The Newtown Pentacle

Friday

– photo by Mitch Waxman

One had been desirous of perpetrating this scuttle before the verge grows back, as vegetative cover obscures detail and annoys me.

This is Lorrigan Street, looking back and up the hill at the area discussed yesterday. You can take the boy out of Brooklyn, but the Brooklyn boy is always going to spin on his heels occasionally to see if he’s being followed by some creature of the streets.

Disappointingly, I was all alone. So lonely…

As you’ll see in the coming weeks, one has fully reactivated himself. A maelstrom wrapped up in a filthy black raincoat has been observed blasting about Pittsburgh, in all sorts of unseemly places.

I’ve seen things… wonders… I tell you… wonders.

– photo by Mitch Waxman

The Ella Street Steps were encountered.

Apparently there’s a bit of local affection for these stairs from what I’ve seen online, but oh my goodness were they in a bad state of repair. One of the series of posts coming your way in coming weeks will show off a set of steps which look closer to collapse than these, but ‘jeez louise.’

Spalling, cracking, separation of structural members, subsidence, shifting foundation moving out of ‘plum’… this structure had it all.

– photo by Mitch Waxman

Look at that. The only thing holding this set of stairs together is gravity. All the pieces are just resting on each other, which is why it still stands. Bah!

As described in the past, the City Steps of Pittsburgh enjoy the legal status of being streets or sidewalks, and provide pedestrian access between the shifts of elevation common in the Appalachian landscape.

I can recommend Laura Zurowski, Matthew Jacob, and Charles Succop’s recent ‘City Steps of Pittsburgh’ book for a cogent history of this unique infrastructure, a publication which builds upon earlier volumes on the subject by author Bob Regan, with photos by my pal Tim Fabian.

Laura Z is quite active on Instagram under the handle ‘Mis.Steps.’

– photo by Mitch Waxman

Glorious, that’s how I’d describe this part of my long scuttle. I had outfitted the camera with an omnivore lens – my 24-240mm one. Glad I did, as I was constantly dialing back and forth between the wide and telephoto range.

Little did I know what awaited me at the bottom of this incline.

Well… I kind of did know, since I had clicked through here on the Google Maps street view before leaving HQ, and had previously walked through the other path through the ravine, but I’m also just trying to build some dramatic tension there for Monday and Tuesday’s posts…

Let’s just say ‘Hey Now!,’ and leave it at that for the moment.

– photo by Mitch Waxman

There are multiple rail ‘rights of way’ laid down in Skunk Hollow, along with one of the bus ways. Three of the area’s four major freight rail operations roll through here, as does Amtrak. If only there was a brewery with out door seating and a view nearby…

I was hoping for trains, which… well, once again… that’s for Monday and Tuesday next week, yo.

– photo by Mitch Waxman

Very, very interesting place for one such as myself, but I’m known for my love of insalubrious valleys, concretized devastations, and urban wastelands.

Back next week with lots of Choo-choo – including what I consider to be one of the best locomotive shots which I’ve captured since living here in Pittsburgh.

“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.