Posts Tagged ‘North Side’
Branta, awaiting south bound scuttlers
Tuesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This is the second post describing a tranche of shots gathered on a short walk through Pittsburgh’s North Side.
This particular afternoon, at the end of May, happened to occur on the first day that summer level temperature and humidity levels had arrived, and truth be told, the heat was kind of affecting me.
Wasn’t feeling so great for this part of the walk, which passed by the demolition and construction action prestaging a massive real estate development called ‘The Esplanade.’
Urban heat island effect was ‘in full effect.’ Discretion being the better part of valor, I decided to cut things short on the North Shore and call it a day by heading back to HQ via the ‘T’ Light Rail.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Of course, I still had a fair bit of ground to cover in order to get back to transportation. Luckily, the riverfront trail was available for this leg of the walk. This was all fairly familiar territory for me, from this point on.
In urban spaces, there are ‘corridors,’ as I term them.
You walk into a funnel, then there are no intersections to your route which don’t involve climbing a fence or something, and you just have to stick it out until you walk out on the other side, at a street junction or something, from the ‘corridor.’
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This particular ‘corridor’ is styled as being the Ohio Riverfront Greenway or something, and it’s yet another ‘rail trail’ which either city, or county, or state maintains for the populace to exploit for exercise or recreational activities. I often see fishers, joggers, and bicycle enthusiasts on this path.
Unfortunately, for a riverfront trail, the view of the river is often blocked.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Sentries await you.
This icehole was tending its chicks, so a wide berth was given. Doesn’t matter with the Canada Goose, how much respect you might show them. The tongue was bared and the hissing began. If Dinosaurs were anything like the Canada Goose, I’m glad they went extinct.
I named this one ‘Jerkwater.’
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The trail led me to one of the ‘three sisters’ bridges, and that’s where the Allegheny River was crossed. The goal at this point was to get to a T station, and board a lovely air conditioned Light Rail train back to HQ.
There are two ‘T’ stations on the north side, but a baseball game at the Pirate’s stadium was gathering vast clouds of fans unto itself, and gathering the masses in the direction of those stations, and your humble narrator famously hates crowds…
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Unfortunately, this led to me encountering the second icehole of the day. Again with the tongue and the hissing. Pfft.
Freaking Canadian Vegans! I dubbed this one ‘Lance, the Icehole.’
Back tomorrow with something different.
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Scuttling southwards from northwards
Monday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Yet another ‘exercise day’ greeted your humble narrator, and this time around his scuttling took place on Pittsburgh’s North Side.
A large development project has kicked up in this area, an industrial zone, which has also taken over part of the Ohio River’s waterfront trail in this section and interrupted its course with a detour.
It very well might develop into a hullabaloo, this project, only time will tell.
This project, and the vagaries it has visited upon the grid of streets and riverfront trails it caresses against, forced me into following my nose – as it were – to get ‘out.’ Had to make it up as I went along.
Seems that I’ve found the place where people like to store their boats in Pittsburgh, at least.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As a reminder, the Newtown Pentacle time warp is still in full effect.
These shots were captured during the last week of May, and the words you’re reading are being scratched into existence during the last week of June. Maintaining this ‘lead time’ has been a real boon for me, although it causes one to become chronologically detached from when it will publish.
Housekeeping done, back to the wandering.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
While scuttling along, one encountered a building that looked like it was ‘AI.’ Apparently, it’s the ‘Bidwell Training Center Drew Mathieson Greenhouse’ wherein students train in the botanical arts.
It seriously didn’t look real, this building.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Looks like an AI model’s insertion, doesn’t it?
Nothing is real anymore, I guess. Am I real? I must be, since I fart. Farting is real, and no computer would have thought farting up.
On another personal note, I can report that I’ve finally finished my latest relisten of Mike Duncan’s ‘History of Rome’ podcast. All 75 hours of it, with the sum up ultimate episode consumed at the end of this walk.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Crossroads… a right turn takes me north westerly towards the Ohio River waterfront, whereas going straight heads towards an area which I hadn’t walked through yet…
Yup, the unknown won.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
After a couple of disastrous ‘in the field’ decisions led me into actual physical danger over the last couple of months, I’ve been forcing myself to consult that little compass I have dangling off my camera bag – a lot.
South, I needed to continue more or less south…
Back tomorrow – 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.
In the air, and everywhere
Monday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As you might recall from last week, your humble narrator was scuttling through Pittsburgh’s ‘Chateau’ neighborhood on the city’s North Side.
There’s lots of lovely homes here, many of which are in a sad state of repair. Condemnation signage is common, as are empty building lots.
I just like to follow my nose around this area, and had only a vague directional notion of where I was going. That little compass dangling off my camera bag was consulted a couple of times.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A sudden rush of research activities, centered around a former Standard Oil cannery (behind me, and discussed in a prior post), which revealed that this was a populous but fairly poor neighborhood back in the 1950’s – with churches, shops, and homes.
In 1963, Pittsburgh decided to ‘fix’ this area under the guise of urban renewal/slum clearance, which took the form of erecting an enormous series of highway viaducts and access ramps in lieu of that former mixed use setup. The project eradicated what used to be here, and used the rubble of that civilization to landfill into the Ohio River.
If your residential or commercial property was on the ‘wrong’ side of the new highway, it’s now zoned for ‘heavy industrial,’ so get the ‘eff out.
A 2006 survey revealed that only 39 people were living in the Chateau neighborhood, which kicked off a fresh round of urban renewal.
Don’t know anything about what the population numbers are right now, but the ‘powers that be’ have just started another of their ‘this will save Pittsburgh’ developments nearby. This time around, there’s going to be a Ferris wheel.
Always have to remind, they had a Rachel Carson here in Pittsburgh, not a Jane Jacobs.
Robert Moses always talked about wielding a ‘meat cleaver’ for his projects, wherein if something was in the way he just chopped and chopped at it with the metaphorical cleaver until it was gone.
They really seem to have embraced that ‘Powerbroker’ philosophy here in Pennsylvania.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
To get an idea of the sort of grandiose buildings lost to these generational cascades of Urban Renewal, look at the surviving blocks of Chateau – where Chateau’s streets merge into the Manchester neighborhood.
Admittedly, this mansion sized home is an outré example, but holy smokes – it looks like Batman grew up there.
Check that out, spooky looking Victorians, yo. Magnificent.
This entire ‘zone’ that I was cutting through was once part of a separate municipality called ‘Allegheny City,’ annexed by Pittsburgh in 1907.
Just like Queens back in NYC, as soon as the annexation/political consolidations we’re finished, the larger city began exporting its dirty industries, chipping away at the lesser entity’s neighborhoods, and began ramming highways and sewer plants through to serve the larger entity.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Street Furniture was spotted.
It was a fairly warm day, but breezy and overcast.
Luckily, I had dressed for ‘high summer,’ with shorts and one of my silly Guayabera shirts (they offer four secure pockets, bro), and an even sillier fishing hat that I had purchased at a Costco for $9.
One had the ‘full’ camera kit onboard, and was carrying it all in a knapsack. Didn’t end up using much from the bag, other than the bottle of water I now carry. Basically did a ‘one lens’ sort of walk, with an ‘all in one’ 24-240mm zoom lens.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
It’s a very convenient lens, but it’s huge and kind of heavy, and has limitations on aperture. I refer to it as ‘the brick.’ Reliable, but heavy.
As far as all the crap in my camera bag – if I didn’t have it with me, I’d desperately need it. I carry a bunch of non-camera related stuff in there too – a basic first aid kit, lengths of para chord in case I pop a shoelace, or if there’s a failure in the straps of the camera, or the bag itself.
There’s also a flashlight, a very loud whistle, gum, a series of tools for field repairs on the gear, a scanner radio set to railroading frequencies, and all sorts of discrete or handy items which I’ve gathered over the years that are useful to have with you, when wandering about with a camera. Everything is filtered according to its weight, of course.
When the bag is full of all this junk, and lenses, and the tripod is attached, it clocks in at about a thirty pound load. When you’ve walked literally tens of thousands of miles over the last twenty years, as I have, you just learn that there’s ‘stuff’ you want to have with you – just in case – and the ‘carry’ is justified.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I got to see Allegheny Valley RR’s #6004, again.
This is the same locomotive that was pictured a few posts back, sitting inert in a rail yard, but this time around it was hauling what looked like a series of empty gondola cars – the sort you’d normally observe black minerals within, likely coke or coal – rolling through the rail trench at Allegheny Commons Park.
Hey Now!
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.
Standard, high, uniform quality
Friday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This is the sort of post which I often describe as being ‘serendipitous.’
After marveling at a rail yard, and a bit of overbuilt pedestrian infrastructure on Pittsburgh’s North Side, your humble narrator had pointed his toes at Chateau Street. While scuttling along, the intricacy of the masonry on that building pictured above (2034 Chateau Street) caught my attentions and I stood there for a few minutes admiring it. I took a photo.
A fellow had just parked his truck, sauntered up, and said ‘Hi.’
I’m terrible with names, so he was either a ‘jim’ or a ‘rob’ or a ‘dave,’ since his name immediately exited my brain after the handshake. I asked if he knew anything about the building, whereupon he said that it housed his family’s business – the one advertised on the signage.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I mentioned my appreciation of the finery apparent in the masonry, and that the building looked ‘1920’s’ to me, opining that this sort of decorative and expensive brick work indicated that this building had some sort of grand past.
Rob/Dave/Jim laughed, and told me that the building was built in the 1920’s (good eye, he said), and that it was originally a Standard Oil Cannery operation. Further, he invited me to come inside and look around, but I declined that offer.
Rob/Dave/Jim said I should make sure to get a shot of a big, century old oil tank at the edge of their property, which is a part of the original Standard Oil setup.
This building’s tale set your humble narrator off on a spate of interesting reading, centered around this area. Specifics of the cannery operation were just out of historic reach for most of it.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
It seems that Standard operated the cannery out of this site through the end of the Second World War, whereupon the property was sold and converted over to be the HQ of an interstate trucking company in the 1950’s. Said trucking company specialized in unloading cargo from rail cars and then onto a truck bed, for localized delivery. ‘Intermodal’ is what that’s called.
I also learned that in 1963, Pittsburgh pretty much annihilated another living ‘mixed use’ neighborhood, which was found right here, in the name of urban renewal, progress, and erecting more high speed roads and ramps. The neighborhood was flattened, and its rubble used to land fill in the Ohio River, creating its modern coastline.
This ‘zone’ is largely flat, thereby, and this 1963 project is ‘why.’
– photo by Mitch Waxman
That’s the Standard oil tank, back there.
Of course, there’s oceans of nasty chemicals in the ground down below the surface, floating around on the aquifer. Researching this former Standard Oil property revealed yet another set of surprises about Pittsburgh’s past, which will – of course – lead to other scuttles around this fairly interesting area.
According to old maps I’ve seen, the original waterfront facing street around these parts was actually Chateau Street, where I was walking, which is why Standard was here as they had access to both docks and rail.
Me?
It’s a ‘walk,’ not a ‘stand around and ponder,’ so I leaned back into it.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The plan for the rest of this effort was to head south, cross the Allegheny and then the Monongahela Rivers, have a quick beer at that brewery with the trains, and then catch a light rail ride back to HQ in Dormont.
From the point in space pictured above, the peregrinations prior to arriving at the light rail would require around four to five additional miles worth of walking.
Another abandoned and condemned house caught my attention.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Whereas I’d be pretty jazzed to have a rail yard just on the other side of my back yard, I can understand how that would grind on you. Moe the Dog would definitely not enjoy this.
Hey Now! Norfolk Southern #9871 just kind of appeared, hauling a set of specialized track geometry and testing cars. Neat!
Back next week with more from the Paris of Appalachia – 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.
Built environment
Thursday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This post is a bit of an aside, placed parenthetically within the contents of a longer walk, which will continue tomorrow.
At the intersection of Chateau Street and Beaver Avenue, on Pittsburgh’s North Side, there’s a ramped structure which allows pedestrians and bicycles vertical egress from one ground level up to the next one, and it seems to be attached to a series of highway ramps that overfly a train yard.
How complicated… tell me more…
I looked around a bit, but couldn’t find a name assigned to the structure, although it obviously has one – given how overbuilt and undoubtedly expensive this whatzit was to build. You don’t spend millions of the public’s money on something and then not give it a name.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Steel, concrete, engineering, construction… all super expensive.
Pretty wide ramps are on offer, and these pathways offer sharp right angle turns at the corners where they spiral around the core structure. I’d guess that the thing climbs up about 50-80 feet in elevation. I ran a picture of the whole assembly yesterday, here it is again.
I don’t want you to imagine that I think I’ve found the lost ark of the covenant here, but this is a pretty odd thingamabob.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
If you had to, you could probably drive a non SUV sized police car through here. Width wise, it would be tight but possible. That’s about how wide these ramps were. Gently graded they are, I’d mention, so people with mobility issues and bike riders were definitely a consideration when designing the thing. These are the sort of ‘people mover’ ramps you normally see at stadiums.
Above this thingie are a series of highway trestles which overfly rail tracks, with the trestles connecting southbound drivers to the approaches of the West End Bridge, or to the interplay of ramp options that are offered nearby leading to the Fort Duquesne Bridge, and Crosstown Boulevard, interchanges.
Whew, how’s that for a geography lesson?
I just had to keep on going, until this whatzit got me up to wherever it might be leading to. This is exactly how I’m going to die, I often think.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Basically… up top, there’s another street level series of ramps, and then an overhead series of highway ramps, which this massive pile of smaller pedestrian ramps leads up to. No Shake Shack up here. Now I know.
Also, man oh man, are there ever a lot of vehicle ramps flying through the sky here in Pittsburgh or what? Feck.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
An eye was kept on the Allegheny Valley Railroad train sitting in the yard below, all inert. This outfit does ‘switcher’ and ‘last mile’ duty for (mainly) Norfolk Southern, and I understand they have a few Pittsburgh area clients of their own which these AVRR ‘Carload Express’ engines service. I imagine the crew was taking a break, and eating lunch or something, as they were sitting static for better than half an hour.
That above, by the way, is pretty much the sum total of what I know about these cats at AVRR. If I got something wrong, or you’d like to expand the knowledge of your fellow Newtown Pentacle readers – I’d ask you to leave a comment below.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As it turned out, that conspicuous building – pictured above – was a pretty cool find for me, but all that’s for tomorrow’s post.
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 