Posts Tagged ‘Municipal Stairs’
Shocking coruscations
Thursday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
My scuttle down the Lauer Way steps in Pittsburgh’s South Side Slopes section was meant to be just a part of my walk, the first third of a fairly long route. As mentioned previously, this was the last day of that crazy heat wave which afflicted most of the country in July. A cold front was scheduled to blast through Pittsburgh, and would bring thunderstorms and terrific amounts of rain, but it wasn’t meant to roll through for several more hours.
Apparently the weather forecast people underestimated its speedy advance, which led a humble narrator into a bit of a pickle..
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As described several times, Pittsburgh has quite a dynamic atmosphere. I’ve always known oceanic weather, given my long occupancy in the archipelago of New York Harbor. Large shifts in dew point and temperature are fairly predictable and play put over hours, given the governing effect on weather systems that is caused by the nearby ocean. Here – big fronts of continental plain origin can just blow through suddenly, and you can observe five different kinds of sky in just an afternoon. River and mountain valleys found next door to the flat lands in Ohio are the cause, or so I’m led to believe.
My plan had been to hang around on a rail bridge spanning over a set of Norfolk Southern rail road tracks, and wait around for a train to come. I fitted the correct lens for that job onto the camera and got busy waiting.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I’ve shot here before, and it’s a fairly decent spot where you can actually see the signal lights. Said lights can tell you if and where a train is coming from, once you learn how to read their codes.
That sky though… it was turning a bit ominous and the wind had kicked up significantly. Right about when I shot the exposure test image directly above is when I felt the first drops of rain.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
An unholy storm broke out suddenly. One found a spot to stand in which there was a bit of tree cover, but once the storm really started whipping around that became a precipitant liability. Within a minute, I was soaked to the skin, except for a patch of my shirt where I was protecting the camera, directly under my chin. My other hand was grasping the umbrella, but the rain was coming down diagonally at the moment that the shot above was gathered so the umbrella wasn’t all that useful.
Sheiste!
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The spot I was in was pretty far from anything that could be construed as shelter from the storm, but I used my NYC honed senses to find and occupy a spot between a building wall and a mailbox, and then positioned the umbrella so that it was touching the wall. This kept my torso, and both the camera and the bag, somewhat dry. I whipped out my phone and called for a Lyft ride out, but this was about 5:30 p.m. on a week day so I had quite a wait ahead of me.
Double sheiste!
– photo by Mitch Waxman
After getting back to HQ, and by that point the storm had passed and the weather had become unbearably beautiful, I peeled off my soaked clothes and laid out all my possessions to dry. The camera was fine.
Moe the dog was particularly amused by the predicament, and he is pictured above in a moment of his reverie.
Back tomorrow with something different – at this – your Newtown Pentacle.
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Lauer Way Steps
Wednesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The day which I had picked to visit the Lauer Way steps here in Pittsburgh’s South Side Slopes area was at the very end of that crazy heat wave which had plagued the nation for a couple of weeks. A cold front was forecast to blow through later in the afternoon, trailing a powerful line of thunderstorms behind it, and I calculated the timing that would save me from getting wet.
I was totally and absolutely wrong in my calculation, which wouldn’t be the first time that I screwed myself over, but that’s just tomorrow’s post being foreshadowed for you.
After descending down the first section of the Lauer Way steps, there’s a very narrow road cut into the steep hillside which one encounters.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Looking left, my first thought brought a shudder, as I pondered about having to potentially drive through here. I also wondered how you’d bring a fire engine, garbage truck – or really any large vehicle – through here. Jeez.
Heck, I was thinking about how difficult and nerve wracking it would be to drive my Toyota RAV4 through here, and that my Mobile Oppression Platform really isn’t all that much bigger than a standard car and even then it would be a difficult route to navigate. Brrr.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Looking in the other direction – and same deal.
I mean… it’s a paved road, and there were fire hydrants and such, so obviously it’s done by someone, but wowza.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The steps continued their downward journey, after a bit of wooden patchwork that had been married to the older steel and concrete dealie.
I was traveling light, I should mention. Prime lenses in the bag, along with my trusty umbrella and the now ubiquitous water bottle. Last time I was weighed in at the doc, I asked them to indulge me and we did one with and one without the camera bag.
Seven and a half pounds in toto, as it turned out, for my ‘bag of prime lenses’ bag configuration, with umbrella and water bottle riding within, as well as the camera strapped onto me separately.
Bare minimum kit, just what I need, most of the time.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The Lauer Way steps don’t go all the way down to flat land, instead they terminate on a street called ‘Fritz.’ From there, about 3-400 feet of cross scuttling will find you at the last section of the German Square steps, which terminate at a pedestrian bridge over a set of Norfolk Southern rail tracks. As you may have guessed in recent months, rail is a big draw for me, in terms of pointing the camera at something.
That pedestrian bridge is where I was heading while the wind was starting to pick up, and the skies darkened. That cold front was a bit ahead of schedule.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The views from Fritz Street were great. To the left is Pittsburgh’s ‘Downtown’ section, and the red brick section of the shot is the city jail. Instinct found me constantly reaching back to my bag and touching the umbrella. One of my little dealies is to constantly and obsessively check the contents of my pockets and bag to ensure that I haven’t dropped or lost any of the gadgets in the bag, or my keys, or wallet.
A mundane fact I’m quite proud of is that a part of my key ring is the last surviving part of the very first key ring I was presented at 8 or 9 years old by my parents back in Brooklyn. My wallet is a 1983 vintage Levi’s velcro one, purchased at the Gap in Brooklyn’s Kings Plaza shopping mall back in Tenth Grade. I’ve never lost either one, which elicits a somewhat shocked reaction from others. Those little check in’s of mine pay off.
Back tomorrow with more.
“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.
It’s all going down, man
Tuesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Explorations of Pittsburgh’s ‘City Steps’ continue to fascinate me, and recent effort found a humble narrator once again scuttling along in the Allentown section of the South Side Slopes section, and marching inexorably towards another set of the City’s municipal stairs. Legally speaking, these stairs have the status of sidewalks or streets – open to the public, 24 hour, and all that.
This area is part of Mount Washington, although it is significantly lower in altitude than the prominence of the land form that is served by the two surviving funicular ‘inclines.’ There are hundreds of instances, and variants, of these municipal steps to be found in Pittsburgh.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This set, dubbed ‘Lauer Way,’ is a relatively shallow example of the phenomena. They lead down to a one lane street and after about a block, connect to the German Square steps which I’ve mentioned in the past.
Also as described in prior postings, descending down these stairs offers one a pretty good workout for the legs, hitting hard to reach areas in the front of the thigh and the entire calf. The views are pretty sick, too.
The shot above depicts the South Side Flats and the South Tenth Street bridge crossing the Monongahela River.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This photo looks back up to where I started and as you can see – these stairs are fairly steep. Glad I was walking down them rather than up.
A few weeks ago, somebody in the comments asked ‘who maintains the steps and cuts back the foliage?’ As you can see, the answer is pretty much ‘no one,’ and I’ve found that holding onto the bannister is a pretty good idea when one is negotiating them.
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.
Doom walking
Friday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Good news is that I don’t seem to be going blind, or at least not yet. Bad news is that I have to go back to the Ophthalmologist again in August to confirm that. During this walk, the binary of whither or won’t was ruling my thoughts.
There’s all sorts of things going on behind the scenes here at Newtown Pentacle that I don’t really like to discuss with the outside world, I’d mention. I’d much rather tell you what kind of a jackass I am, or describe the psychic torments I inflict upon myself instead of discussing the many existential issues which have popped up in my late 50’s. Maybe even just chatter on about what sort of media I’m consuming.
To wit: Having finished a listen of Mike Duncan’s ‘History of Rome’ podcast’s 179th episode, I considered jumping right into Lars Brownworth’s ‘12 Byzantine Rulers’ podcast, but decided to stay in Western Europe, for Mr. Brownworth’s ‘Norman Centuries’ instead. I’ll likely rewind back to Constantinople afterwards.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This section of Pittsburgh is called the South Side Slopes, and it’s defined by how steep the grade of the land is. An accommodation installed on those steep hills are sets of municipal or ‘City Steps.’
It has been a couple of months since I scuttled through here, and surmounted the ‘German Square Steps,’ and that was my goal for the afternoon before heading over to the light rail station and catching a ‘Blue’ Line T, which would drop me off within a couple of blocks of my doctor’s appointment.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I’m so old now that Joe Biden is only 24 years older than me. Holey moley.
More next week from the steps pictured above, and a special treat will be coming towards the end of the week which I’m pretty excited to share.
My Doctor’s appointment worked out well, and the diagnosis wasn’t terribly grim after all as my potentially horrific situation seems to be resolving itself. Doesn’t mean I’m not a jackass and that everybody doesn’t hate me, though. Really, I’m just the worst.
Back next week.
“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.
18th street steps
Monday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As has been mentioned in prior installments, a humble narrator has working his way around Pittsburgh’s inventory of ‘City Steps’ in recent weeks. Serendipity found me standing on the veritable breach of the 18th Street Steps recently, found in Pittsburgh’s ‘South Side Slopes’ section.
Somebody installed a pleasing bit of signage for this pathway, I’d mention, a close up of which you can admire here. The steps enjoy the same status that sidewalks do, as in they’re there for the scuttling public to use.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This set is a bit shallower than the German Square steps that I’ve described in the past, and offer a plunging descent that’s probably no greater than about six building stories.
As the name would indicate, these South 18th street steps deposit pedestrian traffic onto South 18th street in the South Side Flats area. There’s actually something quite magical about these paths, I’d also mention. Hidden corridors, surrounded by lush vegetation and private residential lots, and you don’t have to worry about motor vehicles or bicycles suddenly appearing and smashing into you. Instead you worry about stumbling, but that’s a different banana.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This set of steps ends in a high set structure which winds down to the street level, but what drew me to this particular path was a POV which I had noticed one day while driving through on that street down there. I walked down to a shady patch on the next landing and hung around for a few minutes hoping to see a train moving through.
Oddly, I was experiencing a slight bit of vertigo while walking this section, and thereby held onto the steel bannister while doing so.
Back 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.
The Newtown Pentacle 