Posts Tagged ‘photowalk’
That cemetery, on Troy Hill
Thursday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I’ve mentioned Pittsburgh’s Troy Hill section before, in posts focused in on one of its most iconic features – Rialto Street.
A few occasions have seen me driving up here, scouting and such. There’s a centuried graveyard up there that’s called the Voegtly Evangelical Church Cemetery.
There’s a great article found here which describes the history, and the story, of the Voegtly cemetery. It also advises that ‘Voegtly’ is a Swiss German family name that is pronounced in English as ‘VECKly.’ More interesting reporting can be accessed here, and here, and a 2003 report from the Smithsonian can be found here.
Quite obviously, this cemetery I was visiting is the second and surviving one, as the original one that was attached to a long demolished church is now a part of an interstate highway. Progress marches on, huh?
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The neighborhood up on Troy Hill looks mostly residential, wood framed buildings seldom taller than three stories. You can ‘see’ the ‘germanity’ in these structures, on the wood worked lintels adorning the windows and doors. The streets up here were definitely not built for a guy from NYC that’s driving a Japanese SUV around. Tight, narrow, and built for horse and carriage. The streets are steep as well. I left the car at home on this particular day, and arrived on Troy Hill via an Uber.
I chatted with some fellow who had volunteered to clean the place up, gathering wind blown trash and detritus which had collected along the fence line. Nice guy, and I always love meeting people who care.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
At the edge of the property, breaks in the tree line allow for views of the Allegheny River valley. Prominent, the 33rd street rail bridge connects right of way trackage across the river to Lawrenceville.
I maintained a pretty good margin of safety regarding the edge of the land here. Wouldn’t want to tumble down onto Route 28 below. I’ve walked that path before… shudder.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Observation reveals that this cemetery seems to have been largely filled up by the early 20th century. A number of the interments reveal entire families lying together, and there are some extraordinary monuments to admire in this polyandrion. Observed interment dates started around the First Civil War and end during the 1920’s. Non scientific survey, this, just what I took notice of.
As was the case with First Calvary back in LIC, the industrial atmosphere and consequent ‘acid rain’ has absolutely consumed and degraded the monuments composed of marble, whereas the granite ones look brand new. The marble ones have that typical ‘melting ice cream’ look. At Calvary, the acidic rainit was due to the Phelps Dodge outfit operating an actual sulfuric acid factory right about where the Kosciuszcko Bridge currently stands.
In Pittsburgh, you can take your pick for ‘point source’ amongst all of the steel mills, railroads, and glass factories that used to be embedded around the place as being the origin point for corrosive gases in the atmosphere.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Fascinating spot, this, for a wandering taphophile. As mentioned above, several of the people buried here seem to have been ‘people of means.’ Look at the Neeb family monument a couple of shots up from this one as an example, but everywhere I looked there were fine carvings which must have cost a pretty penny ‘back in the day.’ Many of these graves were obviously meant for working people, but clearly there were ‘bosses’ buried at Voegtly too.
Me? I was just getting started on the day’s exertions. This was the start of a fairly long scuttle of about ten miles, and the longest walk I was able to pull off in 2025 – due to the orthopedic incident.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
There’s a monument to Western PA.’s firefighters at the Voegtly Evangelical Church Cemetery. Thought it appropriate to get a shot of it. I plan on returning here sometime soon, as a note. Interesting spot.
Back tomorrow with more wonders – 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.
Refrigeration, writ large
Wednesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The weather has been atrocious, cold and wet, here in Pittsburgh.
Nevertheless, if your humble narrator stops moving he’ll stop moving permanently, so the pre-corpse was wrapped up in layers of insulation and the camera batteries charged up. Whoopity boop, and I’m outside.
Pictured is the view from midway up the steep hill that I live at the bottom of, which – come to think of it – is a great metaphor for my entire experience of life. One starts everyday at ‘zero,’ and then try to work my way back up. Whatever it was that I had achieved the day before is always forgotten about by those around me, so thusly I start the next day as a reborn and quite ignorant man child that needs to prove his worth by deed and intention.
As I’m writing this post, it’s still December. New Years is still a few days out at this interval. A short break was taken for the winter holidays, which ate up a bunch of my ‘lead time’ on these posts, something that I’ve been boasting about. I’ll catch back up.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This is Pittsburgh’s Dormont, where HQ is found. There are no ‘mean streets here’ as all the roads are avenues. Seriously, that’s a ‘thing.’
It had been fiendishly cold for a bit, then it snowed abominably. The day these shots were captured offered atmospherics that were chilly, but tolerable. There would be an opportunity for socializing with the humans later in the day, but at this interval I needed to take a short walk and stretch out the chords and rubber bands in the roadway interface. Everything was ‘clicky’ and popping.
Too much sitting, and shoving calorie rich things into the mouth, happens during the holidays – yo. I feel like a goose that’s been farm fattened up for foie gras.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I think the scene above revolved around a house fire. I smelled wood smoke, at least.
Luckily for the people affected, the Dormont fire dept. is literally a block away from that far corner. If this was Astoria, I would have felt compelled to ‘yenta’ my way in and find out the story, but here in Dormont? Not so much. I keep to myself these days, and avoid as much contact with the humans as possible. Fractious creatures, the infestation, and given to fits of passion.
The last few years have seen me becoming less and less involved with others, and far more numb emotionally. I seem to have lost the ability to care overly about strangers. A lot of this has to do with the current state of national politics, incidentally, wherein the current dominars emphasize and celebrate cruel selfishness and group affiliations at the expense of the weak and vulnerable, whom they describe in derogatory ways. It darkens my mood to see the humans behaving so brutally towards each other, over meaningless political word salads.
Judge not lest ye be judged, or something.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This is one of Dormont’s ‘way’ streets, which are alleys.
It seems that a century or so ago, when Dormont was being developed, this ‘no streets’ thing was a part of the ‘sell’ which the Real Estate Industrial Complex of the time used to lure people into moving all the way out into the ‘country.’ No ‘mean streets’ or ‘dark alleys’ for your kids to get involved with the ‘wrong sort’ in, out here as opposed to over there. Dormont is about 5 miles out from downtown Pittsburgh, as a note.
Me? I met up with Our Lady of the Pentacle and a few friends for holiday drinks and ribald conversation. Fun. That was at the end of this short walk. Maybe three miles in total, just a ‘stretch my legs’ sort of thing.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The Mobile Oppression Platform, a Toyota, requires warranty dictated service visits at our local ‘stealership.’ They change out the juices and ichors, attach a computer that talks to the car and figures out if anything’s wrong which needs to be dealt with, rotate the tires – all that. Basically three hours of sitting around for me, starting at 8:30 in the morning.
A not insignificant amount of snow had appeared the night before, and the universal viewpoint on this weather event seemed to be that the city of Pittsburgh had ‘shit the bed,’ regarding roadway maintenance and snow management. It was quite slippery out.
The MOP was pronounced as continuing in fine fettle by the mechanics.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Just a couple of days later, it started snowing again. This photo was shot through the windshield of the MOP, while sitting at a red light, hence the tint of the photo. I don’t even remember where I was when this was captured. Usually when I’m in the car by myself, the camera and bag are sitting on the passenger seat, and at the ready.
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.
Allergic reactions
Tuesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The last installment from a recent walk around Pittsburgh, along one of the waterfront trails in the central part of the city. Pictured above is one of the inclines, ‘the red one,’ as I might call it.
The air temperature was dropping rapidly, with the wind kicking up. With every step, my will to continue this walk was evaporating.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
One was bemused, by the signage and the evidence on the ground, indicating that the sign was in fact telling people that something interesting might be up on the hill, which the sign rendered as forbidden. You might as well tell children that they will never figure out where you hid the Christmas presents.
The sign should have said ‘pay your taxes, this way.’
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Locomotive traffic had fallen off, after those two trains moving under the West End Bridge had passed. One continued along, however, passing beneath the Fort Pitt Bridge.
This weather thing has been getting in my way. I was all set to attend two walking tours – two weekends in a row – which I had to back out of due to the ice and snow which has been glazing the steel city of late.
Have to constantly remind myself that due to the orthopedic incident, I have limitations now. Best to be conservative in my efforts for the next few months, and not risk any new injury. Tremulous, me.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The trail itself was perfectly clear of ice and snow, I should mention.
Regardless, my battery was starting to really run down. It wasn’t just my stamina that was ebbing, I literally mean that the camera battery was running low, as the cold reduces the amount of charge it can hold over time. A quick battery swap and soon I was back up to full power, camera wise.
Saying that, I was getting a bit bored. Luckily, the podcast I was listening to was in the process of introducing Caesar, and focusing in on the part of his career nobody ever talks about – when he was a populist lawyer, before he went to Gaul and became a general.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The T passed by me on the Panhandle Bridge, but I’d ready decided that I was going to summon a rideshare car for the ride back to HQ.
Normal custom for me would be to visit the Sly Fox Brewery and have a pint or two of beer, but it was far too wintry to sit outside and suffer the vainglory of hoping that a another train might pass through. I spent my beer money on a cab home instead. Brrr.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I hung about for around a half hour or so, anyway, and still nothing was coming through. Bah!
The car was summoned and soon I was fending off the affections of Moe the Dog back at HQ, in the Dormont section of Pittsburgh.
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.
Hey Now! West End edition.
Monday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As described last week, your humble narrator was perpetrating a constitutional scuttle, around the titular center point of the Pittsburgh Metro area. My horrific footfalls carried me from a T light rail station on the North Side over to the West End Bridge, whereupon I’d squamously cross the Ohio River and enjoy a point of view or two from the other side.
Midway across the span, a CSX freight train appeared, one which was moving directly towards my point of view.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
That’s CSX #3430, pictured above. I’m told that it’s a ‘GE ET44AH’ model locomotive, which you can read more about here. Right about this moment was when the other train, the one which had been held in place for a bit, began to move. Fun.
Did I mention that it was cold and windy?
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The train passed over an outfall which allows Chartiers Creek to express itself into the Ohio River, quite close to the confluence of Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers which form the headwaters of the Ohio.
I kept on keeping on.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I’ve always thought that if you really want to hide something, and you’ve got a budget, that the best place would be a train cargo car. The budget would be required to keep the thing you’re hiding constantly moving, and if there’s enough cash available you could theoretically keep the hidden item on the move indefinitely. Connecting it to one random freight train after another, you eventually send it to a train yard in either southern Mexico or Boreal Canada where your secrets can be forgotten.
Theoretically, the same approach would work with a semi trailer, and leave behind a far sparser paper trail.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Just before it was time to deal with my terrifying descent down a flight of stairs on the south side of West End Bridge, a tug caught the eye.
Yeah, I know… it’s a Towboat out here, not a Tug. I know.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The Gale R. Rhodes has been mentioned here before, in this post from 2024, which was published about a couple of weeks prior to the ‘orthopedic incident.’ That’s how I’m referring to the broken ankle situation from this point out, so just get used to that one, lords and ladies.
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.
Cold and lonely, always afraid
Friday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Continuing with a forced march around Pittsburgh, in today’s post.
Simple plan. I’d follow the headwaters of the Ohio River to the West End Bridge, cross over to the southern shore, then track back up the shoreline towards that brewery I hang around, nearby the train tracks on the South Side of Pittsburgh. Drink wasn’t on the menu for this particular day, but I was very interested in capturing a few shots of freight trains.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Hey Now! Norfolk Southern was getting up to something on their elevated trestle tracks. The static train in the foreground was CSX’s, and they seemed to be held up by signals. These train shots are all telephoto ranged ones, with the zoom lens dialed all the way out to its maximum objective.
One kept on keeping on.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
My cursed footsteps pollute the waterfront trails with intransigence, but nevertheless did your humble narrator navigate his carcass to the West End Bridge. This part of the walk exposed me to stairs, which the rotting worms in my skull box have devoted a phobia about, an afterimage of the ‘orthopedic incident’ which defined my life for most of last year.
I’m all ‘effed up.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
It’s not the going up that affects me, it’s the descent. In particular, it seems, the steel steps that are painted with Pittsburgh’s ‘brand color’ of PPG brand ‘Aztec Gold’ seem to really excite the old amygdala, especially so when descending them. ‘Mustn’t grumble.’
After urinating on a nearby bush, your humble narrator moved upward and onwards, and ascended the scary steps.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This walk has become one of my ‘stations of the cross’ routes. That’s what I call easy to reach areas that are ‘pregnant,’ in terms of photo possibility, but which also offer long stretches of mostly flat terrain that I can lean into. The ‘easy to reach’ part is kind of important.
Back in Queens, I’d head south – out of Astoria – for a Dutch Kills walk which served a similar function and ‘reachability.’ Down Steinway to Northern, where it becomes 39th. 39th to Skillman and Sunnyside Yards, Skillman to Hunters Point Avenue, and then I’d hang a left towards Dutch Kills. After visiting a few spots along the water, I’d then scuttle back out to 43rd street and turn north for the walk back home to Astoria.
That walk was often referred to as my ‘patrol area.’
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Hey now! That’s a ‘heading away from Pittsburgh’ CSX freight train appearing on the second track, alongside that train from the Norfolk Southern shot which was being held by signals. Lucky!
Back next week 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.
The Newtown Pentacle 