Investigating the GAP, part one
Wednesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Last week, I showed you what the historic Homestead Pump House site on the Monongahela River looked like when bathed in thick fog. Lament was offered regarding the lack of a freight train transiting over the Pinkerton’s Landing or “Pemickey” Rail Bridge.
The Homestead Pump House is one of the trail heads for The Great Allegheny Passage or “GAP” rail to trail system. 150 miles in length, the rail to trail pathway follows several incorporated rights of way once operated by the B&O Railroad, Lake Erie Railroad, Union Railroad, and the Western Maryland Railway. You could theoretically walk or ride a bike to Washington D.C. on this path, which is paved in asphalt or crushed limestone – depending on where you are – and graded in accordance with the rail standard of one foot of elevation for every hundred feet.
Pictured above, this time around my dreams of a train moving over the bridge came true as a CSX freight train appeared and I was able to get a few shots of its transit across the rail bridge.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The Homestead site has a parking lot, one which leads to the actual trail after a short walk on a sidewalk. I did all the remote scouting that was warranted, using Google maps and a few other tools as well as watching a YouTube video offered by some bloke who rode the trail on a bike. One still hasn’t purchased a shuttle craft bike which will accompany me in the cargo area of the Mobile Oppression Platform (that’s the nickname I’ve assigned to my Toyota), and be deployed for hyper local transport.
I don’t really keep track of how many miles I walk. Sometimes, after a walk I’ll check my phone to see how many steps it perceived me as taking on an excursion. If there’s any accuracy to that data, I walked on the trail about 4 miles in and 4 miles back. It was an extremely easy walk, thanks to the pavement and the easy grading in elevation. There were even installed park benches for taking a break along the route, but one of my rules involves not sitting down when you’re out. Keep moving until you’re back where you started.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Active rail tracks are visible for the entire section of the GAP I visited. Defunct gas and rail infrastructure was noticed on the water facing shoreline for a good chunk of this distance, and there was a high volume road at the top of a shallow ridge overlooking the whole shebang. The municipality of Homestead was where I entered the trail, and there were markers here and there letting you know what town you were walking through.
That’s how I learned there’s a place called Munhall in Pennsylvania, those signs. There were actually a fair number of people using the trail for running and bike riding for a weekday afternoon in January. A good proportion of the bike riders were wearing the “outfit” – the helmet with the rear view mirror on it and a polyester bike shirt, stretchy shorts, and those special bicycle shoes. Like I said – the outfit. Most of the bikes were road racers, but I spotted a couple of pedal assist electric ones too.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
That’s the Carrie Furnace Hot Metal Bridge pictured above, I believe. Before you ask – of course I looked, and yes you can, and no it’s probably not ok but there doesn’t seem to be anybody watching, so of course, but no, not this time around. Next time, maybe.
I continued along the GAP trail, scuttling along at a leisurely pace.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Once you’re a fair bit into the GAP trail, you’re completely separated from the surrounding town and of course – there’s no automobile traffic zipping along at high speeds to worry about.
On a personal note – it’s been a very long time since I’ve had the time to take a very long walk like this one. It felt very good to stretch the legs, kick the heels, and point the toes. Ultimately, this was another scouting expedition. It was mid afternoon, and the light was a ghastly thing to handle. For the ultimate destination I had in mind, this scouting revealed it as an early morning or sunset sort of deal. It’s also a winter thing, as the foliage must obscure all of the cool stuff you can see from this path during the warmer months when the trees are clad.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The GAP follows under the Rankin Bridge spanning the Monongahela River. The 1951 bridge has a fairly convoluted history, and it once was used to carry Trolley traffic as well as motor vehicular flow, apparently. There’s a few very nice points of view in this section of the trail that I’m going to return to in the future. For this trip, my main interest was in getting close to the Mon Valley works, and I still had a few miles to walk to get there.
More tomorrow, from the GAP.
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an Allegheny interval
Tuesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
One had a couple of hours to kill recently, and decided to do a proper photowalk on the north side of downtown Pittsburgh. This area which I was in, I’m told, was an independent municipality in Allegheny County called Allegheny City until 1907, when it was annexed by another municipality. Pictured above is Downtown Pittsburgh, which is the neighboring city that did the annexation.
The waterfront in this area is part of the Three Rivers Heritage Trail, which is a post industrial accommodation open to the public for exercise and recreation. Lots of joggers and bicyclists are moving about, and right behind me while I was shooting these there was some kid trying to figure out to ride his skateboard. This is right about where the Allegheny River feeds into the Ohio River.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Looking along the Allegheny River, past the Fort Duquesne steel bowstring bridge and towards the “three sisters” suspension bridges. Last week, frequent commenter and wise aleck George the Atheist asked in a comment why there are so many different types of bridges here in Pittsburgh. I don’t have a definitive answer but I’ve got a few theories. First is that these bridges were largely installed over a 75-100 year period and that technologies and materials change over time. The second, and this one fits in with my somewhat conspiratorial point of view, is that Pittsburgh was the home of the American Bridge Company.
My theory is that American Bridge Company, as organized by JP Morgan, used Pittsburgh’s waterfront as a showroom for its national and international customers. Notably, American Bridge Company was one of the principal contractors used for most of NYC’s “lesser” bridges including the Pulaski Bridge spanning my beloved Newtown Creek. They also worked, and still work, on the major bridges too.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
One decided to shed the tripod and filter setup, and just shoot shots instead for the remaining time I’d be out. Scouting, that’s what I’m doing. What I want to be doing is shooting long exposure and loving photographs of Pittsburgh and its wonders, but it kind of bogs me down and keeps me from discovering new things and points of view. I still need to wander about and find these points of view before I get fancy… that’s what my inner narrative naggingly reminds.
I packed up the gear, and set my heels a clicking for a proper photowalk, thereby. I followed the Three Rivers Heritage trail, heading off along one of the Ohio River legs of the path.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
That’s the West End Bridge, which I showed you from above last week. Pittsburgh has been dealing with an explosion of unhoused folks camping out in tents and makeshift dwellings along the waterfront in recent years. Political outrage about this has caused the City to send in the cops and sanitation crews to clear out the dwellings and to try and convince the unhoused folks to literally come in from the cold and take a bed at a homeless shelter. This went about as well as it does in any American City, as the section of the trails in the Downtown area which the TV News people filmed the Government types “cleaning up” remains depopulated, but the zones which didn’t receive the media attention still host people living in dire circumstance. The Ohio River frontage is one of those zones.
I should mention that use of the word “explosion” in the Pittsburgh context indicates that there were a couple of hundred down on their luck street and or traveling people living rough in tents and make shift huts – at most. This made the TV news, in heavy rotation.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I approached the great cathedral and spiritual center of Pittsburgh, and the most important thing in this region of the country. This structure, which occupies the thoughts, prayers, and minds of all Pittsburgh and its surrounding counties is a sports ball arena that is home to the Steelers football team. Formerly called Heinz Field, naming rights for the stadium were recently acquired by an outfit called Acrisure. Across the street from the stadium is the Carnegie Science Center, an interactive museum largely designed for kids. In between the two is a parking lot which costs $6 for all day parking, and it’s where I left the Mobile Oppression Platform while I was out walking around and shooting.
It was starting to get dark, and since I don’t know the “lay of the land” quite yet, I decided that I would be happier and quite a bit safer in the car. It’s not that things are dangerous hereabouts, but I’m ignorant of what a good neighborhood versus a bad one looks like. Additionally, there was a nearby industrial zone I wanted to take a look at which was definitively “car country” rather than being pedestrian friendly.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
One of those industrial zone spots which I wanted to take a look at involved the Western State Penitentiary, a now shuttered prison found in the former Allegheny City and along the Ohio River. Word has it that opportunity to visit and photograph parts of this facility might materialize during the spring or summer, notably as part of a citywide event called Doors Open Pittsburgh. Doors Open’s operation is reminiscent to me of Open House NY, whom I worked with for several years on walking and boat tours of Newtown Creek.
More tomorrow, from the Paris of Appalachia, at your Newtown Pentacle.
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Monongahela, men will call thee
Monday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
One thing I’ve learned about living in Pittsburgh in these first weeks of doing so is that you need to pick your battles, as far as the weather goes. Blue skies and bright sun have been a fairly rare commodity so far, so when the forecast called for those conditions on the 9th of January, I hopped behind the wheel of the Mobile Oppression Platform and set off for several points of interest which had caught my attention along the Monongahela River.
First stop was Clairton, found about 13 miles (as the crow flies) from Downtown Pittsburgh. There’s a “rail to trail” opportunity to be found there which is part of the Montour Trail. What drew me here was U.S. Steel’s Clairton Coke Works, pictured above. I ran into a cop who seemed to be “cribbing” in the parking lot of the Montour Trail, and started a conversation with him about me being a photographer who is new to the area and who wanted to get the skinny on what’s considered ok or not as far as local law enforcement’s point of view is concerned. Best to ask, let the cop know you’re not some freak who’s going to cause trouble, as I always opine.
After telling me to take my hands out of my pockets, the officer informed me that were I to trespass onto the Clairton property he’d have an interest in me due to Patriot Act related security concerns, but his department would otherwise have zero interest in my pursuits and then he even mentioned my First Amendment right to self expression and a lack of desire to interfere with such things. I thanked the officer, cracked out the shot above, and hopped back into the Mobile Oppression Platform and continued with the exploring.
As mentioned in the past, it’s January and the light sucks this time of the year, so I’m largely scouting at the moment.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I drove through a quite lovely semi-rural area, heading southwards, and crossed the river. There are a series of public boat launches and parklets which are set up in a fairly welcoming fashion on this stretch which had caught my eye while I was scrutinizing Google maps’ satellite views during one of the several rain soaked intervals recently experienced. The shot above and the one below were captured at one of these bits of aforementioned public waterfront access infrastructure found in the community of Speers Borough.
The colossal rail bridge, which was staggering to observe in person, is the Speers Railroad Bridge, whereas the blue colored vehicular crossing with the arch is called the Belle Vernon Bridge.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The boat launch in Speers Borough allowed me to securely park the Mobile Oppression Platform and head down to the water with my tripod setup to get a bit “artsy fartsy.” The Belle Vernon Bridge is a 1951 vintage span over the Monongahela which once carried trolley service in addition to automotive traffic.
While shooting, some dude was noticed walking towards me while carrying a bucket. “Here we go” thought this long time New Yorker, but as it turned out he was a lovely chap who used to work on the tugs that navigate the Monongahela delivering mineral feedstocks to the the steel mills. The bucket? He didn’t pay his water bill and needed to flush his toilet, hence the visit to a river with a bucket in hand.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
My next stop was Monessan, PA., which is the hometown of cinematic makeup artist Tom Savini. Savini has a program named after him at a business school in Monessan. The Arcelor Mittal Monessen coke plant is pictured above, as seen from a supermarket parking lot bordering the mill. It wasn’t this plant, or Tom Savini (whom I’m a huge fan of, and even have an autographed plaster casting of a human skull he created sitting on my desk), instead it was another boat launch which would offer unimpeded water views which drew me here.
One negotiated the local street grid, as it were, and found his way down to the riverfront and the small park and boat launch ramp hosted there.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
In the distance, that’s the Donora-Monessen Bridge, aka the Stan Musial Bridge, a 1972 addition to the Monongahela River. By this point, I had throughly gotten myself lost. My goals for the day started out with trying to find a few points of view to photograph the Clairton Works from, which ended up being a lot more difficult than you’d think. If there’s a bit of waterfront property anywhere near it, that land is super valuable for commercial exploitation. Get a few miles away from the plant where the valuation of the river facing properties drops and it becomes a liability to the town rather than an asset, and you might as well use the waterfront as a park instead.
I did spot a few locations which I’m going to have to return to on foot, after I figure out someplace convenient to leave the car, and during a season which is a bit less harsh as far as temperature. There’s a number of things which I need to work out, actually. Things are chaotic at the moment.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I wish I could tell you the name of the rail bridge above, which is about equidistant between Clairton Works and another steel mill called the Irvin Works which I haven’t laid eyes on yet. My understanding is that the teal colored pipeline moving through the shot carries gas generated by the Clairton Works coking operation that will be pumped over to and used to fire the Mon Valley Works over in Braddock.
More exploratory wanderings in tomorrow’s Newtown Pentacle.
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heading home
Friday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
After exploring a bit around the First Street Station on the T, in downtown Pittsburgh, one took a bit of a walk and decided on how my path back home via the light rail service would shape up. A brief scuttle soon found me perambulating across the Smithfield Street Bridge and crossing the Monongahela River towards the south side, as the locals would refer to it. Conversations with these locals will often result in a suggestion to check out a spot with a goofy name like “Deadman’s Hollow” or “Girty’s Run,” or some other fun nomenclature. I have to remind them that I’m still learning how to reliably drive back home at this stage of the game.
It was a lovely day in Pittsburgh, for early January, with air temperatures hovering in the high 40’s and low 50’s with calm winds.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The Monongahela itself was carrying a significant amount of what appeared to be soil. This river flows, I’m told, out of West Virginia to the south and along its route it transits through first wild and then rural areas where its tributaries carry a not insignificant amount of solute into the river. The closer you get to Pittsburgh, the more industrialized and developed the banks of the river get, and the entire region of its transit in this part of Pennsylvania is referred to as “The Mon Valley.”
My plan for the remainder of the day was simple, but Pittsburgh didn’t comply with my wishes.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I spotted the T crossing the river on the nearby Panhandle Bridge, which was described in earlier posts this week, while walking across the Smithfield Street Bridge.
My plan, as it were, involved getting several loving shots of freight rail trains moving along the south shore of the river.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
None appeared, despite the absolutely fantastic framing that I was so proud of finding for the shot. When you’re going after trains, it’s a lot like fishing – sometimes they’re not biting no matter how patient you are.
C’est la vie, huh?
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I did get a tugboat, however, so there’s that.
I’ve been seeing a bunch of these river tugs moving about, towing mineral barges of what looks like coal or coke.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
While walking to the T stop on the south side at Station Square, I did get a train photo – a Norfolk Southern unit moving along an elevated trackway carved into Mount Washington. I’m working out how to get a bit closer to this track, somewhere where a better angle of view with something that “says Pittsburgh” in the shot. In NYC, as long as you have the Empire State Building somewhere in view – bam, that’s a NYC photo. Sense of place, and all that.
Back next week, with more from my initial attempts to explore Pittsburgh and its environs.
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The T is neat
Thursday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
On the 5th of January, one rode the T light rail from Dormont into Downtown Pittsburgh. One of the shots I was looking for is seen above, depicting a T line unit entering the 2001 vintage First Avenue Station after crossing the Monongahela River on the Panhandle Bridge. There seems to be an entire gaggle of law enforcement type offices nearby, including the city jail. There’s also a newly opened and fairly large homeless shelter a couple of blocks away from this station.
First Avenue Station is connected by a sky bridge to a large municipal automobile parking lot. Parking prices on the “Golden Triangle” of Downtown Pittsburgh hover somewhere between 6$ and $10. Just yesterday, on a separate scouting mission, I encountered a lot nearby the terminal stop of the T on the North Side nearby the Carnegie Science Center and the stadium that the Steelers play in which would’ve let me park “all day” for six bucks.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The North Side station nearby the stadium is a terminal/turn around stop, and it’s also where the T goes underground into a former privately held rail road tunnel that’s been converted over for transit usage, which allows it to cross the Allegheny River. It’s also the start of the “free zone” stops downtown. That free zone goes all the way to the other side of the Monongahela River at the Station Square stop, which is on the other side of that river and where the Panhandle Bridge’s tracks lead to. Leading away from Station Square and into the South Hills, that’s where you’re going to have to pay a fare – $2.75 for me, but it’s a zone system. They use “Connect Cards” which you can get at the local supermarket as well as kiosks downtown, or cash, to collect your due.
I left the car back at HQ for this particular day. I’ve been feeling really constrained by the vehicle in some ways. I love being able to just ride up on something and get a shot, mind you, but it’s “photowalk” not “photodrive.”
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The first shot is a T coming into Pittsburgh, the one above is one heading out of the city. My plan for the day was pretty simple, I’d take the T into town, walk around for a bit and grab “crime of opportunity” shots while shlepping towards the pedestrian walkways of the Smithfield Street Bridge across the Monongahela and then board the T on the “south side” again to get back to Dormont.
That parking lot, though, the one connected by the sky bridge… it beckoned.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
From the lot, the one above was gathered. There was actual security on duty at the lot, but they didn’t seem to give a hoot as far as my activities went. I walked up a few flights of stairs and found a fairly high vantage point to shoot from.
There’s another T unit entering Pittsburgh, via the Panhandle Bridge. Service is about every 15 minutes, although it changes depending on the time of day.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Panhandle Bridge sits alongside a vehicle bridge dubbed the Liberty Bridge. The latter carries a fairly high volume road that leads to the Liberty Tunnel, which are punched through the base of Mount Washington. When I’m driving home from extant points, this is the bridge and tunnel to which I’m now a member of “the bridge and tunnel crowd.” Actually, they don’t say that here.
Further, I haven’t encountered any shade yet from a city dweller towards me living in a suburb. I’ve heard Dormont natives deride the people who live literally next door to Dormont in the Mount Lebanon community, which is a good deal wealthier than the former. They call them “the Lebo’s” and offer tales of “Karen” style behavior being regularly displayed “over there,” which is about a mile distant.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
My T fascination temporarily sated, a humble narrator made his way down and out to the sidewalk. As mentioned, there’s a lot of jail business happening in this section. There are Bail Bondsmen outfits occupying storefronts, and you see cops of all kinds wandering about doing cop things. The ramps and infrastructure of the Liberty Bridge and the “Boulevard of the Allies” occupy the sky, and the sidewalks are shadowed. This isn’t a “friendly” area, if you know what I mean.
More tomorrow from Downtown Pittsburgh and a continuing exploration of this amazing American City at this – your Newtown Pentacle.
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