Posts Tagged ‘Bloomfield Bridge’
Bopping, over Bigelow
Friday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Once more unto the breech, and a ‘stretch and shvitz’ kind of exercise day was on my menu.
A rideshare dropped me at the veritable gateway to the Bloomfield Bridge, here in Pittsburgh, and after a moment of personal organization regarding the camera and bags and straps your humble narrator was soon on the move, and scuttling against the inevitability of entropy once again.
The Newtown Pentacle time warp grows ever more severe. These shots were gathered, and the walk perpetrated, on the 13th of August. If my scheduling all works out, you’re receiving this in early October.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
One such as myself straight up loves pedestrian bridges like the one pictured above and below, spanning over Bigelow Boulevard, which de facto is an arterial road despite being classed as a ‘local’ one.
This ped bridge has to date back to the 60’s or 70’s – governments just don’t ‘spend’ on pedestrian infrastructure like this anymore. It’s part of why they like bike lanes so much – as the lanes are just paint and plastic sticks (vertical delimiters), which are cheap to install.
Up I went. The sound I made was analogous to that produced at the extreme right hand side of a piano’s keyboard as it is being ‘plinked.’
Bink, bink, bink…
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Dynamism, that’s my thing. Every chance I could find to strike a pose on the way up, and then across, was taken. I made the Zoolander face.
It was hot. Really, really hot. High 80’s, with about 70% humidity. It was about 10 or 11 on a Thursday morning when I started this effort, and it was already unbearable out. There was supposed to be a street fair in front of me, but to be honest – that’s just an obstacle – and I had no interest in participating in Bloomfield’s ‘Little Italy Festival.’
The big celebrity draw for that event was the presence of actor Vito Spatafore, who was simply being billed as ‘Vito from the Sopranos.’
– photo by Mitch Waxman
My plan was to move as quickly as I could through an obstacle course of Pittsburgh’s various geological barriers. Eventually, and as usual, I’d need to get back to the T light Rail somehow to get back to HQ.
I took a lot of pics, but the main motivation for me on this day was to get my heart rate up and then keep it elevated for a few hours.
One was walking a bit quicker than usual, up around three mph, as my normal/comfortable velocity is slightly slower at 2.3 – 2.6 mph.
Yes, I keep track of all that on my phone… metrics. It was a big deal for me, post broken ankle, when I broke through the 2 mph barrier.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The muscles in my legs have hardened up again.
The thighs are iron, the calves bronze, if I do say so myself.
The ankle still hurts all the time, especially so after a long walk. I’ve got arthritis in the affected joint now too. The skinvelope is still oddly discolored around the joint, and it’s not just on the side where the surgical scar is found. Lots and lots of visible blood vessels have also sprung up around the site of the injury, offering the appearance of a spider web of varicose veins. It’s all quite spectacular, really, but as I’m also closing in on the brink of sixty…
– photo by Mitch Waxman
One thinks about his calendrical age a lot these days.
I reminisce about my Dad when he was at my current age, and I have to say that – my perception – is that I’m a far younger man – at the same age – than he was. At least I don’t fall asleep behind the wheel at red lights, like the old man used to.
My relatives and friends all point out that this is all perceptual bullshit and self aggrandizement when I utter something like this, gleefully reminding me of all the things medically and psychologically wrong with me, and then end their admonition with that most Jewish of expressions:
‘Shut up, you wanna give call down a conahurra on yourself?’
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.
Skunk Hollow
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.
