Posts Tagged ‘Library Road Route 88’
Coal Mining and Andy Warhol
Thursday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
That’s what drew me out to Pittsburgh’s Bethel Park, pictured above.
Supposedly, this building, which clearly sports ‘newer’ and ‘older’ sections, used to be the motor room for a coal mine’s ‘tipple’ – or so I’ve been told. It’s where the electrical traction equipment which was used to haul the mined mineral up and out of the depths was located.
Pittsburgh Coal Company was a monopolistic ‘trust,’ operated by the Fricks and Mellons, which fixed standard regional prices for the fuel.
Coincidence that the principal buyers of this mined fuel happened to be the steel mills, which were also owned by those baronial families. The company store, getting paid in ‘script,’ renting the house from your boss, private Police forces…
Such vertically integrated beneficence, that these Captains of Industry displayed towards their vassals subjects staff, huh?
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I’m told that the newer section of the building houses electrical equipment used by the transit service’s light rail system. Neat!
Wish I could have gotten closer, but ‘No Trespass’ signs abound.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
One hung a left, onto a wide street called ‘Connor Road.’ At its intersection with Route 88/Library Road, a small bridge carries the roadway over the Saw Mill Run waterbody.
I was heading for a cemetery, since I was in the neighborhood.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A few posts back, I promised to offer photos of what ‘miner’s houses’ look like, and there you are. These have largely received additions and renovations, but the plot size and homogeneity reveal them. The original model of this style is what the bosses would rent to you when you agreed to mine for them, and would kick you and your family onto the street from if you tried to organize a union, or talked back against their system.
You’ll be seeing lots and lots of examples of this sort of housing plan in forthcoming posts here. The mill houses are a big part of the coal story.
That’s Connor Road going up the hill, coincidentally.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
St. John the Baptist Byzantine Catholic Cemetery, that’s where I was heading.
Had to pay a visit to another New Yorker, since I was in the neighborhood. They apparently participate in Pennsylvania’s Anti Vampire program, with that displayed cruciform vouchsafing the land nearby a body of flowing water.
Andy Warhol was created by Pittsburgh, but became who he was meant to be over in New York City.
There are only one or two documented visits he made to ‘back home,’ after he became famous. Post mortem – and the return to Pittsburgh of his remains – the Yinzers installed a plaque on his childhood home, named a bridge after him, and opened a museum dedicated to his work and life.
From everything I’ve ever heard about Andy Warhol, he’d likely find that funny and sweet at the same time.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The grave of Andy Warhol has a 24/7 live webcam streaming the monument out to the world. That is very, very Warhol, if you ask me.
Back tomorrow.
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