Posts Tagged ‘Downtown Pittsburgh’
Downtown, where your life’s a joke
Wednesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The plan for this walk, from Lawrenceville to Pittsburgh’s Downtown, had a sweet ending planned. Our Lady of the Pentacle and I were going to meet up downtown, and then have a drink at a rooftop bar in one of the big hotels. I’ve developed a list of rooftop bars hereabouts, and plan on checking out as many as I can this summer.
The one we visited on this occasion ended up being a little underwhelming. It sold itself as a ‘beer’ bar, but had a fairly limited menu of options in that category, and the only food they offered was either outlandishly expensive or utterly unhealthy, sometimes both. Also, no umbrellas or other protection from direct sunlight.
They kept on pushing us to order a $28 pretzel.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
That’s the U.S. Steel building in the background, with ‘Cherry Way’ in the fore – the last of several alleys I’d checked out on this walk. In yesterday’s post, I included links to a series of roof top tours which Our Lady and I attended last year before all the ankle business happened, scroll down if interested in seeing what this are looks like from up high.
One was about a half hour early at the meetup spot, so I negotiated over to a city park and found a bench to sit upon. I’d been in constant motion for about three hours, and it was warm and quite humid day here in Appalachia. After checking my phone to see if I’ve been cancelled by strangers yet for some newly defined sin, a few things caught my eye.
This is a very busy, and zealously protected by the ‘powers that be,’ section of downtown. City Hall is nearby.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
That aluminum gray box with the square windows is the ‘Alcoa Building.’ The corporation had since decamped to a larger, campus style, building on Pittsburgh’s north shore. My understanding is that this Alcoa building is a landmark, but is being converted to some sort of housing.
Me? I was just shvitzing.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Pictured above is the facade of the 1916 vintage William Penn Hotel, which has a storied history including Presidential stays and resident movie stars. The many windows are an artifact of an era before air conditioning, and were designed to allow air to flow through during Pittsburgh’s warm and humid months. There’s also cold and humid months here. It’s always humid.
By the way, the title of today’s post is yet another song reference.
Yeah, I’m kind of thinking I’m back.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
While sitting in the park, I waved the camera about a bit, capturing random shots which it might be handy to have at some future time. A text chimed on my phone, telling me that Our Lady of the Pentacle was nearing. One made his way over to where our predetermined meetup spot was. Happy day! We were reunited and then made our way to the elevators and the bar with the $28 pretzel.
Everything was clean and nice. Most of the seating were bar stools, which were profoundly uncomfortable. As stated, there were no sun barriers, which is puzzling for a roof top bar operating within a pretty swank hotel. Also as mentioned, the list of beers wasn’t anything special or particularly exclusive.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
We decided to cut it short after one drink, and paid our bill. A few blocks away there’s another hotel bar (not a rooftop) whose ‘shtick’ are great burgers. We got there, and they had Guinness on tap! That’s rare in Pittsburgh.
After dinner, a rideshare car carried us back to Dormont, and that was the story of my big day out.
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.
Dark alleys
Tuesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
If a street is labeled as a ‘way’ in the Pittsburgh area, it’s an alley.
Unlike NYC, which has few alleys and those that exist have an ‘affordable housing’ component, Pittsburgh uses these alleys for deliveries and trash collection. The garbage trucks work through the alleys, which are usually badly maintained but still serviceably paved roads. Every now and then, you’ll find yourself driving through one of these paths as a motorist, while trying to avoid congestion or a construction project.
Me? I was walking along recently on a stroll from Lawrenceville to the Downtown section, and for some reason found myself wanting to walk through these ‘alleys’ as much as possible along the ‘way.’
– photo by Mitch Waxman
There’s a lovely sensation of isolation when walking along these paths. Just half a block in either direction, the sidewalks of Pittsburgh’s Strip District were absolutely packed with pedestrians. There was a baseball game occurring later in the day, and the Strip District seems to be where people visiting the City for a day trip like to congregate. It’s an ‘Arthur Avenue’ sort of situation on game days, where people who are descended from the original inhabitants of the neighborhoods return from the suburban hinterlands for a game, and seek out the familiar and unchanging that they remember from childhood.
Notice that the alley is relatively orderly. Illegal dumping, not so much. A reasonable amount of graffiti, no piles of blood, scabs, or hair (which is a call out reference to the punk band Fear’s ‘New York’s Alright.’)
While walking through these paths, I was generally completely alone, which is also kind of interesting.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I’m sure that this is another one of the things that I find myself doing here which will elicit an ‘are you crazy, you’ll get killed’ from the locals. According to about half of my friends, every walk I took around Newtown Creek was going to end with me getting killed by Mafiosos, with my body disappearing into either the flow of garbage through the Creeklands, or that I’d entombed in a concrete block. The latter warning was literally offered to me once as the likely consequence of taking a walk in Maspeth.
‘Fear is the mind killer.’ If something’s going to happen, it’s going to happen. Can’t sit at home fretting. Go outside. Talk to somebody. See a thing. Do a thing. Don’t wait, the day after tomorrow might not come. Every single media outlet and social media site is designed to scare you into thinking the world outside is far worse than it actually is so that you stay home and consume more of their content. ‘If it bleeds, it leads’ is an actual motto in news rooms.
Go.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I’ve always been obsessed with Apocalyptic thema. From the Christian book’s ‘Act 3,’ to the breaking of the iron gates of Dhu al-Qarnayn, and of course: George Romero’s Zombie opuses…
The bit of historical wisdom I often offer the young is that ‘Civilizations come and go, but life goes on.’ The Romans are Italian now, and the Ottomans are now just Turks. Just in my own lifetime, the Soviet civilization collapsed, but the Russians kept on going.
Unfortunately.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This wasn’t an alley, in the shot above, rather it’s an avenue. I had arrived at the gateway point to Pittsburgh’s Downtown section. The structure above the street is a rail trestle which feeds into the Amtrak station (to the left) off of the Fort Wayne Railroad Bridge spanning the Allegheny River.
This walk was about six miles. I find I can easily do that distance now, in comparison to the late spring when my still gamey ankle was giving me all sorts of problems after a couple of miles. Push, push, push.
In the long term, the only thing that can actually cripple me is my own bullshit, and fear. I can and will survive, even if it’s just out of spite, until I don’t. I will survive this year, if it kills me.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I think spite, and an underlying garden bed of simmering hatred, might be an important motivator. Everybody rejects the negative emotions, but in doing so, they end up in psychological hell by sublimating and feeling guilty about using the software that they were born with. It’s ok, let it out occasionally to bleed out the pressure. Anger is an energy.
On a different note, last year Our Lady and I attended one of Mark Houser’s Skyscraper Roof tour events, and I was able to record the view from up top on a couple of those giant piles of brick and steel above.
Check out ‘suit and a tie zoning,’ ‘Koppers Building Roof tour,’ ‘Frick Building Roof tour,’ and ‘Benedum Trees Building roof tour.’
Back tomorrow with the end of this particular scuttle.
“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.
Scuttle 2 live, live 2 scuttle
Wednesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
After returning from NYC to Pittsburgh, with more than 2,000 shots on my camera card, your humble narrator stuck pretty close to home for about a week. This coincided with a spate of bad weather – hot, stormy, no bueno. Lots of time in front of the computer screen.
Finally, the weather forecast indicated that it wouldn’t be life threateningly hot out, and that the chance of rain was nil. I packed up my ‘old kit bag,’ although the bag is actually still fairly new, and shlepped up the hill to access the T light rail station here in Dormont. Step one for this outing was a ride on the T, thereby.
There’s one of them now, but it’s heading away from Pittsburgh and towards its terminal stop in the South Hills. You gotta pass the time somehow when waiting for a train.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
My city bound T arrived, and your humble narrator boarded the thing. It was a bit confusing for a newcomer to grasp at first, but the T uses a zone system for fares. You pay when boarding if you’re ‘inbound,’ and pay when debarking on ‘outbound.’ In the center of the city, the service runs free. It’s all very civilized out here.
My plan was to shoot a bit out the windows, but instead I just stared.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Gateway Station is in downtown Pittsburgh, and it’s one of the stops where the light rail runs as a subway. The T units are omnivores. They service ‘high platform,’ ‘low platform,’ and ‘no platform’ stops. It runs on elevated tracks, street level tracks, and an underground tunnel.
The plan for the day involved ending up back downtown, but I wanted to scuttle around for a good long while. A summon for a rideshare, from pretty close to the Gateway stop, would be issued and I’d have it deposit me about six miles east whereupon the walk back to the downtown section would start. Fun.
By taking the T from Dormont to downtown, I saved about $15 on the rideshare fare, were I to have ordered a direct ride to my destination from HQ.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This ‘No Hate’ sign caught my eye. I appreciate the sentiment, and the message carried, but I don’t think municipal signage is sufficient to manage one of the seven deadlies. I didn’t see any signs forswearing gluttony, for instance, nor ones precluding the practice of envy. There’s a Pittsburgh muni seal on the bottom of that sign just below the screw, meaning it’s an ‘official’ prohibition.
Personally, I hate performative politicking, but am I allowed to feel that discomfort about an obscure and unenforceable regulation in downtown Pittsburgh? Is there a legal definition for the ‘hate’ which the sign forbids, or does it change periodically depending on political mood? If I rightfully hate someone or something, is that something that the Cops need to get involved with? I hate Mondays, for instance. What if my religion involved hatred?
I realize, of course, the meaning and intent of the obtuse messaging carried by this sign, and the statement of political resolve which it represents. I just argue that nothing which any Government puts on a sign should ever be open to interpretation, and that if a politician wants to make a statement of support for one vulnerable group or another they shouldn’t hide behind theatrics which are frankly unenforceable.
How do you prove – in a court of law – that someone else felt an emotion – jealousy, or hate, or love?
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Bah!
One headed north, and over to the spot where I had decided it would be quick and easy to summon a ride. The Downtown area’s streets and sidewalks are currently being managed by a group of people very similar to the ones that Bill De Blasio brought with him into city hall back in NYC.
Bike lanes, safe streets, yada yada. They hate cars, and thereby they’ve made it almost impossible for a driver to pull over downtown to pick up a passenger. A new spate of bus only lanes downtown have just overly complicated things here as well.
The infirm and disabled can go ‘eff themselves, cars are the problem.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
My brilliant idea to outwit the safe streets ‘BS’ involved an alley for my pickup spot, pictured above. I summoned my rideshare chariot, and soon I was hurtling in its air conditioned goodness towards the next deistination.
Y’know, I think that might be the alley where Batman’s parents got murdered in the Chris Nolan Batman trilogy. They shot that in Pittsburgh, so I’m just going to start saying that I live in Gotham City from now on.
That would be hilarious. Ha. Ha ha ha, hah HAHhah HAH. Hah hah hah!
WHAT? Why so serious?
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.
End of the line
Tuesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Shlepping through Downtown Pittsburgh, after what ended up being a fairly long walk by my current standards. Started on Rialto Street in Troy Hill way on the other side of the Allegheny River, and here I am scuttling south towards the Monongahela River.
This post is being written and scheduled for publication during the week leading up to my trip back to NYC during the first week of June, so hopefully I didn’t get pushed in front of a subway or suffer an aneurism or something while there.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
It’s funny, people tell me Downtown Pittsburgh is dangerous. Homeless people, drug addicts, the mentally imbalanced – all that. I don’t feel imperiled at all, but definitely maintain a ‘street posture’ in this zone. Junkies are unpredictable. The last time a junkie came at me, it was in LIC and during the pandemic at night. He didn’t like it at all when I jammed my right thumb into his eye, not one bit. Brooklyn, 1980’s, right here.
Saying all that, you’ve seen worse in NYC and elsewhere. I certainly have.
Anyone remember Larry ‘Wild Man’ Hague from Manhattan’s upper west side in the 90’s. I do. That was a dangerous ‘creature of the streets’ if ever there was one. I can attest to the news article’s reporting that he would set fires under parked cars, for fun, on 96th bet Amsterdam and Broadway.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Nearing the Smithfield Street Bridge over the Monongahela River, and for some reason a truck passing by on the highway below (I-376) caught my eye. This road leads to both the Fort Duquesne Bridge and the Fort Pitt Bridge and tunnel, which are sort of the ‘master cylinders’ for traffic in Pittsburgh. A slow down at either span ripples forth and miles outwards in minutes, affecting the entire city’s traffic.
Of course, I was on foot while shooting and at that moment couldn’t have given two shits about traffic problems. I wanted to drink a beer, damnit! Priorities!
– photo by Mitch Waxman
After crossing the river, I was making my way to my favorite little brewery when a train appeared on the Norfolk Southern tracks high above. It wasn’t a Norfolk Southern locomotive, and its color way branding could indicate either the white whale Allegheny Valley RR or another seldom spotted local rail outfit. Couldn’t tell.
Life is a bit sweeter with some mystery in it, I always say.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A film crew had blocked my normal path to the beer taps, so a course correction was instituted. That alteration led to a set of city steps, which is somehow fitting since this walk started with another set of steps back on Rialto Street. PTSD was absolutely singing an aria in my head during this moment, and I was grasping at the bannister like my life depended on it.
I will get over this, as it just ‘mishegoss.’
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Finally, with a glass of cold lager in front of me, I got to sit down and wait for the trains to come to me. The CSX Pittsburgh Subdivision tracks seldom disappoint. My drink was soon finished, the tab paid, and a rideshare car was summoned to return me back to nearby Dormont.
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.
411,840 inch scuttle accomplished
Friday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Pittsburgh has lots of alleys, especially so ‘Downtown.’ They don’t put the garbage out on the sidewalks in front of the big office buildings for collection here, rather they use the alleys for that. A few blocks away from this spot is where Christopher Nolan’s Batman movies shot the formative encounter between the Wayne’s and Joe Chill. The entire trilogy was mostly Pittsburgh based for its filming.
Me? My busted ankle was singing, and luckily I had managed to walk some six and half miles on this one. It took me three and change hours, mind you, but I did it. Look at me ma, top of the world.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
In the downtown section, Pittsburgh’s ‘T’ light rail service operates in a former freight rail tunnel, found under the city, and runs in the manner of a subway under the office buildings. It rolls through several modalities over its course – the T does – street running, cantilevered tracks, and there’s also elevated trestles. It’s all very exciting, really.
I boarded the Red Line service at the Wood Street station and settled into a seat for the roughly five mile ride back to HQ. It was good to sit down, after a longish walk.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
About thirty minutes later, I was standing on a corner in the Boro of Dormont, and getting ready to lean into the last and shortest leg of the walk: down the hill back to HQ where Our Lady of the Pentacle and Moe the Dog awaited my return.
It was my turn to cook dinner, which ended up being air fryer cooked chicken thighs, served over rice and with a lot of broccoli.
Back next week, 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.
The Newtown Pentacle 