re wondering, the graffiti in the tunnel was likely eliminated in the run up to the NFL Draft at the end of April. Don’t worry, just a matter of time until it’s back.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Time was growing short, and as I’m notoriously early to everything, I began flying into a panic about that. I had 45 minutes to go about five miles… sigh…
The plan was simple, I’d emerge from the tunnel – like some sort of human turd hurtling out of a mountainous ass – and then walk across a bridge, and summon a ride share to carry my pre-corpse there.
I may write all fancy, but my internal dialogue is profane and common.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The bridge crossing in question would involve the South Tenth Street Bridge, pictured above.
It would be a bit easier to get a rideshare pickup on the south side of the river than it would be on the northern shore, which hosts a busy traffic interchange, as well as a jail and a large homeless shelter. I walked across and activated the app, summoning a ride.
When my Uber arrived, the guy was driving a pickup truck. That’s a new one.
Back tomorrow with more wanderings.
“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.
As one scuttles above, so too below
Friday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Jesus Christ! Mary, Mother of God!
I was walking around the periphery of the campus enjoyed by Duquesne University, and this statuary is part of the Catholic University’s outdoor collection. It’s the centerpiece of a memorial for lost WW2 soldiers who were former Duquesne Students, that’s dubbed as ‘The Victory Garden.’
Here’s a shot of the signage, and here’s a page from American Legion about it. Couldn’t find the name of the sculptor, and I did look.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I negotiated my way from the statuary, and started heading back to the non-campus streets. They were fairly steep.
This section of my day was ‘phase one’ of a longer scuttle – which would play out all day and frankly – exhaust me. By the time I got back home, it was a quick dinner and then early to bed. I’ve mentioned that it’s gotten a bit warm around these parts, even so back in early May when these shots were gathered. It pretty much went directly from Spring to Summer in Pittsburgh, seemingly overnight.
Yes, the Newtown Pentacle time warp is indeed still in effect. Shots are from May 11, words are being typed on June 8. If my scheduling is correct, this post publishes on July 10, a Friday. From my current point of view, you’re ‘wizard’ as you know how the future comes out.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
One found himself at the edge of another high speed road that was busted through an urban landscape, in the name of progress and traffic flow. This is an older example of this sort of urban renewal, called the Crosstown Boulevard (and it’s one which Robert Moses had a hand in creating!).
Crosstown Boulevard is a road in a trench, which is connected to multiple enormous concrete and steel ramps. It leads into the center of the City, through an area where urban renewal went horribly wrong to the north, then goes through a different area destroyed by urban renewal in the center of the city (pictured today), then branches off in multiple directions towards more examples of the sort of blight which urban renewal projects often bring found to the east, south, and north.
Pennsylvania is actually still up to this sort of nonsense, and is building a brand new tolled highway not too far away from here, which is blighting its way through neighborhoods and businesses all in the name of the common good, and it is dubbed the ‘Mon Fayette Expressway.’
Wow. Learn from history. Please.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
That’s a section of the Crosstown Boulevard complex pictured above.
It forms the western border of the Bluff/Uptown/Duquesne Campus.
According to Google’s AI, dubbed Gemini, there are approximately 45,000 to 52,000 vehicles trips through this corridor every day. Admittedly, I’m often driving one of those vehicles, as this is how I get ‘there’ from ‘here’ a bunch. Don’t want to stand on a soapbox about this subject without admitting that I’m a sinner too.
Thing is, this used to be a productive part of Pittsburgh with office buildings and homes. Instead of organic privately based capital growth, you’ve instead got a thoroughfare designed to have people drive their money quickly away from Downtown Pittsburgh towards a distant suburb, and they’re going to spend it there instead of where they earned it.
That economic dog don’t hunt.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
It legitimately sucks to be a pedestrian hereabouts, walking blocks and blocks just to get around all the highway ramps.
Funny thing is that Pittsburgh City Hall is only a few blocks away from this spot. All the politicians will tell you how ‘walkable’ Pittsburgh is. The surrounding architecture in this part of Pittsburgh is what I describe as ‘inhuman.’
Monolithic, building campuses are set back great distances from both the curb and sidewalk, with humanity incidental to and not welcomed into the designs. I’ve offered observations about the inhumanity of Philip Johnson’s PPG plaza before.
‘Opinions are just like ‘iceholes,’ everyone’s got one.’ My dad used to say that in a more colorful fashion, usually when I scolded him for driving too slow back in Brooklyn.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
At the bottom of the Bluff, pretty much directly beneath that crazy set of metal ‘City Steps’ I was standing on in yesterday’s post, some 10-12 stories above, is the Armstrong Tunnel.
This bit of infrastructure had been under construction for the first couple of the years I’ve spent here in Pittsburgh, but Our Lady of the Pentacle and myself actually had scuttled through it before, during an ‘Open Streets’ day in May of 2024.
This tunnel was going to be how this particular chicken got to the other side, I had decided, as it’s got a dedicated and protected bike and pedestrian lane with concrete separation from vehicle traffic. Win!
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.
Bluffin mit da Catlicks
Thursday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Jesus Christ!
Your humble narrator was scuttling along Pittsburgh’s Boulevard of the Allies, and walking the borders of Duquesne University, which is very, extremely, Catholic. It’s a nice and neatly kept property, Duquesne, and they host a crazy landscape and pedestrian feature up there, in addition to many sculptural representations of the tenets of their faith.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A steel foot bridge overflies the Boulevard of the Allies – a high speed road – and then offers a truly intimidating set of City Steps to descend down to the Monongahela Flood plain below. Known as the ‘Bluff Steps,’ this structure is between 10 and 12 stories in height (depending on how you define building stories) and their course travels downwards along 179 sets of rises and runs.
I did not walk them on this day, as I’ve done so in the past, and there was another ‘experience’ which I was desirous of having instead.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Saying all that, no reason not to get a few shots while I was there.
This shot looks downwards, towards Second Avenue and the South 10th street bridge spanning the Monongahela River below.
The link above leads to a series of posts which were largely captured from the south side of the river, illustrating just how intimidating a landform this bluff is.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
That’s where Boulevard of the Allies intersects with I-376 right in the distance, a combination of high speed roads which does a brilliant job of restricting the citizenry from accessing the river. To be fair, there used to be enormous steel mills all along the waterway in this section, and a mammoth railroad yard on the other side.
Jones & Laughlin steel, I’m told, or just J&L as it was known locally. The Yinzer pronunciation sounds sort of like ‘Jay ‘n EL.’
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Overjoyed, I was, when I saw a truck carrying trucks go by on the highway below. Ideally, smaller trucks would be secured in the beds of the ones on this carrier. Trucks carrying trucks which carry trucks. Yay!
I had decided not to walk down those steps, not out of PTSD inspired fear, but for curiosity’s sake instead.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
One scuttled around the edges of Duquesne University. Heading westwards, more or less. The university is piled up against another urban highway corridor on that side too. More on that subsequently.
Back tomorrow.
“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.
Just Bluffing
Wednesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Sounds horrible, I’m in!
Your humble narrator often says things like this, out loud.
Pictured is a section of Pittsburgh’s ‘Boulevard of the Allies,’ which is a de facto highway which ultimately provides motorists with access to two major bridge crossings – one heading south and the other north. The Boulevard is found on a landform prominence referred to as ‘the bluff,’ with the surrounding neighborhood called ‘Uptown.’
It’s the narrow sidewalks with the concrete barriers which drew me in. Everytime I drive past this section, which is often, I have remarked to myself that ‘walking that section sounds horrible.’ Well…
– photo by Mitch Waxman
It was a fairly warm day, one of the first that could qualify as offering summertime weather. Your humble narrator had used a rideshare from the Uber outfit to get here from HQ in Dormont, about a six mile ride.
I had a medium busy day ahead of me, but luckily it was ‘all mishegoss’ and there wasn’t anything ‘official’ or ‘business related’ which I needed to handle, and my time was my own.
I’d be back in an Uber later on, to get to my next destination.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
There’s ‘venerable and humble old buildings’ to be discovered and cherished by preservationists in Pittsburgh, and then there’s the remains of dirt poor laborer’s housing which doesn’t fit the modern narrative.
Uptown, which is currently enduring a spate of real estate development activity, hosts a lot of older housing. It’s also where you’ll encounter the campus of Duquesne University, at the western side of this ‘zone.’
I’ve written about Uptown before – check out the keyword link here.
As a note, you’ll notice a series of keywords attached to the bottom of each and every post here at Newtown Pentacle. If a subject is interesting to you and you’d like to read more about it, click the keyword link and you’ll see all the prior posts tagged with that same keyword.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
One enjoyed a couple of hours marching around on the bluff, corner to corner and street to street, checking out wicked cool old apartment buildings with their Victorian era architectural flourishes. These homes are remnants of a version of Pittsburgh which was jam packed with steel mills, and they have survived three huge rounds of urban renewal and interstate highway projects which played out over the last seventy years.
As mentioned, I had a feature packed day in mind – and a plan.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This couple of hours would terminate with a trip to the tony Squirrel Hill neighborhood, and a lecture offered by a historian from the Heinz museum discussing the various historic ‘Jewish neighborhoods’ in Pittsburgh. More on that in a later post.
One of the things I wanted to do while up here was walk around the periphery of Duquesne University’s campus.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Duquesne’s campus bumps up against a large hospital complex found on the bluff, and its southern side is defined by that de facto highway, which is called the Boulevard of the Allies. I needed to challenge my PTSD related anxiety around steep sets of stairs again, Y’see.
Back tomorrow with that.
“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 