Posts Tagged ‘photowalk’
Kicking dirt in Carnegie
Wednesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The region of the Pittsburgh Metro which HQ is located in is called ‘The South Hills.’ In the past, I’ve already established that Dormont where HQ is specifically located, is part of an area once known as Lower St. Clair.
Practically next door to Dormont is the municipality of Carnegie, which is about a 15 minute drive on local streets away from HQ. Water runs through Carnegie, specifically Chartiers Creek. I’ve brought the camera here before but there’s a lot to see in Carnegie.
Luckily, Our Lady of the Pentacle had scheduled a class she wanted to take in Carnegie, on a recent weekend day. I drove her to her deal, and then I went to work on visiting several waypoints I had dropped onto a Google map the night before. I do a lot of remote scouting this way, using street view to figure out if there’s opportunity in unknown spots.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Since I was in the car, I was traveling heavy. Tripod, all the lenses, etc. one of the waypoints I had coded into my ‘Carnegie Map’ was the Wheeling & Lake Erie RR’s Rook yard. A nice history of how this rail yard got sited here, and why it’s called ‘Rook’ can be experienced at hmbd.org.
Turns out I didn’t need to have all that gear with me, but since I didn’t have to carry it – who cares? Also, I got lucky. The W&LE RR people were getting busy and moving trains around when I randomly drove up, and on a Saturday no less.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
#6996 up there was functioning as a DPU, Diesel Power Unit. Everything you might want to know about the W&LE outfit – its rolling stock, rights of way, corporate structure – can be gleaned here.
It was a beautiful day in Carnegie, PA. Mid 60’s in temperature, with a strong breeze. The Rook Yard was one of several places which got a quick drive by and lookie loo.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
#3049 was in the lead, and after coupling to a train of tanker cars, began moving away from my position. Not entirely sure where they go after this. I have vague ideas, but finding out is one of my summer projects.
I had my little railfan radio scanner with me, and was listening to the conversations between tower and engineer, but it might as well have been Greek they were talking. I’ve got to learn to speak railroad.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I had a couple of hours to myself while in Carnegie, and spent about a half hour or so of it right at this spot watching other people at work. Definitely coming back here in the future. No fences!
There were a few other spots which I wanted to take a good look at, but it was also Memorial Day weekend. When I got to a some of those other points of interest (tomorrow’s post), in the residential sections, back yard parties and BBQ’s were going on and I was sticking out like a sore thumb.
Next time, it’ll be a weekday morning visit, when the streets are a little less populated.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Chartiers Creek runs through Carnegie on its way to the Monongahela River which it is a tributary of. This post shows where that admixture occurs nearby the West End Bridge.
There’s all sorts of ‘desire paths’ along the water which fishermen use to get down to the shore. I plan on following a few of those this summer as the ankle situation continues to improve.
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.
End of the line
Tuesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Shlepping through Downtown Pittsburgh, after what ended up being a fairly long walk by my current standards. Started on Rialto Street in Troy Hill way on the other side of the Allegheny River, and here I am scuttling south towards the Monongahela River.
This post is being written and scheduled for publication during the week leading up to my trip back to NYC during the first week of June, so hopefully I didn’t get pushed in front of a subway or suffer an aneurism or something while there.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
It’s funny, people tell me Downtown Pittsburgh is dangerous. Homeless people, drug addicts, the mentally imbalanced – all that. I don’t feel imperiled at all, but definitely maintain a ‘street posture’ in this zone. Junkies are unpredictable. The last time a junkie came at me, it was in LIC and during the pandemic at night. He didn’t like it at all when I jammed my right thumb into his eye, not one bit. Brooklyn, 1980’s, right here.
Saying all that, you’ve seen worse in NYC and elsewhere. I certainly have.
Anyone remember Larry ‘Wild Man’ Hague from Manhattan’s upper west side in the 90’s. I do. That was a dangerous ‘creature of the streets’ if ever there was one. I can attest to the news article’s reporting that he would set fires under parked cars, for fun, on 96th bet Amsterdam and Broadway.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Nearing the Smithfield Street Bridge over the Monongahela River, and for some reason a truck passing by on the highway below (I-376) caught my eye. This road leads to both the Fort Duquesne Bridge and the Fort Pitt Bridge and tunnel, which are sort of the ‘master cylinders’ for traffic in Pittsburgh. A slow down at either span ripples forth and miles outwards in minutes, affecting the entire city’s traffic.
Of course, I was on foot while shooting and at that moment couldn’t have given two shits about traffic problems. I wanted to drink a beer, damnit! Priorities!
– photo by Mitch Waxman
After crossing the river, I was making my way to my favorite little brewery when a train appeared on the Norfolk Southern tracks high above. It wasn’t a Norfolk Southern locomotive, and its color way branding could indicate either the white whale Allegheny Valley RR or another seldom spotted local rail outfit. Couldn’t tell.
Life is a bit sweeter with some mystery in it, I always say.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A film crew had blocked my normal path to the beer taps, so a course correction was instituted. That alteration led to a set of city steps, which is somehow fitting since this walk started with another set of steps back on Rialto Street. PTSD was absolutely singing an aria in my head during this moment, and I was grasping at the bannister like my life depended on it.
I will get over this, as it just ‘mishegoss.’
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Finally, with a glass of cold lager in front of me, I got to sit down and wait for the trains to come to me. The CSX Pittsburgh Subdivision tracks seldom disappoint. My drink was soon finished, the tab paid, and a rideshare car was summoned to return me back to nearby Dormont.
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.
Hurtling scuttle
Monday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Welcome back to the midpoint of a decently long walk in Pittsburgh.
I had to cross the street to get to the 16th street David L. McCullough bridge, and while negotiating the crosswalk (with the light and a walk signal) some redneck decided it would be funny to try and hit me with his car while he was making a left. Not accidental at all, he intentionally swerved towards me, forcing me to jump forward to avoid being hit and yelling ‘what the fuck?’
The country mouse got caught at a light, where he then got to hear this city mouse loose a string of blue invective at him. I was also hurling esoteric occultist curses. Seven times seven generations worth of bad luck will now accompany this particular hillbilly’s line of descendants.
Don’t annoy a humble narrator by trying to hit me with your car, country mouse, that’s the lesson. I ain’t all that humble in real life, and I also have a hot temper and an extremely adaptable moral compass.
Bah.
At any rate, that’s the 16th street bridge pictured today.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The 16th street bridge itself is easy walking, and deposits you into a part of the central peninsula of Pittsburg where the Strip District transitions into Downtown. There’s a stolidity to this three arch span, with its steel and flagstone construction, that I just like. It’s also a fairly visually attractive bridge with those triple arches, and a set of neat sculptural elements atop the piers. The bridge is named for David McCollough.
David L. McCullough was a Pittsburgh native, and nationally famous historian, who wrote many great books – but his Brooklyn Bridge masterpiece has a special place in my heart, and is one of my touchstones for NYC history in the middle and late 19th century periods. If you can find the audiobook which the author personally narrates, buy it.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Looking towards downtown, and that’s the Veteran’s Bridge, a high volume connector between Downtown Pittsburgh to the south and Route 28 and I-279 on the north. It’s a pretty massive structure.
I debarked the 16th street bridge and then headed in a south westerly direction. I’ve taken to adorning one of my camera bag straps with a small compass, in order to keep track of the cardinal directions. Yeah, the phone has a digital compass, but I’d have to fish it out of my pocket… meh.
Everything doesn’t have to have a chip inside it to be useful
– photo by Mitch Waxman
One last look back at the 16th street bridge and away I go.
The plan for the second half of this outing involved getting out of the downtown area, and then heading over to the more familiar south side of the Monongahela, which is found on the opposite side of the triangular landform that the towers of downtown loathsomely squat upon.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Under the Veterans Bridge, and a bit of trivia for you: Pittsburgh’s Coroner’s office is housed directly across the street from where I was scuttling along, as is their version of the NYC DEP (water and sewer).
Gotta say, it’s fairly shabby around these parts, and along Liberty Avenue. It has that sort of dead street/blight vibe that always happens around governmental offices. The Heinz museum is just a couple of blocks away from here, and the convention center just beyond that. Despite that, section is pretty defined by the Coroners, a few bail bondsman storefront operations, and those parking lots. Gotta park somewhere, I guess.
Me? I kept on keeping on. Striding has become part of locomotion again, although I’m still walking a good deal slower than I formerly did.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A steel mill ladle pot occupies a couple of parking spots in a lot at 12th street. Wonder what it costs to park a giant steel pot in downtown Pittsburgh for a day. Aww… who am I kidding, it’ll be about $15.
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.
Peaceful egress
Friday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The next encounter on my ‘totally stupid fun’ scuttle involved crossing over the highways on the Charles J. Lieberth Pedestrian Walkway.
Named for PBS’s first ‘Mr. Science,’ the bridge spans over Route 28 and its various ramps which lead to other highways and high volume bridges. The pedestrian bridge allows egress over the concrete canyons of the high speed roads.
These highways were cut directly out of Pittsburgh’s central residential districts, dividing and isolating communities. Reading about this city, I have seen Robert Moses’ name pop up here and there as an advisor to both Pittsburgh and PA. planners, and whether or not he or his acolytes had anything to do with this setup is unknown to me, but their influence on the road network here is pretty clear.
‘Urban core is bad, build highways through it to get the population out to the suburbs in cars.’
Me? I’m a big proponent of decking over these traffic chasms and creating parkland above them. It’s expensive, but so’s having tens of thousands of cars shoot through your neighborhood every day.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I floated the idea of decking over the Grand Central Parkway back in Astoria with a few of the powers that be. ‘The Tall Guy’ wasn’t terribly interested, although the ‘other guy’ currently running for Mayor was. The tale I was telling them was one where light weight decking, designed to carry a linear park rather than buildings, along Astoria Blvd. between 31st and 46th streets, was involved. I made the case about Real Estate valuation skyrocketing anywhere within six blocks of a park, cleaner air and its relationship to childhood asthma, and both noise containment and the urban heat island effect.
Decking over the trenches which highways ride through cities in is going to be ‘a thing’ eventually in this country. Not making more land, so… this sort of idea is one of the things that Government is actually good at… it would employ the unions… generate a lot of ‘made in the USA’ business for steel and concrete…
Bah.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
From up on the pedestrian bridge, looking northwards towards the ‘Deutschtown’ section of Pittsburgh’s North Shore.
Don’t know this area well at all, but there’s a lot of historic housing stock and commercial buildings to observe. I’m more familiar with the northern part of this neighborhood closer to Allegheny General Hospital. Exteriors of that institution are shown on the HBO/Max series ‘The Pitt’ as being the setting of the show (pictured here).
They don’t have enough people wearing Steelers jerseys and shorts during the winter for that show to be believably set in Pittsburgh.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Before leaving the pedestrian bridge and regaining normal streets, this highway interchange caught my eye. One of the tricks to driving in Pittsburgh is familiarity with which lane you need to be in for where you’re going. Drivers here are merciless, and enforce their rules with a maximum of mendacity. If you miss your turn, it’s incumbent to double back – there are no second chances on roads in the Steel City.
Me? I was heading for the Heinz Factory Lofts. That’s what they call the Heinz Factory now that it’s been converted to residential.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I’ve shown you photos of the Heinz campus before, but nothing systematic or beyond the surface. Hoping to worm my way in there sometime and get busy with the camera.
Just passing through, at any rate.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
My next challenge was going to crossing the Allegheny River, and getting to the 16th street bridge. Luckily, that’s the street I was standing one when this photo was taken.
Back next week 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.
Liminal spaces, amirite?
Thursday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Looking back at the pathway I’d just scuttled, along Pittsburgh’s St. Nicholas Church trail, which is set into the landscape along Route 28. There’s a small monument with some historic signage recognizing the importance of the former church, no doubt a political nod to the Croatian community who used to populate this area and belonged to the church.
Route 28 is also called ‘East Ohio Street’ and the ‘Pittsburgh-Buffalo Highway,’ by the way. Onward and upwards.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Liminal spaces are spots which people move through but aren’t occupied full time by anyone. Airports, train stations, long corridors. That sort of thing.
There’s a devastating loneliness inherent to these transitory spaces which I just feed on in the manner of a vampire. Pictured above is the monument to the demolished church.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Historically minded morons promulgate stories of ‘elites’ hiding things away from history for ‘reasons,’ as it doesn’t fit their modern political narratives. If you want to indulge yourself in a bit of pure pseudo scientific fiction, that is most likely a Russian disinformation project, google the terms ‘mud floods’ and Tartaria. Graham Hancock’s face is hanging in my mind’s eye right now.
The Incels are really into this sort of thing at the moment, as it pulls the rug out from under a bunch of the things that they hate.
In reality, historic ruins often take the form of that cornerstone from the church in the shot above. In a a hundred years, when the signs and the people who remember the church are all gone, this corner stone will likely be hidden away and buried in the soil, waiting for someone in the future to dig it out and try to put a story together about it.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Nothing is true anymore, is it? The great unraveling is upon us, with institutional decay caused by tumult from the endless sea of politics.
Knowledge isn’t what it used to be, and people will state that they ‘do their own research.’ They don’t parse that not all sources are good, even if they agree with what the source says.
I do my own research, but never pass on juicy information that agrees with my particular world view unless I can confirm it by a secondary source that also bears some provenance but has no relationship with the first. A lot of historic stories end up getting warped by retelling, and it’s like the child’s game of ‘Telephone’ watching facts get mangled. I’ve always liked fire insurance maps and court testimony, for instance, since money and freedom are on the line respectively.
You can’t take anything for granted, except for greed and crime.
Has American civilization become a liminal space?
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The trail ended directly across the street from what is purported to be the oldest beer brewery in Pittsburgh, currently operated under the nomen ‘Penn Brewery.’ They weren’t open, as this was a Monday.
Shame, could have used a beer at this point, strictly in the name of replenishment of course. I got to quaff a pint or two at the end of this walk, but that’s several posts away from this one.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
My path still had a few wonders in store, and the plan was to scuttle at the Heinz Factory and then cross the Allegheny River, nearby the 16th street Bridge. The ankle was holding up just fine, in case you’re curious.
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 