Posts Tagged ‘Allegheny River’
To the confluence, onwards
Friday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Continuing with description of a fairly wide ranging scuttle around Pittsburgh: your humble narrator could be observed shambling along a waterfront trail, one which hugs the southern shoreline of the Allegheny River, in the so called ‘Golden Triangle’ section of the city.
This view looks in a westerly direction towards the confluence of the Monongahela and Allegheny Rivers, where the headwaters of the Ohio River form. The bridge closest to the lens is the Fort Duquesne Bridge, and the one in the distance is the West End Bridge.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The staccato of a diesel engine echoed upriver, and I decided this would be an excellent spot for a quick ‘sit down.’ It had been a few hours since I was at rest, and since I wanted to get a few shots of whatever was coming down the river, it was an opportunity to just sit down and wait. It was nice to take my camera bag off of my back.
Just the other day, at a Doctor’s appointment, occasion found the Doc and I weighing the camera bag. Just under thirty pounds of stuff on my back, as it turns out.
The heaviest items in there, beyond the camera and zoom lens, are a series of prime lenses (which allow me to be ready for most things, including entering interior spaces with low light or night shots), there’s a tripod and other camera mounts, and a bunch of gear which I don’t necessarily ‘need’ but like having with me. I’ve got my rail scanner radio in there, and I actually carry a few comfort items like bandaids with me, just in case. There’s also small tools in there which I might need for the camera, or other gear, while out in the field – hex wrenches and the like. Sometimes, there’s an umbrella too.
The Doc was interested in what my physical exercise modality entailed, and he wanted to gauge physical capabilities, based on my reporting to him of scuttling distance and time. Luckily, I think this was my last ‘check up’ of 2025. At least, I’m hoping it is.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The hull of this vessel includes a logo for an entity called ‘Alcosan,’ and a line of text that reads ‘ATB READSHAW,’ with its call sign being ‘WDJ4530.’
Alcosan is the ‘Allegheny County Sanitary Authority.’ Sewer and water agency, basically. Apparently, the boat is named for a former elected official who is now a board member of the Alcosan outfit.
The barge it was towing had a shed/structure and other equipment on it. Seemed pretty banal, but I take what I can get when behind the lens.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I waited around for about 15-20 minutes as the underway tug headed towards the Fort Duquesne Bridge. I shot way too many exposures of the thing, but to fair, my hunt for rail earlier in the day had come up empty and I was fairly psyched just to have a subject to point the camera at.
Sometimes you get lucky and everything falls into place, other times it’s mile after mile of banality.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
‘That’s a cool view of the Fort Duquesne Bridge’ thought your humble narrator, and resolve to come back and capture this scene in low light hours blossomed within. I’m feeling the urge for night time shooting again.
Problem is that my old NYC night owl tendencies have fallen away, and it’s fairly common for me to be awake and drinking coffee by six in the morning. Accordingly, I’ve been going to bed quite early for a while now. As has often been mentioned, where I now live is dark and quiet at night.
Really no good reason, these days, for me to be awake at two or three in the morning. This ain’t Astoria.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This contraption was encountered next.
It required a bit of detective work to figure out what this gizmo does, but this photo, and this one too, provided the key to unlocking the mystery. Turns out this is a ‘counter’ of some kind which manufactures statistical data as to how many of the humans pass by it on the waterfont trail. ‘Eco Counter’ is imprinted on an electronics box, and that’s the name of a Canadian company whose offerings operate in this space and provide governmental entities with analytics. Neat.
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.
Atavist candy and the Allegheny River
Thursday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
On Pittsburgh’s north side, nearby the stadium where the Steelers live and play, a former factory building can be observed. The 1928 vintage structure has obviously been renovated in modernity, with its snazzy windows and sharply pointed brick walls.
It’s called the D.L Clark Building and this structure used to be a candy factory. Over at historicpittsburgh.org, they’ve got old timey shots of the place from ‘back in the day.’
Recent scuttling brought this building onto my radar, and I’m glad of that.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
It’s peculiar, to me, that a shroud of relative obscurity greets the curious narrator, as to the specifics of this building and its renovation, which real estate representatives describe as ‘a landmark.’
This shroud, I think, is the shadow result of the sort of SEO marketing efforts that real estate people engage in. Page of search results after page of search results were unified in congratulating me on my interest in renting commercial space in the building. The listings describe cavernous and desirable spaces within. Apparently, one of Pittsburgh’s news outlets is also based herein. The SEO marketing crowds out actual search results.
As far as what Google, in modernity, has become – I think Huey Lewis said it best. Shame that, Google was a great tool once.
Bah!
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The excellent historicpittsburgh.org site offers this ‘D. L. Clark Company Papers and Photographs’ page, which discusses the Clark Company and its long history in some detail.
Manufacturers of the iconic Clark Bar, the D. L. Clark Company was. Said ‘Clark Bar’ was a sweet treat that was commonly found floating around in the ruck sacks of American Soldiers during the two world wars.
I was always a Milky Way or Three Musketeers guy, with a strong secondary preference for Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. Also, Lemonheads, mmmm. Of course, I was a kid in the 1970’s and early 80’s.
Forward, ever forward, and it was time to push on.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Your humble narrator is absolutely captivated by the ramps leading to and from the Fort Duquesne Bridge in this section of Pittsburgh. It’s not a great pedestrian space, I should mention, until you’re squarely in the shadows of these things. The entire area hereabouts is all about the needs of the automobile, despite there being a light rail station and lots of bus service nearby. This is roughly the mid point between the two big stadiums – Acrisure/Steelers and PNC Park/Pirates.
There’s a lot of new construction in this zone, and a strip of high volume bar/restaurants, of the sort which the TV show ‘Bar Rescue’ extols as being ‘profit machines’ which enjoy surge business on game days.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
One reached the shoreline of the Allegheny River, and crossed the waterbody on the Sixth Street/Roberto Clemente bridge. One was hoping for some maritime activity, but that wasn’t happening (yet).
I was as happy as possible, for one such as myself. The filthy black raincoat was flapping about in the wind, and the light was good.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
That’s when this set of stairs leading off of the bridge and down to one of the riverfront trails manifested itself. I’ve walked down these stairs dozens of times, it should be mentioned, but for some reason… the PTSD regarding the bum ankle manifested.
Couldn’t stop myself from ‘death gripping’ the bannister. Managed to force myself down them to the trail below, but it wasn’t pretty and I was literally clinging to the bannisters on that first turn down there. It’s getting better, but is obviously still present, this sensation.
Back tomorrow with more.
“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.
Spin me right round
Tuesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Your humble narrator is ineluctably drawn to ‘totally stupid fun.’
To wit, as part of a municipality of Pittsburgh endorsed ‘Oktoberfest’ celebration, organizers installed a Ferris Wheel on the Sixth Street/Roberto Clemente Bridge recently. Our Lady joined me for this one, and we headed over to the north shore of the city for the experience.
Ferris Wheels, in particular, are favorite examples of ‘totally stupid fun’ to me. Remember when your scuttling speaker felt obliged to go ride the one in Times Square back in 2021? Good times.
George Ferris lived, briefly before his early death, in Pittsburgh – which is discussed in this post from a scuttle down the Ohio River Trail.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This contraption seemed definitively rickety, I’d mention. The wheel mechanism expands out of a semi trailer and was assembled into working order via the usage of cotter pins and steel cables. Didn’t exactly feel ‘safe,’ but that’s part of the charm of a carnival ride, flirting with death.
$7 bought you about a ten to fifteen minute ride to try your luck, basically four rotations of the wheel. Whee!
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Our Lady and I were seated in one of the gondola benches, and away we went. I liberally waved the camera about. You don’t see this POV, everyday, unless you’re a bird or a drone.
What used to be referred to as ‘a bird’s eye view’ can now be more accurately described as being a ‘drone camera’s perspective.’
The ‘future’ just sucks, doesn’t it?
– photo by Mitch Waxman
We had a nice time, especially so since we were attending the event during the late afternoon of a weekday. Nearby, vendors were selling German inspired foods and drink. Lots of ‘big pretzels.’
We stopped at one of the licensed vendors and whereas Our Lady ordered a lager, I opted for something novel to me – Blueberry Hard Cider. Yum. Didn’t ‘agree’ with me, however, and the next morning’s ‘sit down’ was interesting in terms of consistency and coloration.
Hey, my yelp reviews for restaurants always explore the entire experience: before, during, and after.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The weather was horrifically perfect. Lamentations and yearnings for more unpleasant atmospheric conditions are offered. Middle 60’s with a steady breeze. Cotton floating about in the vault, golden sunlight.
Just as we were getting ready to split, the evening crowd began to arrive.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Tomorrow, back to the usual marching about, and observing things.
All of my plans to get away for a few days in October utterly collapsed, due to the tyranny of the now, and other factors. Altoona and the horseshoe curve will have to wait for the spring, I’m afraid.
Back tomorrow with something different – 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.
Vouchsafing against Diurnal Nosferatu’s
Friday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
First off, there’s no way you’re going to get me to believe that the sub specie of Vampires hasn’t figured out a workaround for their sunlight problem here in the 21st century. Sunscreen? Hats? Something?
I figure that their ‘not crossing flowing water’ prohibition is a little harder for the armies of the night to conquer. Just in case a diurnal vampire has locked onto me, I’ll often take a quick hike across any available bridge as a vouchsafe. In this case, it was the Fort Duquesne bridge over the Allegheny River, here in Pittsburgh.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Fort Duquesne leads into Point State Park, and offers sweet views of its sister bridge – the Fort Pitt. The path off the bridge is wooded on both sides, so… excellent perching spots for day vampires to grab a snack off the path and chow down in the sylvan shadows. I stayed directly in the middle of the road, which I’ve actually never understood as being the metaphor for ‘safe.’
Worst place to be, middle of the road… that’s where the double yellow line is. Even worse are the other sides of the travel lane, at the extreme edges of the pavement, along the white lines.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The guy dressed up like a British soldier was likely a historical reenactment actor, but he could have been a ‘day vampire’ that has been dressing like that for hundreds of years. Anything is possible these days, as objective truth has become plastic, moldable, and pliant.
Hope that guy in the blue modern clothes made it home to his family.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I continued on, scuttle scuttle scuttle.
If I was a vampire, I think that I’d run for political office.
Mesmerize the crowd, tell them ‘those people over there whom you don’t like are taking something away from you, and giving it to somebody else far away that you like even less.’ I’d pontificate that garlic didn’t exist before 1957, that it’s an invasive specie sent to America by International Communists in order to traffick children in exchange for Fentanyl. Holy water would need to be banned by my edict, and then scheduled as a Class One controlled substance with the DEA.
I’d advocate for smog, and promise that the overcast conditions offer ‘freedom from sun burns and skin cancer’ for the span of my reign term.
My supporters would be called ‘freedom children, of the night,’ and they’d be required to wear red clothing so as to hide the leftovers from luncheon feedings, and I’d exclusively staff my inner office with loyal cohorts sent to me from amongst the Romani’s Rudar clan in Romania (or just reach out to Sunnyside in Queens, where the former ‘Maspeth Romani’ live).
Boxes of native soils from Brooklyn’s Canarsie would be stored around my district, and in Washington. You gotta sleep sometimes.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
For crossing the Monongahela River, I avoided the obvious path of walking the Fort Pitt Bridge. Kind of out of the way for where I wanted to get to, and I was interested mainly in shaking off any potential day vampires who might be following me. ‘Day Vampire’ isn’t a metaphor for something ugly, by the way, I literally mean ‘day vampire.’
A counter narrative to my vampiric musings was playing through my headphones, incidentally, with Dragnet’s Joe Friday interrogating a bombing suspect, whose house hosted a bunch of Nazi stuff – flags, uniforms, etc. This script was also turned into a teleplay during the ‘Dragnet 67’ television version of the show, if it sounds familiar.
Friday gave one of his speeches about American values – free speech, freedom of conscience, the role which science and vaccines had played in freeing the WW2 generation and their descendants from avoidable disease and disfigurement. Friday put this speech forward as a rebuke to the suspect, who just wanted to tear the entire edifice down.
Joe Friday versus Vampires… now, that would have been something.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The Smithfield Street Bridge carried me across the Monongahela River, which made two flowing water barriers crossed. It did occur to me that Vampires probably use cell phones these days, and distinct populations of them might be communicating with each other remotely.
‘Hey, check out the old guy with the camera, he looks juicy. Lol’
Back next week with something different – 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.
Avoiding day vampires, and Mr. Rogers
Thursday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
An unexpected interval of personal freedom was suddenly loosed upon me, and a surge of intent rose from within. I broke my camera bag down to its barest essentials and shlepped up the hill to the T light rail station here in Pittsburgh’s Dormont. Soon, one found himself riding on the electrical conveyance, towards the beating heart of the Steel City.
It was a hot day in Pittsburgh, with temperatures in the upper 80’s, and a fairly high dew point made things humid and sticky. This was a short walk, incidentally, and I wasn’t planning on doing anything complicated, rather the effort was solely about ‘taking a walk.’
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The T was ridden to its terminal stop nearby Acrisure/Heinz stadium, where the Steelers dwell and play. This spot is nearby the North Shore of the Allegheny River, as a note.
My headphones were in, and this time around I was listening to an ‘old time radio’ podcast which offered episodes of the old Dragnet radio dramas, produced during the late 1950’s and early 60’s. Joe Friday hadn’t risen to the rank of Sergeant yet in these, and his partner/superior officer was a Detective named Ben.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I stopped off to visit the Mr. Rogers memorial, since I was in its neighborhood.
There was a college sportsball game setting up at the football stadium, and thereby the humans were infesting and then forming into clots. These clots were beginning to congeal, forming arterial blockages on the streets and sidewalks, so a plan was hatched to ‘get out of dodge.’
Hate crowds, me.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
You can dock private boats in downtown Pittsburgh. I don’t know if you have to make prior arrangements to do so, but there you are.
It’s been a while since I walked over the Fort Duquesne Bridge, thought a humble narrator, so my toes were pointed in the appropriate direction.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Brr, stairs…
Happily, I can report that the PTSD symptomatology regarding stairs that I’ve been enjoying for the last year seems to be retreating into the rear view mirror. Luckily, that means I can now obsess over other irrational terrors and ideations. Like Vampires.
It’s been a while since I worried about the Nosferatu, or Strigas. Or Rakshashaa. Those were Astoria problems.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Vampires are the best thing to worry about.
Don’t have to worry about the country slouching roughly towards a Civil War, the seeming collapse of Western Civilization, or the fact that the Russians and NATO are essentially testing each other’s borders militarily.
Day Vampires… now that sounds scary, doesn’t it?
Think about day vampires, and nothing else… trust me.
“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 