Posts Tagged ‘South Side Flats’
Sinking feelings
Monday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Mountain Avenue to Yard Way part three.
Not gonna lie, your humble narrator has been ‘bumming out’ of late. The news isn’t a subject which I like to dwell upon these days, as whether it’s National or Global – it’s all bad. I’ve made it a point of not talking about world events here, in an attempt to provide some bit of diversion that isn’t apocalyptic or horrible.
The future has ended up to just kind of suck.
Somehow, I’m not surprised, but then again – I am – after all, a member of Generation X. We always figured that the Baby Boomers would figure out a way to screw everyone else, during their dotage and on their way out. It’s how they lived, it’s how they’ll die.
One likes to ruminate while out, and scuttling about, which your humble narrator was involved with on this particular day.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Dribbling down the Yard Way steps, in the manner of a greasy liquid one associates with that which might ooze forth from an abattoir, me. My countenance is horrific, with dogs and children shrieking as I pass by. Cats hiss. Blossoms fold as if it was night as I scuttle past. A bird once saw me from above, and dropped out of the air dead, right in front of me. Pestilential.
I’ve been called that, as a point of fact. Pestilential.
Yard Way’s City Steps terminate at Pius Street, where the steps transmogrify into a series of sidewalk ramps. A block or two away from this spot are the Church Route City Steps, upon which I’d continue this scuttle.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Looking back at where I’d been, above.
As far as the bad mood goes, mental health complaints don’t necessarily refer to me slipping into or feeling ‘batshit crazy,’ but at the time of this writing I would describe myself as suffering from a bit of a ‘psychic cold.’
Low grade, no fever, just your run of the mill stuffy nose, headache, and sore throat kind of thing – that’s the analogy. It’s annoying, being bummed out, but just like when you’ve got a cold – you just have to wait it out, and then go for a walk in the sun when you’re feeling better.
Normally, I’m an ‘effin beacon of positivity, yo.
That’s me, just ask anyone who knows me in real life. I’m all sunshine and lollipops if you meet me in person.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Times like these are when all of those little guiding aphorisms of mine, which I pass off as wisdom, come into play.
‘It’s all downhill from here, and wherever that goes, there you are. Take a picture, it’ll last longer. One foot after the other, other, and soon you’ll be walking out the door. You’ll never win a fight with a woman you love, find a better way. Be early, at least they can’t hold that against you. Nothing matters, and nobody cares.’
The songbook from the musical ‘Annie’ suggests that the sun will indeed come out tomorrow. The Gorilla Biscuits also chide one to ‘Start Today.’
– photo by Mitch Waxman
My plan had been was to try and catch some Norfolk Southern train traffic along the way, but that neighborhood cleanup mentioned in earlier posts extended down to their tracks, and there were people with hi-viz vests and NS hats on who were talking on walkie talkies while the neighborhood people did their thing on and along the rails.
No bueno.
One decided to ‘try’ for CSX instead, an ideation which would involve a bit more scuttling. There would a possibility of a beer, too.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As far as cheering up, it’s a fairly difficult, intractable, and closed system. Me. Whatever happens behind the eyes and between the ears is sort of tidal in nature. When a storm comes, you just ride it out.
Only thing to do – really – is get out and shoot a bunch of photos, scuttling about, and turning the earth beneath my feet.
Back tomorrow.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
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Monongahela style, Hey Now!
Wednesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
After a harrowing and honestly terrifying walk alongside the west bound vehicle lanes of Pittsburgh’s East Carson Street, specifically between Becks Run Road and South 33rd street, your humble narrator began to relax a bit.
Couldn’t chance that ‘one of my turns’ might occur, wherein I fall to the ground – crying and quivering while kicking my feet at the sky – consumed by paroxysms of physical cowardice, and raw animal fear, while squealing in a high pitched manner.
Just like every time I see the full moon. The horror…
Once I felt nice and safe again on normal streets, and shortly after quaffing a Gatorade purchased at a nearby gas station convenience store, a few quick steps saw me walking alongside that waterfront trail which mirrors the Monongahela River’s shoreline through Pittsburgh’s ‘South Side.’
– photo by Mitch Waxman
There’s an ‘after’ and ‘before’ dealie going in that shot above. To me, at least.
Time was growing short, as I was meant to be meeting up with Our Lady of the Pentacle later on in the afternoon. Had the equivalent of about thirty city blocks to walk, a mere stumble for one such as myself.
Leaned into it, thereby.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Soon, I was walking past the Birmingham Bridge, firmly on my way.
Naturally, I walked too fast, and got there nearly 45 minutes early.
I’m pathologically early, by habit. My Mom used to screech at me: ‘get there early, at least they can’t hold that against you.’ I also think that it’s a sign of respect for whomever you’re meeting that you got there ahead of time. Tardiness should be added as an ‘8th sin’ to the list of deadlies.
Luckily, there was a big pile of rocks that I could sit down on and wait.
A man needs a random pile of rocks, every now and then.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
While sitting on that pile of rocks, I waved the camera about.
This is a familiar location, nearby that brewery where I often shoot trains from. Different establishment for this particular evening’s diversion, but same neighborhood.
The signal bells then began to chime, and the barrier arms lowered.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Hey Now!
It’s CSX #3380!
– photo by Mitch Waxman
That shot above was at the end of this particular scuttle.
Forthcoming, I went back a few days later to that starting point on Mountain Avenue, up on Mount Oliver, and walked in the correct direction for the ‘cool walk’ I had meticulously planned… sigh.
You’ll see all that fairly soon, so get ready!
Back tomorrow, with something different.
“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, yet again
Friday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
It was Palm Sunday, and… well, what do y’all think us Jews do when you Goyem are in your churches, communing with your god?
This ‘hebe’ was out taking pictures of trains.
After having captured shots of another Norfolk Southern freight unit hurtling past from a point of elevation over the tracks (yesterday’s post), one scuttled about a city block east at the edge of the South Side Flats zone, and then found a pile of big rocks to sit on while waiting for #872 up there to arrive.
Sated, I moved on.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I didn’t have any sort of plan for this part of the walk, just following my nose and kicking my feet around. Eventually, I’d need to get back to the T Light Rail’s Station Square stop, which is about a mile or so from the spot pictured above. Movement, that’s what I was after.
Hey, I don’t think I’ve walked that way yet, wonder what’s there?
As usual, I was the singular pedestrian.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Street Furniture was encountered, and somebody must seriously regret not dealing with this couch prior to a rainstorm which blew through Pittsburgh the previous night. Sheesh. Hell, back in NYC, this sofa would already be in somebody else’s living room. A lot of people don’t lock their cars up here, or even their houses when they go out. Can you imagine?
My toes were pointed, in the direction I needed to go.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Another view of the South Tenth Street Bridge, complimenting yesterday’s more aerial POV from those high flying City Steps up in the South Side Slopes. I’ve noticed a serious drop off in foot traffic in this area in the last few months. Wonder why?
I figured on being RR greedy, and headed down towards the trackage of CSX, but they weren’t busy – at all. Nothing was coming through.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
More street furniture was encountered.
Littering and dumping in Brooklyn and Queens was always done in a somewhat artistic way. You wouldn’t just abandon a couch like this, you’d need to ‘eff it up a bit,’ maybe even set it on fire before abandoning it. Paint some obscene graffiti on it. Maybe include a sort of explosive into the plan… something… give the couch a Viking funeral. It’s been loyal.
That sort of thing.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I keep on reminding myself that ‘every walk doesn’t have to be an exodus,’ and accordingly kept on heading back towards transit. There’s a T light rail unit crossing the Monongahela River via the Panhandle Bridge, which was the last shot from this one.
Back next week with something – completely – different.
“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! Squared
Tuesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
First… the bad news: That brewery along these railroad tracks, which I’ve been haunting since moving to Pittsburgh from NYC, has closed its doors.
It seems that me showing up once every couple of weeks to photograph CSX trains, while drinking the two beers they sold me, wasn’t enough to keep them open. That’s why these shots are from ‘above’ instead of the usual ‘down there.’ The good news is that the brewery immediately changed hands and a new operator for the space is currently moving into the property. Whew!
Your humble narrator was ensconced upon an elevated causeway which forms a bridge over the rail tracks, a trestle structure designed with heavy trucking in mind. This entire area used to be part of a rail yard operated by the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie RR.
The building that the brewery, and this very ramp upon which I was standing is based within, used to serve as an intermodal facility where cargo could be unloaded from rail cars, warehoused, and then loaded onto trucks for local delivery.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
It’s empty offices and residences, mainly, these days. It’s owned and operated by one of the big real estate players from South Brooklyn who have had their hooks in the Bush Terminal along the Gowanus for a long time. Same set of problems here, as they have created there.
The riverfront trail is nearby, along with with Colors Park, but observationally the retail levels of this property are disastrously underutilized, and I barely see anyone coming or going from this structure who isn’t a security guard or maintenance worker. There’s an office of some kind in there, as you’ll notice ‘professional looking’ people exiting the place while wearing lanyards with ID’s on them at about five in the afternoon. Other than that – it’s usually quiet as a tomb. Perfect for me, but not so much for all 3 of their retail tenants.
I’ve been struck, incidentally, after watching a series of documentaries about Pittsburgh which were crafted back in the 1980’s and 90’s by a fellow who works for the local PBS station (WQED) named Rick Sebak.
It’s startling to see ‘that’ Pittsburgh, before the suburban diaspora really kicked in, when the Downtown section was pulsing with life and the ‘Station Square’ area surrounding this ‘Highline’ building was absolutely popping with both daytime and nightlife activity.
These days, it feels like there was a plague…
oh… wait…
– photo by Mitch Waxman
CSX #5381 was hauling some sort of mineral – which looks like coal – but I’m assuming that one there so let’s use ‘mineral.’
That isn’t some sort of political statement, by the way. I’ve caught crap from the local boomers, on social media, about this verbal stand of mine, but they’re the same people who use the word ‘Democrat’ like it’s an accusation.
It may walk like one, and quack like one, but I’ve learned over the years not to pronounce something as being a duck if I don’t know for sure that it is indeed a Duck. Looks like coal, probably coal, I don’t know for sure.
Pronouncing something as being ‘something’ without any sort of proof or knowledge of the subject you’re commenting upon may be enough to get you elected to the Senate as a Republican, but otherwise that’s just how you end up with egg on your face. (that’s a political statement)
– photo by Mitch Waxman
One walked back over to Station Square for a ride back to HQ on the T, and son of gun if Norfolk Southern didn’t make an appearance too.
This was a red letter day for rail, in the end. Admittedly – not a great POV for Norfolk Southern #9813 up there, as it rode along their elevated trackage on a berm set against the foothills of Mount Washington, but beggars and choosers – huh?
The Sebak documentaries are charming, folksy, and betray a real love and appreciation for Pittsburgh and its unique cultures. If you can find them without paying PBS… well… why don’t you just donate to PBS instead?
What struck me while watching these Sebak films is the visualization of the depopulation of the central node of Pittsburgh’s business districts. In the 1980’s, films of ‘Downtown’ reveal a thriving metropolis with thousands of people walking the streets and interacting with retail level shops.
Modern Pittsburgh’s Downtown ain’t like that.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Several times on this short walk, I asked myself ‘where is everyone?’
Not in the sort of areas I’d normally inhabit, where the answer usually is ‘no, and why in the name of hell are you here at a sewer plant or waste transfer station?’ No, I’m talking mid afternoon on a weekday, in the business, political, and administrative center of an American City.
The difficult part about capturing this sequence of photos involved getting the camera’s focus to land on the train, rather than on the web of wires and tree branches surrounding it. Other than that, I was just sitting on a station bench, waiting for a T light rail ride back to HQ.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Tomorrow, we’ll start a much longer walk – an actual adventure of a scuttle, if you’d indulge me. I had a great time at least.
At last… the long threatened return to Skunk Hollow! The things I saw… wonders… wonders…
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.
Slideways, then down, not up
Monday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Continuing with photos from a short scuttle in Pittsburgh, on a day I got fairly lucky, were the subject of passing freight trains to come up. Your humble narrator was loathsomely crossing the Allegheny River upon one of the ‘Three Sisters’ bridges. I was busy with the self loathing and all that, so one barely even noticed the weather.
It was a lovely day, with temperatures in the high 50’s and a stiff breeze. The sky was partially overcast, but there was plenty of sunlight. My bad ankle was happy, for once.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Normally, when a municipality hangs a traffic sign on a bridge, it’s telling you what you can’t do. The signage above seems to indicate to drivers that they can do pretty much whatever they want. That kind of fits with how Pittsburgh drivers operate their vehicles, observationally.
I headed over towards a T Light Rail station.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This is the scene Downtown, from Liberty Avenue. On a weekday afternoon. It’s like a zombie apocalypse has occurred. Where is everybody?
I pointed my toes towards the T’s Wood Street station, where my chariot would soon arrive and carry me across to the South Side area. For once I didn’t have to worry about which line I was boarding, since I’d be debarking the thing at the first stop on the Monongahela River side.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
One descended into the narrow depths, using a moving staircase.
A quick ‘sit down’ ensued, while waiting for the train.
During this interval, I observed the behavioral tics of the humans Yinzers in the same manner as I’d observe zoo animals. ‘Look,’ a dominant male… and over there, that breeding age female must be in estrus, based on the veiled reactions to her from that teenaged male over there… ‘that one’ looks sick, and ‘that one’ is wearing a MAGA hat. A woman over there… she seemed to have two prosthetic legs but was walking without a cane. As it happens, I was midway through my annual listening of Pink Floyd’s ‘The Wall’ album while waiting, and these were the songs which were playing.
I’m all ‘effed up. Bah!
– photo by Mitch Waxman
‘On the other side’ is at The T’s Station Square stop, and as I was debarking the facility a Pittsburgh bound T unit rumbled into scene.
The final steps of my day were all about greed.
I’d been very lucky all day in terms of syncing up with passing trains, and was thereby desirous of seeing whether or not my luck might hold out. It did, but that’s tomorrow’s post.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A passing Towboat caught my attention while walking along, as it was all framed up by the Panhandle Bridge. Luckily, I can report to you that this was the last of my ‘rinse and repeat’ routed scuttles, wherein I was constrained in movement by ice and snow. The weather has since ‘cured up’ a bit, and all of the paths are once again clear.
I’ve also allowed my ‘lead time’ to evaporate a bit, in terms of how far in advance these posts are scheduled. These photos were captured better than a month ago, on February 13th. These words are being typed on the morning of March 13th, a Friday.
Back tomorrow with Choo-Choo’s, and a ‘Hey Now!’ or two.
“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 