Posts Tagged ‘North Side’
Atavist candy and the Allegheny River
Thursday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
On Pittsburgh’s north side, nearby the stadium where the Steelers live and play, a former factory building can be observed. The 1928 vintage structure has obviously been renovated in modernity, with its snazzy windows and sharply pointed brick walls.
It’s called the D.L Clark Building and this structure used to be a candy factory. Over at historicpittsburgh.org, they’ve got old timey shots of the place from ‘back in the day.’
Recent scuttling brought this building onto my radar, and I’m glad of that.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
It’s peculiar, to me, that a shroud of relative obscurity greets the curious narrator, as to the specifics of this building and its renovation, which real estate representatives describe as ‘a landmark.’
This shroud, I think, is the shadow result of the sort of SEO marketing efforts that real estate people engage in. Page of search results after page of search results were unified in congratulating me on my interest in renting commercial space in the building. The listings describe cavernous and desirable spaces within. Apparently, one of Pittsburgh’s news outlets is also based herein. The SEO marketing crowds out actual search results.
As far as what Google, in modernity, has become – I think Huey Lewis said it best. Shame that, Google was a great tool once.
Bah!
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The excellent historicpittsburgh.org site offers this ‘D. L. Clark Company Papers and Photographs’ page, which discusses the Clark Company and its long history in some detail.
Manufacturers of the iconic Clark Bar, the D. L. Clark Company was. Said ‘Clark Bar’ was a sweet treat that was commonly found floating around in the ruck sacks of American Soldiers during the two world wars.
I was always a Milky Way or Three Musketeers guy, with a strong secondary preference for Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. Also, Lemonheads, mmmm. Of course, I was a kid in the 1970’s and early 80’s.
Forward, ever forward, and it was time to push on.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Your humble narrator is absolutely captivated by the ramps leading to and from the Fort Duquesne Bridge in this section of Pittsburgh. It’s not a great pedestrian space, I should mention, until you’re squarely in the shadows of these things. The entire area hereabouts is all about the needs of the automobile, despite there being a light rail station and lots of bus service nearby. This is roughly the mid point between the two big stadiums – Acrisure/Steelers and PNC Park/Pirates.
There’s a lot of new construction in this zone, and a strip of high volume bar/restaurants, of the sort which the TV show ‘Bar Rescue’ extols as being ‘profit machines’ which enjoy surge business on game days.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
One reached the shoreline of the Allegheny River, and crossed the waterbody on the Sixth Street/Roberto Clemente bridge. One was hoping for some maritime activity, but that wasn’t happening (yet).
I was as happy as possible, for one such as myself. The filthy black raincoat was flapping about in the wind, and the light was good.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
That’s when this set of stairs leading off of the bridge and down to one of the riverfront trails manifested itself. I’ve walked down these stairs dozens of times, it should be mentioned, but for some reason… the PTSD regarding the bum ankle manifested.
Couldn’t stop myself from ‘death gripping’ the bannister. Managed to force myself down them to the trail below, but it wasn’t pretty and I was literally clinging to the bannisters on that first turn down there. It’s getting better, but is obviously still present, this sensation.
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.
Merchant Street Bridge
Wednesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Allow me to start this post by saying that the locally grown automobile and truck drivers of Pittsburgh just suck at operating their vehicles.
They don’t seem to know what the brake pedal does, drive as if they have their heads wrapped up in gauze, and the Yinzers seem to believe that there’s only one direction their car can go – forward and at top speed. They seem to refuse to fully turn the steering wheel when required. The concept of ‘vehicular following distance’ is foreign. Collision is common.
Road rage is at epidemic levels out here. I ascribe to NYC’s version of driving, which states that taking risks and driving aggressively should be somehow connected to a victory state. If you are doing something not so sane behind the wheel, there has to be a payoff for the effort and risk. Not so with the Yinzers. About thirty people a year die in Pittsburgh because they accidentally drive off of cliffs.
After being thwarted by a lack of rail traffic at a nearby set of Norfolk Southern tracks, your humble narrator decided that he’d been standing still too long and got back to the business of the day, which was scuttling and exercising while waving the camera about.
I soon was shambling towards the Merchant Street Bridge, the filthy black raincoat flapping in the breeze.
A convenient bit of historical signage was noticed along the way, which relates the long story and circumstance of the span, which ended up being focused on for today’s missive.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
It’s a pretty minor rail bridge, this, but what caught my eye was the enormous steel barrier vouchsafing it from vehicular collision.
Remember, Pittsburgh drivers just blow.
At least a third of them are texting while driving at any given time, many while on the highways and moving at speed. The interiors of their cars are decorated like a teenager’s bedroom. They arrange toys on their dashboards. This isn’t just in cars, either, it’s the heavy trucks too.
One time, I drove past a guy who was eating a Hoagie sandwich with his left arm while holding a beverage container with his right, concurrently he was watching a TV show on his phone – which was balanced on the car’s steering wheel. He was operating the steering wheel with his right elbow. On a bridge, and while heading into a tunnel.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Of course, I had to focus in on the gouges and scrapes which that height barrier – painted bright and reflective yellow gold – was sporting. There’s an 11 foot height restriction for the bridge, which is indicated on both sides by similarly reflective highway signs.
Signs would work, were drivers paying attention while driving. They’re not, as you can see.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
On the other side of the Merchant Street Bridge, looking back at my path. Notice that busted signage…
Just last week, I saw some dude in a pickup enter a highway at 70 mph and then accelerate into heavy highway traffic, shooting out from an on-ramp. He perpetrated a diagonal merge through fairly dense traffic – at speed – to the passing lane on the left, and then executed a 90 mph diagonal path back across the three lanes to get to the next exit. He tried to negotiate a 30 mph off ramp curve at about 70. Dude ended up in the grass but didn’t roll over. Came pretty close, to my eye.
I think this bloke is a likely candidate to join that elite group of thirty who drive off cliffs to their death every year. What’s the point of the risk? It’s one exit. What did you achieve?
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Even the height restriction sign isn’t safe. Jeez Louise.
I’ve been lucky enough to interact with people who are experts in many of the public facing specialities – sewer, transit, maritime, all that, over the years.
One of them designed and engineered highways and their ramps for New York State. The knowledge imparted to me from this person involved the actual science of high speed roads, as in why the roadway is slanted and where, or the different kinds of pavement you’d want to deploy depending on intended use and speed restrictions. I learned that the posted speed limit is usually set well below but within reach of the upper 15-20 mph operational speed capacity of the roadway itself.
If you’re doing 70 on a 55 mph highway, it’s risky from a physics POV as you’re operating in the upper percentile of the roadway’s design use. You can probably get away with 5-10 over the limit, and not risk rolling your vehicle or shooting over a cliff… but… why take that chance at all?
Slow down, jagoff.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The Merchant Street Bridge has an off shoot trestle, which is a former rail connection to a factory building, one which has incontrovertibly survived decades of urban renewal projects that have played out in this part of Pittsburgh which have demolished nearly everything else in sight. We’ll explore that tale a bit tomorrow.
Back tomorrow, with some candy.
“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.
Eyes fixed
Tuesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Calvary United Methodist Church, that’s what they call it. Opened in 1895, it’s caught my eye every single time I’ve found myself moving through Pittsburgh’s ‘North Side.’ Gothic revival is the architectural style of the building.
Along with the ‘church on Polish Hill,’ this one is at the top of my list to find a way inside of and get photos of the interior. ‘Sacred Spaces’ is the name of that particular project.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I’ve mentioned in the past that a bit of social networking is required, when the subject of churches or religious institutions in general is on the menu. Sure, I’ve barged into empty churches and waved the camera around in the past, but as I often say: I’m like a vampire, and need to be invited in to properly do my thing.
None of the priests or prelates like my vampire metaphor, by the way.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This one is a trick shot: a combination of four images combined together into a vertical ‘panorama.’ There’s a bit of unfortunate distortion present, but it was really the only way I could show the entire facade.
It was hot out, by the way. I mean super duper nearly life threateningly hot. Shortly after cracking these out, I decided to head back home to HQ in a rideshare.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
While I was waiting for my ride, a confrontation between a 7 eleven manager and a shoplifter played out. The 7 eleven guy demanded ‘his stuff back’ and the shoplifter guy decided it wasn’t worth going to the mat over a bottle of water and a bag of pretzels.
Me? I picked a shaded spot to wait for my chariot, which ended up being a Tesla sedan.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I have got to see what it looks like inside…
Thing is, this was a Sunday. The church people get up to all sorts of stuff in there on Sundays. There’s historic documentation of this area, as it’s actually a historic/landmark district, and I’m plan on getting to know this old timey ‘zone’ better in the coming months.
There’s also a rough side to this neighborhood, mind you, but… Y’know… Brooklyn…
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As mentioned in earlier posts, I’m a few weeks ahead of the schedule here – for once – and this post is being written on the 15th of August.
Back tomorrow with something different, and less obsessive.
“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.
North Siding
Monday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As regular readers will recall, from last week, your humble narrator was out and about for a fairly short walk on an extremely hot afternoon in Pittsburgh. The T light rail had carried me from Dormont to Downtown, and the Roberto Clemente Bridge – having been closed to vehicle traffic due to a baseball game at the PNC Park stadium – was how I was crossing the Allegheny River. I took every opportunity to stand directly on the lane markers in the center of the bridge and shoot photos. Normally, doing this would get you shmushed by a car or truck.
This one looks back towards the Downtown area. Funnily enough, I used to do some of the advertising work for that Renaissance Hotel, on the left hand side of the shot. This was around 25 years ago, at a small ad agency I worked for on 22nd street between fifth and sixth, back in Manhattan.
Retouching and ad construction/publishing, if you’re curious.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The closed bridge lane continued for a couple of blocks onto the street ‘grid’ of Pittsburgh’s North Shore, in direct proximity to the stadium. My toes were pointed in the direction of those concrete ramps, which carry a couple of high speed roads and there’s also a rail trestle back there.
This section which I was heading into used to be called ‘Allegheny City,’ until it was annexed by Pittsburgh in 1907.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As mentioned last week, there was an event meant to be happening which seemed like it would offer lots of silly things to take pictures of, and that’s what guided my steps.
Unfortunately, when I arrived at the prescribed location – Nada. Crossed signals, maybe? I double checked the address, and time/date, but there you are.
So, there I am, a narrator without a destination… what to do…
Keep walking, that’s what.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I was walking the perimeter of Allegheny Commons Park, which I’ve often visited in search of interesting rail shots, and the National Aviary’ is found within its confines, as well. I stuck to the streets, specifically ‘North Avenue.’ Lots and lots of interesting historic building stock can be found along this route.
You’re looking at Pittsburgh’s ‘Mexican War Streets historic district’ by the way.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Pictured above is a lovely apartment building, built in the pre-air conditioning era, a building which always catches my eye when I’m moving through this zone. I looked around for any information about 316-318 North Avenue, but a fog of real estate offerings seems to be intentionally obscuring its tale.
This is a real and growing problem, by the way. ‘SEO’ or ‘Search Engine Optimization’ manipulation of Google results has greatly reduced the utility of the search giant’s services in recent years. It’s too easy for the ‘shit flies’ to crowd out anything other than their dreams of avarice.
Google used to be a useful tool. Now, it’s just another vehicle for ads.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Oddly enough, I spotted two women walking horses around in the park. A few blocks later, a photo shoot was encountered. There were three very attractive young women wearing western style garb which had been ‘bedazzled’ with sequins and such. There was a very nervous looking photographer, and a couple of stylists, and these horses were heading their way.
Never work with children or animals, ask any actor.
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.
Crossing Ohio River, via West End Bridge
Thursday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As described yesterday, a constitutional scuttle was undertaken, one which found the camera being carried towards and then over the West End Bridge spanning the headwaters of the Ohio River.
H.P. Lovecraft’s ‘The Lurking Fear’ as read by Wayne June was the audiobook I was listening to. Man, did I get my money’s worth out of that purchase, some twenty years ago, or what? I must have listened to this recording hundreds, it not thousands, of times at this point. Mole hills!
At any rate, I was preparing myself to surmount a set of steps, which I still have a ‘thing’ about in my head. Broke my ankle on a set of steps at home, and have been enjoying the PTSD ever since. Phobic about the rises and runs of stairs, me. It’s getting better, though.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
There’s a big development project that’s meant to kick in around here, which is probably why there’s so many empty lots. During football and baseball games, the owners of these empty properties use them as commercial parking lots, to help handle the overflow of vehicles, and to make bank.
I leaned into it, and shook my head until my apprehensions about the steps faded. It must have looked like a scene from Jacob’s Ladder.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I’m all ‘effed up.
I’ve described crossing the West End Bridge, its history, and its environs before, click here for all that. This particular walking path is regularly visited, as it’s a fairly easy ‘reach’ for me to find a few hours for exercise during an afternoon. Leaving the car at home and using mass transit like the ‘The T’ to get into the zone is just a plus. Once a New Yorker…
I’ve gotten curious in terms of statistics, regarding Pittsburgh. A lot of this thought process involves comparison between ‘the old neighborhood’ and Pittsburgh. For ‘old neighborhood,’ let’s just use Brooklyn, as NYC itself rates as a bit of a Nation State, rather than a mere municipality.
I asked a computer about comparative geography, so according to Google’s AI:
- Brooklyn: Has a land area of 69.4 square miles (183.4 km²).
- Pittsburgh: Has a land area of 55.6 square miles (144 km²).
- Comparison: Brooklyn is significantly larger in land area than Pittsburgh.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Hey now, that’s active rail action on the other side of the bridge!
This day, as a note, would end up being described as ‘fantastic’ if the subject of rail traffic or quality of light was my qualifier. Really productive day on that front, as you’ll see in subsequent posts.
Also, comparing the numbers of and brands of people, from Google’s AI:
- Brooklyn: In 2020, Brooklyn’s population was 2,736,074, with a density of 39,336 people per square mile. In 2023, the population was estimated to be 2,646,306. It’s known for its significant cultural, ethnic, and linguistic diversity. In 2023, the racial composition was estimated to be 36.2% White, 26.2% Black, 18.9% Hispanic, and 12.3% Asian.
- Pittsburgh: In 2023, Pittsburgh’s population was estimated to be 303,255. The metropolitan area’s racial demographics were estimated to be 83% white, 7% Black, 3% Asian, and 2% Hispanic.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I’ve mentioned this several times over the last few years, but… there’s the ‘City of Pittsburgh’ and then the ‘Pittsburgh Metro Area or Greater Pittsburgh’ concept, and then there’s an overlay of ‘Allegheny County’ to factor in when talking about this part of the country. It’s kind of complicated.
Finally, comparing the regional economies, also from Google’s AI:
- Brooklyn: The total GDP for the Borough of Brooklyn (Kings County) was US$107.274 billion in 2022.
- Pittsburgh: The GDP for the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) was $194.229 billion in 2023. However, this figure represents a larger region than just the city itself. Key industries include healthcare, higher education, and financial services.
- Comparison: Brooklyn’s economy, as represented by its GDP, is significant, and the city has seen a resurgence in various sectors, including the arts. While Pittsburgh’s economy was historically dominated by the steel industry, it has diversified into areas like healthcare, life sciences, and technology.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As is my regular habit, a quick 180 degree heel spin occurred periodically to see if I was being followed or predated by some creatures of the streets. Old habit, keeps me from dying hard. The light was really spectacular on this afternoon, I’d mention again.
Back tomorrow with Choo-Choo’s.
“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 