Posts Tagged ‘Arlington Avenue’
This time around, I used my compass
Thursday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Mountain Avenue to Yard Way part one.
So… that recent walk where I accidentally headed off in the wrong direction, and ended up scuttling – in terror – along the side of a de facto highway, without sidewalks, because of that mistake?
Also, that I had resolved to head back to the starting point of the walking path which I originally intended to scuttle along?
Ok, I’m not saying that there weren’t any obstacles this time, but your humble narrator didn’t ‘eff this one up,’ and headed in the correct direction. The area and neighborhood designations are a still little hazy for me, but I was on Mountain Avenue in what I’m told is the ‘Mount Oliver’ section, at the starting point for this effort. I started this one right about here.
As the title would imply, I used that little plastic compass which dangles off of my camera bag to vouchsafe my intended direction, this time.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This scene, I would mention, is a little bit over two miles away from the dense urban core of Pittsburgh’s central peninsula. Mind you, it’s semi-difficult to live amongst these hills, particularly during the winter months, and more difficult to build housing into various plots and properties.
The path I had meticulously laid out, and then completely ignored on my initial walk, would carry me away from Mount Oliver towards and over the ridgeline of that massive elevated landform found along the Monongahela River called Mount Washington (Oliver is actually a part of it) and into a neighborhood that’s known as the ‘South Side Slopes.’
– photo by Mitch Waxman
First dealie was walking up the hill, and up to the ridge line. This ridge and cliff face wears a street upon it, called Arlington Avenue, which snakes diagonally down the prominence’s city facing side. Once you’ve gotten to Arlington, you’re in the ‘South Side Slopes.’
This ‘zone’ has been absolutely what the doctor ordered, as far as getting past the aftereffects of the ‘orthopedic incident.’ The downward angling of the streets here allowed me to address the muscular atrophy caused by that misery, stretching and strengthening the musculature in the front of the thighs and calves. Of late, I’ve been walking ‘up’ these streets.
The trick to walking around here, while compromised, is to not allow yourself to pick up speed.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Crossing Arlington Avenue allows egress to St. Patrick’s street.
There are few if any sidewalks along this path, but it’s a pretty low volume road, lined with private housing there’s not high traffic counts to fret over. You just stay to the side.
This may strike terror into your heart, but there is no bike lane there.
As you may have noticed, after a couple of months of walking around the ‘North Side’ of Pittsburgh, my curiosities had led me back to an area that’s a bit closer to HQ. As my physical capabilities have been returning to normal, the concept of being adventurous again has crept in.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
St. Patrick’s street feeds into a gully, or ravine, or possibly a ‘hollow.’ Mishegoss.
It, in turn, leads to a short set of City Steps which elevate pedestrians up to the level of the serpentine course of South 18th Street. There’s a grandiose set of City Steps here, which I haven’t experienced yet, that I was heading for.
The landform which is called Mount Washington forms a ridge along the Monongahela River. Mount Oliver and the other ‘named’ hills surrounding it are part of the same geologic shaping. Ultimately, the land summits up to the ridge and then plunges, in the sharp manner of cliffs, towards the flood plain at the river below.
Behind the ridge, to the south, there’s a series of hills and ‘hollows’ which play out for miles and miles, in a region called ‘The South Hills.’
– photo by Mitch Waxman
To position myself for the set of City Steps which I was heading for, this example of that sort of infrastructure needed to be surmounted in the ‘up’ direction. I decided to have a quick sit down at the top, and check on my compass again. A quick scan of the ‘make a right, make a left’ directions I had prepared in the notes app on my phone was also accomplished.
I find that ‘sitting down’ should never be any longer than a few minutes, otherwise you lose momentum. The camera, camera bag, and all the crap I need to carry around with me is fairly heavy, so it’s useful to give the lower back a rest, and an ‘uncoil’ every now and then.
Back tomorrow with more, at this – your Newtown Pentacle.
“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.
Jingle janglity jingle
Friday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Allentown PA., it’s not the one in the Billy Joel song, although it might as well be. Kind of the same story, up here in Pittsburgh, though.
Here’s the wikipedia page describing the area. It’s can be a bit dicey, Allentown. 99% of the time, you’re going to be just fine, but that 1% chance involves meeting the wrong people at the right time. Outside of my experience, so far, but police statistics are statistical. I’d kind of analogize this area to Flatbush Avenue at Church for you New Yorkers, given that all things in the world are merely reflections and shimmers of the infinity of NYC’s Brooklyn.
Roger Zelazny’s ‘Chronicles of Amber’ comes to mind, regarding the way that I think about Brooklyn – as the world’s one ‘true place.’ Anywhere you are that’s not Brooklyn, just like the fictional Amber, is ‘walking through Shadow.’ A reflection, distorted but still a reflection.
Due to construction, the T has been moving through Allentown all summer, and the agency which operates the service has created a temporary stop more or less at the apogee of the hill. That’s about to change as the construction project winds down, and I’ve been taking advantage of the temporary stop all summer and fall.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
One started on the downhill section of my day, after debarking the T light rail. A quick adjustment of camera bag ensued, and all the straps and other crap I carry, and then I was scuttling along again – all peaceful and calm like.
This is Arlington Avenue pictured, which curls down the face of Mount Washington and around the base of ‘Billy Buck Hill,’ on its way down to the flatlands of the Monongahela River’s flood plain. On its way to the bottom, Arlington passes by the entrance to the Mount Washington Transit Tunnel, Liberty Bridge and Tunnel, and the PJ McArdle roadway, providing commanding views of the Monongahela River valley which helps to define the Steel City.
It’s a challenging drive, I’d mention.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The rail tracks are set onto curves up here, and they just tear into your tires. If you’re on a bike, the biggest problem you’re going to have is controlling speed, due to the grade of the pavement. Since the early summer, T light rail traffic has been rerouted through this corridor.
Downhill courses like this have been essential in regaining my strength and mobility over the last six months. It’s fairly easy to find places that blast the big muscles in the back and sides of the thighs as well as your butt, but it’s more difficult to hit the fronts of the thigh and calf.
My not so secret weapon in pursuance of rebuilding flexibility and endurance, as well as stretching out all the rubber bands in my still recovering ankle, this has been. I told my surgeon about this effort, and he seemed impressed by its ingenuity.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Everybody asks. Yes, it still hurts. Can I sit around and cry about it? Done enough of that last year to last a lifetime. I have a half pound of titanium in my ankle now, braces and screws. Huge scars from the surgery which are quite ugly to behold are on both sides of the limb, as well. The only way forward is to walk away from it.
Hey Now, there’s a Pittsburgh bound light rail train set.
Here’s the operator flashing me a thumbs up in an extremely cropped shot. I wasn’t sure it was a thumbs up until I zoomed in, btw.
At last – somebody who apparently doesn’t mind a random stranger taking a picture of them while they’re at work. Finally.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Another T, moving away from Pittsburgh, was thereafter recorded. Yes, vehicle traffic and the T move through the same space here. When the tunnel retrofit is finished, these tracks will only be used during emergencies, but are maintained. Going back to the Brooklyn analogy – man, oh man, would the MTA have ‘effed this entire operation up…
My next set of moves involved more of the ‘City Steps,’ but this time around I was heading downwards, towards the South Side Flats area.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
City Steps, in Pittsburgh, have the legal status of sidewalks. The ‘public way’ as it were. I’ve walked this pathway before, but haven’t done so since the ankle incident and the installation of the PTSD software into my brain box regarding stairs.
If something scares you, go over to it and give it a kiss. Fear then dissipates.
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.
Arlington Avenue is boss
Thursday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As described yesterday, my curiosity carried me over to the Allentown section of Pittsburgh, and a long scuttle down the face of Mount Washington’s Arlington Avenue. Truly spectacular set of views greeted a humble narrator on this walk. Whenever I hit a break in the tree line, along the steep slope overlooking the Monongahela River about a 1,000 feet below, the center of Pittsburgh just popped up and said ‘take my picture.’
Having lived my entire life in NYC, it’s fairly inconceivable to me that the local real estate people haven’t filled in every single inch of this location with gentrifier condominiums, privatizing these views.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
What you see, as far as residential housing stock goes in this area, are mainly one and two family dwellings whose entrances and parking spots are on the Avenue, but the actual buildings are found twenty feet down on terraced plots of land as seen above. There were a decent number of unoccupied or abandoned homes as well. Fascinating.
My desire is to live in a low density area during my dotage, and in the case of the current domicile (which is less than 5 miles from the spot pictured above), that’s what I’ve got. A friend who visited me over the summer said “Pittsburgh is crazy, it’s like you’re in Manhattan and then after you drive through one of those tunnels, it drops you immediately into White Plains style suburbia without any in between.”
Me? I’ve got Deer, Chipmunks, Ground Hogs and possibly a Raccoon more or less living in my yard – 4.6 miles from this spot on the other side of Mount Washington in the ‘South Hills’ section. I’ve also got a dedicated parking spot in a driveway.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
It would be amazing to have an aerie style view of the Monongahela Valley from up here, I’ll admit. Saying that, it’s not what I want, which is an abundance of ‘easy.’
The big issue hereabouts, other than what the newspapers and TV news people would suggest as being an endemic crime wave driven by teenaged madmen, would be the existential reality of toting bags of groceries up sets of stairs like the one pictured above. Taking out the trash would likely be a monumental task. Saying all that, the building above was obviously designed with Zombies in mind. The Pittsburgh Incident of 1968 has had lasting effect on the local mindset.
Back tomorrow, lords and ladies, with some ‘Choo Choo’ action.
“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 