Posts Tagged ‘Pittsburgh’
Monumental Pittsburgh
Tuesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As mentioned in earlier posts, a particular walking path was recently followed in Pittsburgh’s Oakland section which was landmarks based, and topical in nature – rather than granular. This was a ‘short walk’ for me, just a couple of hours in length, and it was more about developing a geospatial knowledge of this zone, which is an area I’d mainly driven through in the past to individual destinations like the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, or the Rodef Shalom and Poale Zedek Synagogues.
That’s the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall and Museum, dedicated to honoring all branches of these United States’ Military Veterans. It was completed in 1910, and designed by architect Henry Hornbostel.
Hornbostel, of course, is the fellow who dressed the Manhattan Bridge, back in NYC, in its Beaux-Arts finery. He also designed the nearby Rodef Shalom synagogue here in Pittsburgh, mentioned above.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Charles Klauder, on the other hand, was the architect of the centerpiece of the University of Pittsburgh (aka PITT) campus, a 42 story tower building called the Cathedral of Learning.
One was heading for two particular churches, other than Bellefield Presbyterian which was mentioned yesterday, on my landmarks list. The Cathedral of Learning was a just ‘on my way’ sort of thing. My understanding of the place is that are sections of the tower that are public, but most of the space inside is used for PITT’s classroom instruction purposes.
As a note, one great thing about Oakland is that it’s the flattest section of Pittsburgh I’ve so far encountered, and is thereby ‘easy walking.’
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Where I was heading to next, and the subject of tomorrow’s post, is the St. Paul Cathedral. That’s the seat of the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh.
Future exploration in Oakland, as a side note, will definitely occur during the winter months. Lots and lots of monumental architecture here. Giant buildings built in Greek and Roman styles abound. I’m concocting a grid based search pattern for future walks in the area.
Back tomorrow, with more, at your Newtown Pentacle.
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Bellefield Presbyterian, Oakland
Monday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Since moving to Pittsburgh a year ago, a humble narrator has gone out of his way to avoid exploration of dense urban spaces, for obvious reasons. My peregrinations have been mainly focused on learning the ‘lay of the land,’ familiarizing myself with ‘what’s on the other side of that hill,’ and learning how the polyglot of the Pittsburgh metro area fits together. A lovely early November afternoon found me violating this allergy to density, and scuttling about for a few hours in the Oakland section of the Steel City.
This is the heart of Pittsburgh’s Academia – PITT and Carnegie Mellon’s campuses collide with those of smaller colleges and universities in and around Oakland, and there are several medical and cultural institutions which are based in this zone. Museums, parks, musical outfits, all that. There seems to be a Church hereabouts for every facet of religion that you can name, as well, and one of those religious institutions which drew my eye is called the Bellefield Presbyterian Church, pictured above.
There’s an excellent history and concise description of the congregation on offer from Pittsburgh’s National Public Radio station (90.5 FM WESA), which you can access here.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The door was locked, but a bit of signage welcomed visitors to ring a doorbell for entry, which I did, and the church’s attendant buzzed me in. As always, I operate in the same manner as a Vampire, and need to be welcomed in to do my thing. She offered a bit of access to the main chapel room, after I sang my usual song of being a wandering photographer and history aficionado.
She offered to fire up the church’s lighting, but I declined the offer. I really liked the look of the place in shadow, and that also helped with photo exposure in terms of getting some detail in the stained glass.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A bit of subsequent research on the church revealed that this church has recently split off from the larger Presbyterian organization, seemingly over a variety of ‘culture war’ issues, a situation described in this report from ‘The Layman.’
The Bellefield organization’s official website offers another narrative history about the congregation, and describes their mission – here.
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.
Driven to scuttle
Friday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Yet another day on my exercise schedule arrived, during which I’d be visiting a few parts of Pittsburgh – which I’ve had fleeting glimpses of – but haven’t taken a ‘hard look’ at yet. I drove into town, and was frustrated at my initial destination while waiting for a train to come by.
Plan B was instituted thereby, and I navigated the Mobile Oppression Platform (MOP) from Pittsburgh’s North Side over to the neighborhood of Oakland. By design, this was going to be a short walk.
Along the way, I got this shot by sticking the camera up through the moon roof while waiting for a red light to change.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Oakland is defined by the presence of its universities and cultural institutions. University of Pittsburgh (PITT) and Carnegie Mellon are housed here, as are several smaller institutions of higher learning, and it’s a densely populated section of this municipality. Lots and lots of students and scholars reside here, most temporarily in dorms and such, and it’s a lot more ‘urban’ than most of the Pittsburgh area is.
There’s also a lot of hospitals and professional offices in Oakland, thereby there’s ample and fairly cheap parking. The MOP was thereby safely ensconced (which cost me seven bucks for an ‘all day’ spot), and I set out on foot. As is my habit, I had a few navigational ‘anchors’ which I would be heading towards set up in a Google map.
Serendipity is always appreciated, but if you’re not walking towards ‘something,’ you’re wandering aimlessly.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This may look like a ‘street,’ but it’s actually an alley. Most of NYC’s streets look like this, with the wires and garbage but without angle in parking. Here, it’s an alley.
Pittsburgh is full of such roadway designations, and it’s where commercial and residential building take deliveries and put out their trash for collection or host parking lots for customers and employees. Less than salubrious stuff occurs in these sorts of corridors as well, and when somebody in Pittsburgh tells you not to walk down some dark alley at night, it’s not just a metaphor.
Back next week with more sights from Pittsburgh’s Oakland 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.
Thanksgiving Choo-Choos
Thursday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Happy Turkey day, all. As described in prior posts, one was executing a long walk across the municipal center of Pittsburgh when it started to rain. It was absolutely pissing down, and I deployed my umbrella. The section of the city I was scuttling around is absolutely lousy with passing trains, so I decided to capture some of the Choo-Choo action.
That’s Norfolk Southern #1162 in the shot above, which is a location and composition I’ve wanted to capture for a while now. It’s an EMD SD70ACe model locomotive and relatively young by railroad standards, coming online in April of 2004.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
In what’s surely become a familiar location to long time readers by now, I headed down to a reliable grade level crossing for the CSX outfit nearby a brewery. I ordered a drink, and sat at an outside but sheltered table while waiting for a few trains to arrive.
CSX #868 came roaring through first. It’s also a fairly modern setup, having come online in April of 2008. That’s an ES44AC-H model, built by General Electric.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
CSX #3173 was next. Same model and make as the #868 mentioned above. It was raining significantly at this point, so the big difference is that this one was all wet from the rain.
Taking photos at night is old hat for me. Taking photos of enormous things moving at 30 mph is another matter. You’ve kind of got to focus and then track them as they’re going by twisting the waist. Challenging.
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.
Inclined towards
Wednesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As previously described, one was executing one of my ‘long walks,’ which play out over several miles, one recent afternoon. Along the path I scuttled upon, you find yourself passing under the cantilevered trackway of one of the funicular inclines, specifically the Duquesne Incline (which I refer to as the ‘yellow one’). I got lucky, as the coincidental timing of when I was passing by included a close up of one the cars of the incline passing by virtually at arm’s length.
The T streetcars, the buses, and these inclines, are operated by the Pennsylvania’s Port Authority here in Pittsburgh. I still haven’t taken a bus, although I’m anxious to observe the various busways which snake through the city.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
That’s one of those T streetcars from above, exiting the Panhandle Bridge and heading away from the city’s center, to the Station Square stop on the south side of the Monongahela River. The properties surrounding the bridge in the photo above used to be rail yards, operated by the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie RR – back in the day. There’s supposedly a whole lot of real estate development going on in this area, as part of the post steel industry revitalization effort.
The sky was beginning to look ominous, but as is my habit – I had checked the weather report and was carrying an umbrella with me.
The zoom lenses had been left at HQ, and I was carrying my kit of ‘bright’ prime lenses only. One on the camera, three in the bag – 16mm, 35mm, 50mm, and an 85mm.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Midway along the roadway I was scuttling down is found the 1924 vintage Liberty Tunnel, a high volume roadway dug through Mount Washington. Just over a mile in length, this tunnel is motor vehicle only, and it provides quick automotive access to the South Hills region of Pittsburgh from the ‘downtown’ center. HQ is at the bottom of one of those southern hills, and I drive through this tunnel frequently.
By the way, New Yorkers – this was shot at rush hour on weekday… they call this heavy traffic here. Wow.
It was starting to rain, but I was nowhere close to done with my day’s activities. My umbrella was deployed, and fixed into position between my camera bag’s strap and the left shoulder joint. This allows hands free usage of the thing, more or less.
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 