Hazelwood, too
Monday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
That’s an Allegheny Valley RR freight train pictured above, sitting pretty in CSX’s Glenwood Yard, alongside the Monongahela River in Pittsburgh’s Hazelwood section. This time around, your humble narrator was out scouting while behind the steering wheel of the Mobile Oppression Platform, a Toyota. I pulled over right next to the ‘No Trespassing’ signage for the rail yard, btw. Rules.
As mentioned last week, Hazelwood is a neighborhood in Pittsburgh which is regarded as having a ferocious reputation by the locals. The ‘Yinzers’ react to the statement ‘I’m going to Hazelwood’ with the same worried intensity that you’d get from a New Yorker if you said ‘I’m going to walk around East New York with a camera today.’
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The St. Stephen Catholic Church building, above, caught my eye and caused me to wonder about all of the tan colored bricks that I’ve observed around the city. They’re ubiquitous, thereby most probably locally produced and budget friendly at the time… There’s always something new/old to learn. Look at the revelations offered by a bit of research back in Astoria that was aimed at the sort of bricks used to construct the ‘Matthew’s Model Flat’ residential blocks.
This is Pittsburgh’s ‘Second Avenue,’ as a note, heading roughly southeast and along the northern shore of the Monongahela, moving away from the so called ‘Golden Triangle’ of the downtown business and political center.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The steel and coke mills are long gone. Pittsburgh’s showrunners in City Hall have arranged a development scheme along the 150 and change waterfront acres here, one which has been decades in the making. Soil remediation is meant to be completed, and ‘affordable housing’ is on the way – which will bring hundreds of jobs and solve all of Hazelwood’s problems virtually overnight. Just ask the Politicians and the landlords, they’ll tell you so.
A rise in Real Estate valuations fixes all of America’s problems.
Back tomorrow with more.
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Hazelwood, Mon
Friday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As mentioned yesterday, a humble narrator drove over to Pittsburgh’s Hazelwood section to scout the location of a CSX rail yard which is found along the banks of the Monongahela River. I don’t know much about this area, other than that it has a ferocious reputation. There’s several neighborhoods here in Pittsburgh where crime is reportedly a problem, but ultimately it’s the usual story where groups of fairly impoverished people find themselves having to do whatever needs doing to keep their heads above water. Saying that, you really don’t want to get in anyone’s way while they’re splashing about and doing what they’ve got to do.
All of those homes in the shot above looked abandoned. There’s lots and lots of abandoned homes here in Pittsburgh. More than 50,000, I’m told.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The shorelines of both sides of the river here used to dominated by a steel mill called the Eliza Furnace, and there was also a coke furnace located here that was active as late as 1997.
Hazelwood and the other surrounding neighborhoods in this ‘zone’ were settled by laborers who worked at the mill. When the mill left, part of the community stayed behind. At least some of them did, whereas others picked up and left. Demographic collapse is a very real thing in this section of the country.
I found my rail yard, by the way, which I’ll be offering a photo of next week.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
One had a bit of time to kill, and found myself slowly prowling along the fairly empty streets in the car, searching for serendipity. I’m not a huge fan of shooting photos from the driver’s seat, it should be mentioned, but with my ankle still recovering from the injuries it’s not like I’ve got much of a choice.
Back next week with more, at this – your Newtown Pentacle.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
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Still no drones…
Thursday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Your humble narrator had to get out of the house, for a variety of reasons, so the Mobile Oppression Platform was loaded up with the camera bag and I drove ‘into town.’
As a note: I’m not observing any of those mega drones y’all back around NY Harbor keep talking about seeing in the sky, here in Pittsburgh.
Stairs, you see a lot of municipal stairs here – the Yinzers call them ‘City Steps.’ One was recently privy to a heated conversation about local slang debating whether chunks of Pizza are called ‘cuts’ or ‘slices.’ They got’s their own language around these parts.
Me? I was heading towards a rail yard I’ve been wanting to take a look at, in an ‘on the triangle’ Pittsburgh neighborhood called ‘Hazelwood.’
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Along the Monongahela Riverfront, you’ll notice an enormous empty property which used to be some sort of steel mill (Eliza Furnace). Rail infrastructure, including a former roundhouse which is now disconnected from the tracks, runs through here on multiple paths. The bridge pictured above is called the Hot Metal Bridge, and it was discussed in prior posts.
I’ve walked the opposite side of the river multiple times, but this spot in Hazelwood is a bit harder to access on foot than it is by car. Additionally, and allow me to say this gently – Hazelwood can be a rather rough section of town – so it’s best to drive rather than scuttle through it.
Also, given that my ankle is still mending – scuttling isn’t really on the agenda for a bit.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Across the water, on the southern bank of the Monongahela, is the water facing section of a parcel called ‘Hay’s Woods.’ Haven’t been there yet, but apparently it’s a fairly wild parcel which hosts a lot of critters, including nesting Bald Eagles. Neat! I plan on scuttling through there this spring. See what you can see and all that.
Back tomorrow with more from your recently reactivated 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.
From ChristmAstoria’s past
Merry Christmas
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Due to recent events, I haven’t got a 2024 Santa shot to use today, so I reached back to my Astoria archives for the one above.
Merry, merry. Back tomorrow with something else.
“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.
Snowburgh
Tuesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Given the clime, here in Pittsburgh, there hasn’t been a lot of opportunity to get out and walk about. I’m still quite limited in the ambulatory department, post broken ankle, but I’m not just cleared for physical activity – the Docs are actually encouraging it now.
Saying that, no way are you going to see me trying to navigate ice and snow if I don’t have to at the moment. Luckily, Our Lady of the Pentacle’s ambitions caused one to find himself in the parking lot of a local thrift store which offers a view of something I’ve been intrigued by for a while – these abandoned homes nearby the Route 51/Saw Mill Run corridor nearby the Mount Oliver section.
I’ve written about these houses on Timberland Avenue before, and was lucky enough to receive an assist on the research from long time reader ‘Lucienve.’
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Saw Mill Run itself is a somewhat natural waterway which mainly seems to function as a drainage ditch for the business and residential structures along its route. A primary arterial road, which takes its colloquial name from the waterway, hosts a variety of businesses – many of which are automotive in nature. Car lots, mechanics, that sort of thing.
Heading in a generally eastwards direction away from Pittsburgh, Route 51 ultimately gets you to the nearby community of Uniontown. I’ve driven that way a few times, when heading towards Maryland and the very interesting Appalachian city of Cumberland.
As a note: For my ‘bicycle people’ friends – check out Cumberland, which you can reach by trail from either Pittsburgh or Washington D.C.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Back at HQ, it’s been pretty much snowing all week. We got several bands of ‘lake effect’ snow recently. It’s been a real hassle with the ankle and everything, I’d mention. The weather forecast seems to be a bit more on my side in this last week of 2024, so cross your fingers…
Have a Merry Christmas, a Happy Hanukkah, and a Kwazy Kwanzaa.
“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 