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As seen across the river, Heinz Field, where the Steelers and the Panthers play, is pleasingly symmetrical. The side facing the river is left open to give the television cameras an occasional view of the skyline.
Smithfield Street Bridge
June 26, 2009
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A view from the sidewalk shows the intricacy of Gustav Lindenthal’s famous Pauli truss. Taken with a Kodak Retinette.
The Smithfield Street Bridge is just across Carson Street from the Station Square subway station.
Crowds in Point Park
June 25, 2009
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Weekend crowds throng Point Park in the early-evening sun. Taken with a Kodak Retinette, whose tidy German precision, with a Schneider-Kreuznach lens and Compur-Rapid shutter, makes it a pleasure to take on a walk in the city.
Spiral Fire Escape
June 22, 2009
A spiral fire escape on the side of an apartment building in Shadyside.
Looking Up at the PPG Tower
June 21, 2009
Looking up at Philip Johnson’s PPG Tower, the centerpiece of PPG Place and the de-facto symbol of downtown Pittsburgh, from the Diamond.
The Diamond
June 15, 2009
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This little corner of the Diamond (the Diamond is called “Market Square” on maps) looks like the Pittsburgh of olden times, before steel-cage construction made skyscrapers sprout everywhere. Taking away the neon and the road signs, it could be a Victorian engraving. Father Pitt begs your forgiveness for the cheap lens on this digital camera, which makes straight lines impossible.
The Diamond is a block up Forbes Avenue from the Gateway Center subway station.
Fifth Avenue Place from the Diamond
June 13, 2009
Fifth Avenue Place looms over the Diamond (which is spelled “Market Square,” but pronounced “Diamond”). At night, the needle at the top is illuminated from below, so it looks as if the building is about to emit a space probe.
Pigeons
June 9, 2009
Downtown Pittsburgh can be as crowded for pigeons as it is for people. This tree bears its strange avian fruit in Mellon Square.
Ornamental Ironwork on the William Penn
June 8, 2009
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An ornate iron grille on the side of the William Penn Hotel. Even in the most prosaic things, beauty and function can get along happily together.
Rare Surviving Victorian Lettering
June 7, 2009
The demolition of a building on Forbes Avenue downtown laid bare not only a splendid canvas for some rather unimaginative graffiti, but also half of a painted sign for a Victorian cafe that once occupied this spot. The part that survives is in an extraordinary state of preservation, so we can appreciate the rakish backslant of the bold but ornate letters that spell out “–mmel’s Cafe.”
