The Newtown Pentacle

Monday

– photo by Mitch Waxman

Troy Hill Road, as in sights seen along it, is offered in today’s post, which narratively continues a fairly long walk recently undertaken here in Pittsburgh. Your humble narrator has built a long list of ‘things’ to see while on foot as I’ve driven about the city of Pittsburgh, and this course is one of them. A local roadway, Troy Hill Road drapes along the side of a landform cliff which has a high speed road (Route 28) at its base, as well as a rail line and the Allegheny River. It’s all very confusing.

Also, just to catch you up – it was quite cold and I was heavily dressed for winter, the sun was bothering me, and everybody hates me. If you don’t hate me yet, you will, just wait till you meet me. I’m a terrible person, just ask anybody. Awful, atavistic, aberrant, argumentative, a real icehole. Children and dogs shriek when they see me, old ladies clutch at their pearls, and men form armed posses to ascertain my intentions. In short: I suck.

It’s for the best that I’m alone so much.

– photo by Mitch Waxman

A closed off set of ‘City Steps’ was encountered. One moved past them in the typical ‘herkie jerky’ fashion I’m famous for. The wind was whipping my filthy black raincoat around, the burning thermonuclear eye of god itself was bobbing about in the vault and lighting up every speckle of dust on my eyeglasses, and I also needed to pee but not too urgently. I was in fine fettle otherwise, and the ankle which was so affected by the orthopedic incident was playing ball with me on this scuttle.

historicpittsburgh.org offers a photo of a group of workers building Troy Hill Road, from back in 1911.

– photo by Mitch Waxman

One continued down, past retaining walls which water pipes were affixed to. Don’t know if they were sewerage or supply, but it must be a real challenge to get water to fight gravity. I’m told there used to be a Resovoir up here on Troy Hill. As I moved down the slope, building densities began to change. The flood plain at the bottom of the hill is where all the industry used to be – tanneries, abattoirs, mills of very type. The world’s preeminent ketchup and baked bean factory, for instance.

What’s down there now on the flood plain is an amazing amalgamation and concentration of 75 years of vehicular expressway and automobile related infrastructure expansions, but that’s for tomorrow’s post.

– photo by Mitch Waxman

It’s pretty common to park with half of your car up on the sidewalk around Pittsburgh, due to the narrowness of the roads. In the ‘fancy shmancy’ areas like Shadyside or Squirrel Hill, it’s resident permit parking only, or there’s no ‘on the street’ parking at all.

As a former New Yorker, I require clear and omnipresent signage to govern my parking of the Mobile Oppression Platform. The Yinzers just sort of pull over to the side of the road and park their cars in a ditch.

If I did that, the NYPD might find me out here and write a ticket for an alternate side violation. ‘No parking west of the state between 8 and 11 a.m.’ You can’t escape the NYPD.

– photo by Mitch Waxman

The adaptations for the terrain in Pittsburgh never cease to amaze. Everywhere you look, however, there’s bulging century old retaining walls in these sections. Nothing is ‘plumb.’ Look at me, the crooked man who’s commenting on a crooked mile. No wonder everybody hates me.

The plan for the rest of the outing was pretty simple. I’d continue on, cross the two rivers, and either catch a T light rail or a cab back to HQ. Had lots of miles ahead of me, though, which you’ll see this week in subsequent postings.

– photo by Mitch Waxman

Pittsburgh is big on ‘entering the neighborhood’ murals, and in the case of Troy Hill they’ve got a freestanding mosaic sign. Back on relatively flat ground again, one leaned into things and started pushing his way towards the south and west. Right into the sun.

Can’t win.

Back tomorrow 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.

Friday

– photo by Mitch Waxman

After having bid ‘adieu’ to the Voegtly Evangelical Church Cemetery on Pittsburgh’s Troy Hill, one leaned into the walk. A steep landform on the northern bank of the Allegheny River, Troy Hill is.

Just like that mirroring landform to the south which overlooks the Monongahela River, where the summit of Mount Washington forms a ridge line that overlooks the peninsular ‘golden triangle’ section of downtown, so too does the Allegheny River side form a high ridge. The south side of Pittsburgh offers West End/Elliot, Grandview Avenue on Mount Washington itself, and the South Side Slopes all have charms to delight the altitude aspirant. I’m just getting started on this side.

– photo by Mitch Waxman

I had previously figured out a route, utilizing my usual method of using Google Maps street view’s ‘remote viewing’ to scout a few things out. Are there sidewalks? That’s one of the questions I like to have an answer for before setting out for a scuttle. Will I trap myself inside of a valley or cul de sac, which will force me to have to scale a cliff or something to get out of? It’s good to know about that sort of thing in advance when planning a day’s outing. Larger issues of destination and bridge crossings are present in my plan as well.

That’s Rialto Street pictured above, fifth steepest street in Pittsburgh.

– photo by Mitch Waxman

The 1901 vintage firehouse for Engine Co. 11 caught my eye, and especially so for the fine carving exhibited on its signage. Here’s a close up of that signage. Remarkable work. Apparently, the fire dept. doesn’t use this building anymore, and it’s where the cops who enforce commercial vehicle rules for the municipality work out of in modernity. Neat. I’ve also seen this building referenced as and referred to as ‘Troy Hill Fire Station #39’ by a couple of sources.

One swirled along the sidewalks, a maelstrom of black sack cloth with a camera sticking out of it. Scuttle, scuttle, scuttle.

– photo by Mitch Waxman

See what I meant when saying that you could see the ‘germanity’ in the local building stock. The building above is likely a parsonage, as it’s right next door to a large church, but I’m guessing there. Why guess though?

The church is the Saint Anthony Chapel, which is said to house the largest number of Catholic relics outside of the Vatican. Pictured above is the Most Holy Name of Jesus Rectory.

Further did I scuttle – twirling – ever twirling – towards freedom.

– photo by Mitch Waxman

This had been the first day of clear skies in about three weeks, here in Pittsburgh.

Let me level with you lords and ladies – the burning thermonuclear eye of god itself was ‘harshing my buzz’ what with all the glare and strobing flares. Of course, I had accidentally timed this walk in such a manner that the thing would be hanging directly in front of me the whole way, and the solar furnace was blowing out my eyesight and causing finding the correct exposure settings for the camera to be a real challenge. Woe is me.

Honestly, this area is so damned cool, but it must be so challenging living up here – just like in the south side slopes.

– photo by Mitch Waxman

The pathway to carry me back down to ground level was marked by the presence of an enormous school, which appears to have once been a Catholic institution but is now an elementary school which calls itself ‘Provident Charter School Central.’ The street I was looping onto is called Troy Hill Road, and I can’t imagine why anyone would choose to drive down Rialto Street when this route is just a few blocks away.

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.