Posts Tagged ‘Mount Washington’
on a clear day…
Tuesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A walk down Pittsburgh’s Grandview Avenue was recently undertaken, and whereas I wasn’t specifically intending to do any ‘portrait shots’ of Pittsburgh when leaving HQ… how can you just ignore the set up from way up here?
That’s downtown Pittsburgh pictured above, at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers, where their admixture creates the Ohio River. Commanding views all around.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This one looks westwards along the Ohio, and catches a CSX freight train leaving the frame at center left. The tracks at far left that are set further up the hill are Norfolk Southern’s, and that highway looking primary arterial roadway is called West Carson Street. This is the southern bank of the Ohio River, as a note.
The tripod got set up for these, given that I was dialed all the way out on the zoom lens. I plan on finding some walking pathways through that shot above this summer. The West Carson corridor offers sidewalks, but it’s a high speed road and walking along it could best be described as ‘no bueno.’ The speed limit is 35 mph, but it’s fairly common for people to do 70 or 80 along this lightly policed stretch of road.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This shot looks across the river at the Ohio’s northern bank, with I-279 rammed through an industrial zone. A subsequent walk, which will be detailed in future postings, was recently undertaken in this zone. As is often stated, I remain fascinated by parabolas, and sweeping curves of high speed roads and their ramps.
Back tomorrow.
“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.
All the way up
Monday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Recent endeavor found your humble narrator marching about on Pittsburgh’s Mount Washington, specifically on ‘Grandview Avenue,’ a local street which hugs the ridge of the landform and which provides commanding views of the city and its confluence of the three rivers. This is also a fairly hilly route, with a couple of substantial ups and downs, so a recent exercise day started there. Luckily there was a construction site, which I used to gauge the proper exposure for this particular set of conditions by focusing in on some construction equipment.
The goal for the day was to walk around five miles, horizontally, while also planning in a lot of sloping pathways. All good for the ankle.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
It was a lovely day in Pittsburgh, breezy and in the high 60’s with no expectation of rain. I was packed up in the usual manner, as far as camera and gear go, with one new exception. Got myself a wide brimmed fishing hat for long walks in direct sun like this one.
On sale at Costco, cheap.
I really like Mount Washington, it should be mentioned, and apparently so do a lot of other people. Rental units, and housing valuations, up here along Grandview Avenue are pretty high by Pittsburgh standard. Views are a serious magnifier of real estate pricing wherever you go, I guess.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
There’s a hiking trail (partially pictured) on Mount Washington’s face which I’m going to try and tackle when my ankle is fully recovered. Theoretically that’s going to be the end of the summer, according to all the Docs. Imagine it, I’m visiting this site and you’re not hearing me endlessly complain about breaking my ankle last year. What can I tell you? It was a profound and life altering injury, and it’s still very much present in my day to day.
Back tomorrow 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.
Mud splatters
Tuesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Well, I finally missed a day, yesterday, disappointing all those who expect regularly posted missives from your humble narrator to appear in their inboxes as normal, on a Monday. At any rate, there you are. Sorry, and ‘Oops.’
Pictured is an apartment complex in Pittsburgh’s Green Tree neighborhood. Don’t know much about it, other than marveling at its observed size and bulky brutalist architecture. There’s a few large apartment complexes in Green Tree, and I often wonder why. Most of the community is housed in one family suburban style homes, yet…
Recently, I learned that quite a few of those suburban style homes are built on top of a subterranean freight rail tunnel, and also where that tunnel emerges back onto the surface. It’s a bit of a hike, involves a bit of fence climbing and woods walking, activities which I’m not ready to chance yet.
Something to look forward to.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A recent social engagement in Pittsburgh’s Strip District found me waiting for a cab afterwards, and standing under the 16th street David McCullough Bridge while sheltering from rain. McCullough, a noted historian and Pittsburgh native, wrote what I consider to be the best book on the building of the Brooklyn Bridge (1983’s ‘The Great Bridge: The Epic Story of the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge.’) McCullough narrated the audiobook of it as well, which I listen to periodically.
It seems like life is returning to normal, finally, or at least whatever ‘normal’ is for one such as myself. I’ve been walking as much as the weather and schedules allow, and following the instructions from the team of doctors who cared for me during all of this busted ankle related drama. Continuing the stretching exercises from ‘PT’ and all that.
See… I mentioned the ankle. Promise that I’ll stop talking about that situation soon. Should be nothing more than just another war story within a few months.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Circumstance recently found me in one of the lesser populated sections of Mount Washington’s Grandview Avenue, where this view awaited. I’m planning on heading to this location again with the full kit, setting up the tripod and getting busy. This is pretty far from the overlooks and inclines, this particular spot, and a less common point of view.
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.
Cola Street
Tuesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Circumstance recently found your humble narrator on Pittsburgh’s Cola Street, where one of the City’s more eye catching residences (302 Cola Street, well described in this post from brooklineconnection.com) is found. Colloquially referred to as ‘the colors house,’ #302 is an eye catcher which you can’t help but notice while transiting through the central part of Pittsburgh.
I couldn’t help myself from activating the car’s hazard lights and then waving the camera around for a bit. What a view.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The enigmatic #302 is pictured above, but I didn’t want to dwell on it overly as one of its residents was busy doing spring cleaning and I didn’t want to violate their privacy. Apparently, the architect of the building is the owner and this build was a dream home for the family.
I’ll tell you this, it’s impossible not to notice the #302 from anywhere in Pittsburgh that you’ve got a view of the Monongahela River and Mount Washington. In a sea of green, brown, and gray it’s an eye catcher.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
It took a bit of hunting in the archives to find this shot, from a 2023 walk on the PJ McArdle roadway, a local road cantilevered against the face of Mount Washington on a diagonal. That little grouping of homes is Cola Street, and the ‘colors house’ is seen on the left.
Back tomorrow with something different.
“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.
Down
Thursday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A humble narrator, after walking across the Fort Pitt bridge – as descirbed yesterday – used a free transfer from the T light rail to one of the inclines and soon found himself standing atop Mount Washington and looking down. This is one heck of a prominence, I would mention.
Also as mentioned, I was just letting this particular walk play itself out and went in whatever direction whimsy indicated as correct. As always, camera in hand and the filthy black raincoat flapping noisily in the wind.
A schmuck with a camera, that’s me.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Mount Washington is pretty steep, even when you’re just navigating the sidewalks. As has become my habit here in Pittsburgh, I was heading downhill. The homes on the left side of the shot all seem to have terraces and huge picture windows on the cliff side of their buildings. Lucky stiffs, the people who live here have the best views in the entire city – front row, as it were.
Also as mentioned, we’ve been experiencing serious symptoms of winter here in recent weeks. This was the first day with a modicum of sunlight in several weeks, and it was warm enough out that the snow and ice had melted away.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The bridge I had walked over the river on, Fort Pitt, is the one on the left side of the shot above, and the one in the background is Fort Duquesne Bridge (overflying the Allegheny River). This shot was gathered as I began my descent back to the level I normally dwell in.
I was walking ‘double time’ here, since it was downhill and the scuttling thereby became less ‘muscular’ than previously.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
One navigated to the P.J. McArdle roadway, which is diagonally trussed across the face of Mount Washington. It carries two lanes of vehicle traffic that head up and down the landform, and offers a somewhat ‘in need of repairs’ combine of bike and pedestrian path as well – pictured above.
At least you’re separated from vehicle traffic by waist high concrete barriers for most of it…
The civil engineering side of Pittsburgh is absolutely incredible. There seems to be no geologic obstacle that the people who built this place didn’t figure out a novel way to go through, under, or above. Wow.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
You just have to marvel at it sometimes. After that tree stump, you’ve got a drop off of about 800 or so feet which is set along a 70-80 degree cliff face, that is also heavily wooded. If you fell from here, you’d splatter like a ripe melon. As my Sicilian neighbors, back in the old neighborhood in Brooklyn, would say: “Marone.”
That’s just about when I spotted it… the horror.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Can it be? Has the Queens Cobbler followed me to Pittsburgh, continuing their horrific pursuits? The mind shakes, the soul quivers, the body… well, nothing really happened on that front, but… can it be?
More 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.
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