Posts Tagged ‘Sterling Street’
Always heading nowhere
Friday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Aimlessly wandering down Pittsburgh’s East Carson street with Our Lady of the Pentacle, in the south side flats area of Pittsburgh, where the ghostly outline of a former structure was spotted on the wall of an 1888 vintage merchant’s building. It made me want to deep dive a bit into the history thereof, but I stopped myself.
Sometime in the future, I’ll use my magnifying glass to study the historic building stock found along this corridor, its story, and learn about all the ‘once, long ago, used to be…’ but that’s not today.
The rest of the walk was uneventful, and then we headed back to HQ, where Moe the Dog awaited.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Separately, we were wandering around Pittsburgh’s Dormont during the evening of a different day, Dormont being where Newtown Pentacle HQ is currently found, and the T light rail suddenly exploded into view.
I cannot stop myself, so… HEY NOW!
Our Lady and myself were going out for dinner at a local burger joint, one which offers a fantastic happy hour menu if you sit at their bar. I had a bourbon/apple cider cocktail that ‘rocked the bells,’ alongside a double smash burger. Yum.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This shot, depicting the Sterling Street steps, which I returned to with Our Lady in tow (she’s caught the bug for exploring the steps), was shot in a manner that attempts to visually describe the PTSD symptoms I’ve been experiencing when traversing stairs, since breaking my ankle on a set of steps at home last year. It kind of looks like this to me, that moment when the blossom of terror opens.
Enough of all that personal terror and weakness, though, it was a beautiful day and that was the focal point.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
One truly odd holdover from that experience is that due to all of the opioid pain killers that the Docs were feeding me after the surgery, my memory of this exact period (approx. September to November) from last year is extremely fragmented, or nonexistent. I’m missing about 5-6 weeks of time.
Constant agony, yes. That I remember.
I promise I’ll eventually stop talking about this. Don’t worry, something else that’s horrible or profound will happen to me and then that’ll be my new ‘thing’ to worry about. Sigh.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Our final set of stairs for the day were attained, and we returned to more or less flat ground at the bottom of the hill. The rest of our walk would be mundane, visiting shops and eating lunch, along the commercial corridor of East Carson Street in the South Side Flats section of Pittsburgh, which brings you back to the first photo and the end of the the last steps story.
It was nice having company for a scuttle, must say. I used to sell tickets in NYC to groups of people who wanted to walk around with me. Narrators need to narrate, occasionally.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Eventually, we found ourselves at the shoreline of the Monongahela River, nearby the Birmingham Bridge. It was time to head back to HQ again, and Moe the Dog. He’s sort of our constant, Moe.
Back tomorrow with something different.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
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“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.
Back to level ground
Thursday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Your humble narrator was highly satiated and satisfied by scuttling the spectacular Sterling Street Steps in Pittsburgh’s South Side Slopes section, as described in prior posts. The subsequence of this walk played out on the way downhill, and then into the South Side Flats area. I was already thinking about photographing trains.
Saying that, what a fascinating place this neighborhood must be to live. Challenging, though.
What if you drop an apple or orange on your way back from shopping?
The tumbling cultivar might build up enough momentum, rolling down that hill, to achieve ballistic speeds. You wouldn’t expect that, an orange moving faster than the speed of sound smacking into you. That’s ‘how they get ya.’
Also, as you’ll recall from a few posts ago, I’m quite concerned about the idea of Diurnal Vampires – Day Walkers.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Just like back in NYC’s Queens, all those centuried waves of immigration to Pittsburgh have also allowed egress for hordes of parasitic ghouls, devils, and all the horrors that bedeviled these populations in the old world who followed their victims overseas. These entities have long set up shop here in the Republic.
Vampires are just part of the ‘evil equation,’ and luckily they’re pretty rare. You can’t have too many human hunters in one area, even in NYC, for the same reason that Tigers are solitary and have to maintain huge hunting ranges. A wolf, for instance, needs to consume 5-7 pounds of meat a day. Too many predator vampires, not enough blood. Basic economics suggest thereby that the price of keeping a human alive prior to exsanguination becomes expensive, and inflated. Best to spread out.
There’s persistent local legend here in Western PA., about ‘hill people’ who secretly inhabit the larger Appalachian region – as in they’re cannibalistic ‘people’ who live inside, and under, the hills who grab and carry away kids and hikers from the woods. It doesn’t get talked about.
Actually, Lore Lodge recently did discuss it extensively.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Wittering and worrying about the armies of the night on a brightly lit afternoon just speaks so much about my psychology… I can find a ray of darkness in any point of light…
This part of Pittsburgh was extensively mined in the 18th and 19th century. Mount Washington, which is the landform that these steps are set into, used to be called ‘Coal Hill.’
Coal mines that were abandoned, even the ones which the State environmental people know about, are a real problem in these parts.
About a year ago, some poor woman and her dog were swallowed up by a sink hole that spontaneously subsided in their back yard. That hole dropped them down about 40 feet into an old coal mine which nobody knew about. The lady died, but the dog was rescued by Fire Dept. personnel. Concrete was poured into the mine’s void and the ground restored.
It seems that you didn’t need to file a building plan with the local Government, back to the 1830’s and most of the way to the 20th century, when you wanted to start digging into the verge in search of fortune. Lots and lots of small scale mining activity happened below the surface, and no records were left behind of the subterrene corridors, columns, and chambers which were carved out and then abandoned.
Pennsylvania has maps of the abandoned mines which are known to exist, but every Academic and Authority bemoans that it’s incomplete.
Beyond these abandoned voids allowing a place for the ‘Hill People’ and other legends to congregate and lurk in fuligin darkness, abandoned mines also produce acid runoff and other environmental hazards. Good news is that Pennsylvania leads the nation in terms of mushroom harvest.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A rickety steel bridge at Mission Street, overflying a park and also neighboring a municipal water pumping facility, marked my turn off from the Sterling Street Steps and corridor. From this point out, it was all fairly familiar ground.
The plan from here out was to really lean into my strides and walk as quickly as I could, these days. Flat ground was nearby.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I’ve walked down South 18th street quite a few times. Steeply graded, South 18th’s severely angled pavements have helped me regain the strength in my calves after the broken ankle incident.
South Side Flats isn’t an area where I’ll worry about esoteric things like Ghasts or Day Walkers, instead I’m looking out for the ‘dope sick’ and desperate who might decide to try and take something from me to feed their habits.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Were I younger, and I mean in my early thirties, the South Side Flats would have been where I wanted to settle here in Pittsburgh. A nearby commercial street is full of restaurants, bars, nightlife. Great spot. Lots of junkies, street people, and tons of ‘law and order’ trouble at night, however. Very much reminds me of First Avenue or Avenue A in NYC’s East Village.
I’m old, though, so we moved to the suburbs, and just come down here when a night out is desired.
My toes had already pointed in the direction of the Sly Fox Brewery, where a pint of beer and – hopefully – a bunch of CSX trains would be waiting for me for the price of walking another mile or so.
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.
Styling down Sterling St.
Wednesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
First off, I had no idea that an event called ‘Steptrek’ was playing out on the particular day I took this walk, but it was.
I’ve been slowly consuming Laura Zurowski’s ‘City Steps of Pittsburgh’ book, and visiting some of the interesting locations discussed by the author, when ‘fancy’ strikes, or I just need a good downhill sort of workout for my still gamey ankle.
In this case, that how I ended up at the Sterling Street Steps, found in the South Side Slopes.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This ‘zone’ is somewhat insane, in terms of building a neighborhood onto terrain this challenging and steep. The City Steps of Pittsburgh allow for pedestrian egress around these hills and valleys. They also provide unbeatable views of the city.
There’s ‘orphan houses’ up here, which are only connected to the outside world via the City Steps. No other street access.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Looking down at the entrance/top of the Sterling Street Steps, and in the distance is the Birmingham Bridge, over the Monongahela River. On the other side of the river, that’s the neighborhood of ‘Uptown’ squatting on ‘The Bluff.’ Beyond, it’s the ‘Hill District’ for that tree line, and towards the right is Oakland, where the colleges are. It’s all very exciting, really.
It was a perfect day, weather wise, in Pittsburgh. Temperatures in the middle/high 60’s and low humidity. The sky was milky, but clear.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As far as the event I’d inadvertently wandered into, there were lots and lots of people with printed out maps who were wearing athletic clothing and participating in ‘StepTrek.’
Chatted with one bloke from the promotion for a few minutes, on these steps, imparting him with every bit of encouragement I could to dare walking Rialto Street and then trying out the St. Nicholas Church trail. I advised him about how horrific the latter experience is, but opined that you really have to just scratch that one off your list.
Hey, check me out, I actually know something about Pittsburgh.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Longtime readers will tell you that I’ve been assiduously working my way around, over, down, and through Pittsburgh’s many corridors since getting the ‘all clear’ from the Orthopedic people in late Spring. At first, my post broken ankle movements were truncated, pained, and difficult. Penguin walking, as I described it.
Throughout the summer and early autumn, gradual improvements in stride and pace have occurred as I’ve fought to build my strength back up.
Nobody is chanting ‘playah’ when I scuttle past, but there you are.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
No matter what happens to you, you need to keep moving.
An unstoppable person is an irresistible force. Get out into the world and see it with your own eyes. Don’t believe half of what you read or any of what you hear until you’ve witnessed it for yourself. All is false and phoney. The only truth out there is what can be seen and touched and smelled. And photographed, of course.
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 