newtownpentacle

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Memorial Day Parade

Friday – photo by Mitch Waxman The various municipalities and Boroughs of the South Hills region of Pittsburgh participate in a Memorial Day parade, including Dormont where Newtown Pentacle HQ is found. Our Lady has been hanging out with a local arts outfit, and was marching in the parade with the group. I volunteered to get shots of her when she appeared, but what? I’m not going to shoot…

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Carothers Avenue Bridge

Thursday – photo by Mitch Waxman You see variants of that design of bridge above all over the place in Pennsylvania. It’s called a Warren Pony Truss style bridge. The span is some 146 feet long, and it was erected in 1927. The Carothers Avenue Bridge is its name, and it spans Chartiers Creek pretty close to what could be called ‘Downtown Carnegie’ or at least ‘Main Street Carnegie.’ Actually,…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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St. Nicholas Trail, along Route 28?

Wednesday – photo by Mitch Waxman Firstly, the official speed limit on Route 28 is 45mph. Given a nearly total abandonment of the enforcement of traffic laws regarding vehicle speed on the part of the Pittsburgh Police Department, the actual speed limit here is delimited by how fast you feel comfortable driving. It’s common for a pickup to hurtle past you at 80mph on this stretch. That’s fast…

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Troy Hill to St. Nicholas Trail

Tuesday – photo by Mitch Waxman Still on Pittsburgh’s Rialto Street today, see yesterday’s post for details on this amazing spot. For the TLDR crowd: 5th steepest street in Pittsburgh, Route 28 at the bottom with the neighborhood of Troy Hill at the top. The bridge spanning over Rialto Street, visible above, is called the Ley St. Bridge. Steps, ankle, stairs phobia – now you’re all caught…

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Rialto St., Pittsburgh’s 5th steepest

Monday – photo by Mitch Waxman When I describe something as ‘totally stupid fun,’ it usually means that whereas you’re not going to be terribly comfortable during the experience it’s nevertheless something worth doing, at least once. To wit, a recent endeavor involved visiting Pittsburgh’s Troy Hill neighborhood, and walking down its infamous Rialto Street, whereupon an exploratory walk along…

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Shabbos trio

Friday – photo by Mitch Waxman Odds and ends today, collected along my travels in Pittsburgh and the surrounding area while out and accomplishing other stuff. Pictured above is the neighborhood of Garfield, I’m told, and it is looking towards Oakland and the University of Pittsburgh’s Cathedral of Learning. As you’re reading this, one is busily preparing for a week long trip to NYC. Part of…

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Scuttle’s end

Thursday – photo by Mitch Waxman After a fun hike along the Ohio Water Trail, one last shot of a passing train was gathered. CSX was heading westwards along the Ohio River, whereas I was rolling north-easterly and towards the terminal stop of the T light rail which is nearby Acrisure Stadium. As mentioned previously, the busted ankle performed well on this one. The only real discomfort I had…

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Anomalous gravitics

Wednesday – photo by Mitch Waxman When you near the eastern section of the Ohio River Water Trail, the West End Bridge just sort of rises up and looms over you. That bridge is involved in one of the many walking routes I’ve been evolving for myself, since moving out here to Pittsburgh from my lifelong residency in NYC. There’s a set of ‘Bernie Holes’ in the fencing overlooking CSX’s Pittsburgh…

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Rail trail scuttling, north side style

Tuesday – photo by Mitch Waxman Your humble narrator knew about the existence of a few of the rail trails which snake around Pittsburgh’s edges, but frankly – I had no idea how extensive or numerous they are when I moved out here. The former ‘right of way’ for a bankrupted rail road, or an abandoned ROW no longer used by an extant RR outfit, these trails are converted over to recreational usage…

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Ohio river tugs

Monday – photo by Mitch Waxman As one may recall, were you to have visited this site last week, your humble narrator was recently scuttling along an Ohio River hugging ‘Rail Trail’ here on Pittsburgh’s North Side. Pictured is the tug Emma Z, which is about 55 feet from bow to stern and is flagged in the USA. It was operating as a vehicle shuttle between Brunot’s Island and the north shore of…

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Good gander

Friday – photo by Mitch Waxman Continuing with observations and photos from a scuttle along the Ohio River, here in Pittsburgh. Along the waterfront trail, I encountered this jerk. All Canada Geese are jerks. One decided to sit and cool his heels for a few minutes, and take a good look around. A series of broken cement plinths line the shore here, and there was a guy about 200 feet away that…

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The big house

Thursday – photo by Mitch Waxman After walking out from under a few bridges on Pittsburgh’s North Side, your humble narrator headed for the Ohio River while on a recent scuttle. One of the many rail trails which I’ve been frequenting, this one follows the shoreline of the waterbody, but first you need to get to it. Large industrial sites, and the skeletal remains of a prison, stand in your…