Posts Tagged ‘16th street Bridge’
Kicking dirt, north shore style
Tuesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
After a lovely walk down Troy Hill, where a cemetery was visited and the very steep Troy Hill Road walked upon, your humble narrator soon found himself crossing one of those pedestrian bridges which overfly a vast complex of high speed roads here in Pittsburgh.
The Fort Duquesne, Fort Pitt, Veterans, and West End Bridges are nearby, and the complex of interchanges between I-376/I-279/I-579/Route 28 and the primary and secondary local ‘arterial streets’ dominate this formerly industrial section of Pittsburgh.
As you’d deduce from the shot above, the former Heinz factory is found nearby. It’s been turned into residential lofts in the post industrial period.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
These pedestrian ramps hide the presence of a fairly well established homeless encampment, one that can be observed below them. There’s a few holes cut into the fences here and there for egress. The encampment, seems to use a different spot, under and towards the end of the ramp as a latrine. It’s easy to find, if you follow your nose. Heroin is apparently one heck of a drug.
Other than leaving a bag of old clothes here and there for the unhoused, or passing off cans of dog food to a particular fellow that hangs around one of the tunnel exits whose pup I feel bad for, I try not to get involved in the lives of the street people. Trouble.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Pittsburgh offers drivers a series of confusing choices which they need to make at the very last second. The city has odd road usage conventions that indicate needing to use this left lane – or the right one – to proceed. In some spots, you need to shift into the right lane for less than a block – before reaching a mandatory right turn – and then shift back into the original travel lane you were in to continue straight – merging right in the middle of the intersection after the lane you started in has to make a mandatory left turn. Confusing. This works out well once you can anticipate the situation, presuming you’re overly familiar with the place and its mores, but for a newcomer or visitor – it’s chaos. As I call it – Pittsburgh Vernacular – you just have to ‘know.’
Regardless, I was on foot.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I passed through the campus of the former Heinz Factory. Spectacular terra cotta and industrial design here. Beautiful spot, in the middle of a not so beautiful spot. There’s a number of things which, as a former New Yorker, it’s hard to reconcile about this city. There are entire neighborhoods which should be ‘popping,’ but aren’t. This is one of them.
Bah! I really aspire to not care about anything anymore.
Google’s AI tells me that ‘A lack of emotion is often defined as apathy, meaning an absence of feeling, interest, or concern, leading to reduced motivation; it can also manifest as emotional numbness, detachment, or flat affect, a reduced expression of emotion, often seen in conditions like depression, PTSD, or neurological disorders, with specific terms like alexithymia describing difficulty identifying/describing feelings.’
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Next on my list for a walk around is actually this section of the North Side. Looks seedy, but Andy Warhol’s family is still in the scrap metal business back there somewhere. Maybe there’s a giant soup can or something. I’ve wandered through here in the past, but not while consciously cataloging what I’m seeing. Most of the time in this zone, I’m walking on the waterfront trail when rolling through and heading somewhere else.
Maybe that’s the problem this section of the North Side has – it’s a liminal space that people pass through but seldom dwell in. I used to be familiar with a waterway in Brooklyn and Queens that had the same problem.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I crossed the Allegheny River on the 16th street David McCullough bridge. This brought me to Pittsburgh’s so called ‘golden triangle,’ which is the peninsular section where most of the corporate and governmental powers reside.
The orthopedic incident had seriously retarded my efforts in 2025. That’s more or less over now, and your humble narrator is enthusiastic about being back on the prowl in a free roaming manner.
Back tomorrow.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
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“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.
2025’s Penultimate Posting
Tuesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Continuing with shots from a longish walk around Pittsburgh, captured on a winter’s day….All the leaves were brown, and the sky was gray…. That song was right.
Pictured above is the 16th street Bridge, over the Allegheny River.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The trail I was walking upon led to the 31st street bridge, where I’d be turning south and reattaining access to the peninsular landform which Pittsburgh refers to as ‘the Golden Triangle.’
So far, my attempt at speeding up my gait had been successful, but the amount of force I was focusing into the pursuit had angered the noisome joint in my left leg. It was singing, the ankle, in a manner reminiscent of Elmer Fudd singing Wagnerian Opera with ‘Kill the Wabbit.’
Pain is just another thing you feel, like love or hate, so just get past it like you do those other things.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Many people have told me, after having met me in real life, that it can be overwhelming. It’s like trying to interact with ocean waves, or a fire.
I tend to ‘come atcha,’ in numbing sense impacts of verbosity. Try getting a word in edgewise, I dare’s ya! When this behavior is pointed out to me as a chide, my response is always ‘yeah… I know… I’m stuck dealing with this asshole in my head all the freaking time, you have no idea what it’s like.’ At least the rest of you don’t have to deal with the bullshit 24/7, rather it’s in delimited doses and gets published five days a week at 11 a.m. right here.
I’m all ‘effed up.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I usually have three or four versions of myself ready for deployment, as situations may require. One or two of them speak in a slightly slower, louder, and more basso voice, so if you think I’m being reasonable – you’ve probably met those versions of me.
The manic asshole version? Yup, he’s useful too, but in certain circumstance, and that’s usually the part of my brain that gets me both in and out of trouble.
There’s also that part of me that gives people exactly three chances and no more, who doesn’t make threats but does offer promises, and acts like an egomaniacal jerk. I don’t like that side of me at all terribly much, but it’s useful to be able to abandon polity when you need to so there you are.
I’m like the Kiwi, a fuzzy little fruit with a lot of personalities.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This shot looks southerly, towards Polish Hill. Behind me is Rialto Street.
The neighborhood that the bridge drops you into on the southerly side is a bit of what I used to call ‘an angle between neighborhoods.’ It’s not ‘Lower Lawrenceville’, nor is it ‘the Strip.’ There’s a big blob of municipal properties in this zone, including an enormous structure wherein Pittsburgh stores cars and trucks from its fleets while they’re awaiting servicing.
Apparently, there’s a huge backlog and budget criss regarding the scheduling for this maintenance, which has created an expensive crisis for the bureaucrats who caused it to solve, by spending more tax money.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This was about the four mile/turnaround point for the walk. The plan from here would be to scuttle along the edges of man’s world through the Strip District and then shlep over to the one of the T light rail stations downtown.
Kill the wabbit, kill the wabbit…
More 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.
Hurtling scuttle
Monday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Welcome back to the midpoint of a decently long walk in Pittsburgh.
I had to cross the street to get to the 16th street David L. McCullough bridge, and while negotiating the crosswalk (with the light and a walk signal) some redneck decided it would be funny to try and hit me with his car while he was making a left. Not accidental at all, he intentionally swerved towards me, forcing me to jump forward to avoid being hit and yelling ‘what the fuck?’
The country mouse got caught at a light, where he then got to hear this city mouse loose a string of blue invective at him. I was also hurling esoteric occultist curses. Seven times seven generations worth of bad luck will now accompany this particular hillbilly’s line of descendants.
Don’t annoy a humble narrator by trying to hit me with your car, country mouse, that’s the lesson. I ain’t all that humble in real life, and I also have a hot temper and an extremely adaptable moral compass.
Bah.
At any rate, that’s the 16th street bridge pictured today.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The 16th street bridge itself is easy walking, and deposits you into a part of the central peninsula of Pittsburg where the Strip District transitions into Downtown. There’s a stolidity to this three arch span, with its steel and flagstone construction, that I just like. It’s also a fairly visually attractive bridge with those triple arches, and a set of neat sculptural elements atop the piers. The bridge is named for David McCollough.
David L. McCullough was a Pittsburgh native, and nationally famous historian, who wrote many great books – but his Brooklyn Bridge masterpiece has a special place in my heart, and is one of my touchstones for NYC history in the middle and late 19th century periods. If you can find the audiobook which the author personally narrates, buy it.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Looking towards downtown, and that’s the Veteran’s Bridge, a high volume connector between Downtown Pittsburgh to the south and Route 28 and I-279 on the north. It’s a pretty massive structure.
I debarked the 16th street bridge and then headed in a south westerly direction. I’ve taken to adorning one of my camera bag straps with a small compass, in order to keep track of the cardinal directions. Yeah, the phone has a digital compass, but I’d have to fish it out of my pocket… meh.
Everything doesn’t have to have a chip inside it to be useful
– photo by Mitch Waxman
One last look back at the 16th street bridge and away I go.
The plan for the second half of this outing involved getting out of the downtown area, and then heading over to the more familiar south side of the Monongahela, which is found on the opposite side of the triangular landform that the towers of downtown loathsomely squat upon.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Under the Veterans Bridge, and a bit of trivia for you: Pittsburgh’s Coroner’s office is housed directly across the street from where I was scuttling along, as is their version of the NYC DEP (water and sewer).
Gotta say, it’s fairly shabby around these parts, and along Liberty Avenue. It has that sort of dead street/blight vibe that always happens around governmental offices. The Heinz museum is just a couple of blocks away from here, and the convention center just beyond that. Despite that, section is pretty defined by the Coroners, a few bail bondsman storefront operations, and those parking lots. Gotta park somewhere, I guess.
Me? I kept on keeping on. Striding has become part of locomotion again, although I’m still walking a good deal slower than I formerly did.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A steel mill ladle pot occupies a couple of parking spots in a lot at 12th street. Wonder what it costs to park a giant steel pot in downtown Pittsburgh for a day. Aww… who am I kidding, it’ll be about $15.
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.
Onions make you cry
Wednesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As mentioned earlier in the week, a humble narrator is in the midst of an intractable argument with the guy in the mirror. It’s not fun behind the eyes or between the ears at the moment, but that’s me – I’m like the Kiwi – a fuzzy little fruit with a lot of personality, which doesn’t taste anything like you think it would if you take a bite.
That’s the Heinz factory pictured above, which has been converted over from production of the 57 varieties to housing. I love the aesthetics of the campus, and we actually considered it as a place to land when moving out here. Ultimately, it was too ‘urban,’ and one of the things we wanted, when moving from NYC, was to not share walls with random madmen anymore.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The 16th street bridge, which I walked back and forth over a few times on my constitutional short walk – on it and a section of the adjoining Great Allegheny Passage trail (about 8,000 steps, according to my phone) – offers some pretty nice views of the center of Pittsburgh. That’s ‘Downtown’ or ‘D’ahn-tahn’ as the local idiom would call it.
Translating from NYC Brooklynese to Pittsburgh Yinzer – Youse is Yinz. Being nosey is ‘being nebby’ and so on. The Yinz slang thing is commonly embraced here, and there’s a range of products available which embrace the linguistic stylings thereof. It’s odd. Rubber bands are called ‘gum bands’ in Pittsburgh, and they also put french fries in salads.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
While scuttling back to the Mobile Oppression Platform, parked in one of the Great Allegheny Passage parking lots on the north side, I spotted a Norfolk Southern train set transiting over the Fort Wayne Rail Bridge in the distance. Luckily, I had a zoom lens on the camera and was able to get a long telephoto shot of it.
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.
Apples are Doctor prophylaxis
Tuesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I’m only joking with that title, but I actually have been eating a daily apple since I moved to Pittsburgh for some reason. Granny Smith kind. Yummy. As I’ve discovered, my new friend Moe the Dog likes the green apples too, so double win.
That’s the 16th street or David McCullough Bridge pictured above, which spans the Allegheny River. Pittsburgh native McCullough wrote one of my all time favorite NYC history books about the Brooklyn Bridge’s construction – ‘The Great Bridge, the epic story of the building of the Brooklyn Bridge.’ I can highly recommend the audiobook version available on Amazon’s Audible service, which is free if you’re a ‘Prime’ member. The last time I posted a photo of the 16th street span, interest in the comments section was espoused in seeing a close up of the ornamental metalwork at the top of the bridge towers, so here you go.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
On the north side of the river, there’s a bit of heavy industrial activity going on, including a waste transfer/recycling facility called “Warhola Recycling.’ Yes, they are related to Andy Warhol (his nephews), and yes they are scrappers. There’s an Andy Warhol bridge in Pittsburgh, and a museum, not too far from this spot. I’ve been to the bridge, but haven’t been to the museum yet.
I continued on my merry freaking way, while sweating heavily. It was a very humid day, with atmospheric dew points in the high 70’s, as I was taking this walk. Rain, snow, sun… whatever, I’m still obliged to scuttle about every other day.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
On the peninsular section of the city, on the Allegheny’s southern shore, is found Pittsburgh’s ‘strip district.’ A cold storage warehouse used to be located where the rubble in the shot above is observed, and oddly enough – given my newness to the area – I’ve somehow managed to document several phases of its demolition. Funny that.
It seems that the bar next door, which is located in the extant red brick building, has been structurally compromised due to the demolition project, which has slowed down the process of building – you guessed it – affordable housing – on the surrounding site. There’s lots of newly constructed housing stock nearby, but I’m told it’s largely occupied by the ‘tech Bros’ from Microsoft and Google who are working on developing self driving automobiles here in Pittsburgh.
There’s someone in Pittsburgh who’s working on what are essentially robot shoes, too. If anyone wants to send me $1,100 to get a pair, I’ll gladly get them and let you know how many bones I ended up breaking.
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.
The Newtown Pentacle 