Category Archives: US Cities
Harrisburg: Coal or Gem
I didn’t understand the pitying looks I received when I announced my fall vacation to Harrisburg. Now that it is over, I still don’t understand.
As a capital city, the downtown is quiet on the weekends, but the neighborhoods are still full of people. Even on a chilly, sleepy Sunday morning, joggers, bikers, and walkers enjoy the fresh air along the riverfront park that is part of the 20-mile Harrisburg Capital Area Greenbelt Trail. Sculptures dot the public spaces and art coats the fire hydrants and signal control boxes. Beautiful and intriguing architecture abounds. A former theater houses the largest used bookstore I’ve ever visited. Across the street, the Broad Street Market is filled with vendors of such mouthwatering temptations as Amish baked goods, hot Indian food, exotically flavored ice cream, fresh baked pretzels, and more.
A relatively compact and walkable city, I find surprising gems each time I visit Harrisburg.
Flood Measures
There is an enormous floodwall on the Covington, KY, side of the Roebling bridge, which spans the Ohio River. It shocked me to see such a huge wall when I was there last year. I wondered if there couldn’t have been some other means of flood control that would not have produced such a large barrier. It reminded me of the significant physical barriers to the waterfront that I observed in Erie, Pittsburgh, Homestead, PA, and Cleveland. Unlike Erie, Homestead, and Cleveland, Covington did not have any significant economic drivers separated from the town by the barrier wall. The river side only had a small park and parking lot.
In addition to acting as a barrier, the sheer massiveness of the flat concrete wall bothered me. I wanted to see it broken up into staggered segments, even though I knew that would not be useful in a structure intended to block the path of water. However, Covington handled the flat wall with style by turning it into a canvas for a giant mural. Almost as long as the wall itself, this mural depicts the history of the crossing at this location from 8000 BCE to the present day. While the mural did not help with the scale of the wall, it broke the monotony while turning it into a destination for its own sake.
In the back of my mind, this wall continued to bother me until observing the effects of the significant flooding experienced in Pittsburgh this year at the forks of the Ohio River (see Checking on the Rivers and The Aftermath). A google search showed me that the flooding Pittsburgh experienced in February this year also affected the Covington-Cincinnati region in the worst flood in that area since 1997. The concept of a wall still bothers me, but this one probably prevents a lot of property damage and Covington has taken steps to soften its negative effects.
Engaging Riverfronts
Cincinnati’s riverfront park with swings
There is a proposal in Pittsburgh to introduce a new feature to its riverfronts: swings. I am excited about this possibility as a swing lover and as someone who wants to see more welcoming and engaging spaces along Pittsburgh’s rivers. One of the inspirations for this idea are swings found in Cincinnati’s riverfront park. Last summer, I happened upon that park in a search for bridges by Roebling. On an ordinary summer evening, this enormous riverfront park was filled with people of all ages enjoying the various activities from walking paths to playgrounds to interactive art installations.
Istanbul exercise equipment
Istanbul exercise equipment
Istanbul exercise equipment
Previously, when walking around Istanbul, I experienced jealousy at seeing the number of parks with adult exercise equipment installed. This sort of acknowledgement that adults enjoy playing outdoors as much as children seemed lacking in parks across the United States. Cincinnati’s park showed me that inviting adults to play outside is embraced in some parts of our country.
More images from Cincinnati’s riverfront park
Pittsburgh has kayak and bike rentals for adults to play outside. The walking trails, Fountain at the Point, and Watersteps attract people to enjoy the outdoors and the rivers. However, if this swing proposal pans out, Pittsburgh may move up into the next tier of engaging outdoor spaces with the introduction of free play equipment for adults on par with Cincinnati and Istanbul.
In Search of Roebling
Last summer’s search for Roebling bridges (see Market St, Steubenville and Wheeling Suspension Bridge) came to a successful end as a golden sunset spread over Cincinnati. The reason we struck out earlier in the day is that the Cincinnati-Covington Bridge is one of the two remaining Roebling suspension bridges. The other is, of course, his most famous bridge: the Brooklyn Bridge. The first of Roebling’s five suspension bridges was built in Pittsburgh at the site of the current Smithfield Street Bridge, but lasted less than 40 years before the increased river and road traffic made it obsolete.
Between Roebling’s two remaining bridges, I found the Cincinnati bridge more appealing. Its character feels like it would fit right in on the Thames in London. I also appreciated the engaging green spaces at either end. The birds liked this bridge, too.
Sunset from the Roebling Bridge
Dogs in the City
Not being a dog person, I have been fascinated by different dog behaviors and treatment that I have seen in traveling. In New York City, I was surprised to see people bring their pet dogs onto public transit, both on the metro and on the bus. I wasn’t sure if this behavior was like eating on the buses in Pittsburgh–it’s not permitted, yet people do it anyway–or if pets are allowed on public transportation in NYC. It also seemed unusual to me that most of the dogs I saw were small. But then, thinking it through, I decided it made sense as if you live in a stereotypical tiny New York apartment, you wouldn’t have the space to keep a big dog.
In Pittsburgh, dogs seem to be more like what you would find in suburban areas. They are often big and they tend to bark a lot and strain toward people they pass on the street. After coming back from New York City, I realized that you don’t see dogs in downtown Pittsburgh. However, as more people have moved downtown, dogs on the streets downtown have become much more common. Including ones that are pushed around in what look like baby strollers, but given how some people feel about pets, they might have been strollers designed for dogs.
Istanbul dogs were quite different from the average dog in America. I believe most of them were strays, but they appeared to be quite self-sufficient (such as the ones in the photo above). They minded their own business and let everyone around go about their business. It was quite refreshing to me to see numerous dogs that did not feel the need to bark their heads off just because someone was walking by. I regret that I did not get a picture of the most notable dog I passed. He had a human companion, but no leash, instead he was decked out in sunglasses and other bling like mardi gras beads.
Brooklyn Bridge
Yesterday, as I was writing my post about the Wheeling Suspension Bridge by Roebling’s competitor, I was fascinated to discover that I never wrote a post about my walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. I decided to rectify the situation. The more I worked on it; the more fascinated I became. At this point, nearly 5 years after having walked it, all I can surmise is that I must have been very tired and/or hungry while crossing it.
In my post on the Manhattan Bridge, I mention how much more I liked that bridge than the Brooklyn Bridge. I can remember how much more thought provoking I found the Manhattan Bridge, but in looking back at my photos, I am shocked at how uninspiring I found the Brooklyn Bridge. I think it may hold the record for the fewest number of photos I’ve taken of any of the bridges I have walked. Especially, if we look at number of photos versus the length of the bridge. I suppose there may have been some other factors such as the construction zone on parts of the bridge.
Another factor may have been the fact that the walkway is in the center of the bridge and above level of the traffic. While I remember this as a highlight and an intriguing part of the bridge, I also seem to recall that it may have caused interference with framing any potential photos.
I will take back some of my comments on the Wheeling Suspension Bridge. While both bridges do have a lot of structural parts holding them up, those of the Wheeling bridge were much more fascinating. This may in part have been because you were able to get up close with them.
Below are the views of the surroundings. On one side you have the Manhattan Bridge and on the other the Statue of Liberty. That is just about the extent of the photos I took from the Brooklyn Bridge.
I feel that I ought to give this bridge a second chance. If/when I ever make it back to New York City, I think I will have to walk it again (maybe after a good meal). The problem here is that my last trip there in 2012 when I first walked the bridge confirmed for me that New York is really not the city for me and I have no plans to make a trip back anytime soon.
Wheeling Suspension Bridge
I had a blast with the Wheeling Suspension Bridge. First, I was fascinated by how it was squeezed between the buildings on the mainland side. Second, as an early suspension bridge, it has many parts to ensure that it would stay up, which provided more than the average opportunity to attempt to be artistic in photographing it.
The Wheeling Suspension Bridge was the largest suspension bridge in the world when it was built. Charles Ellet won the competition to design the bridge over John Roebling. There are some similarities in style between this bridge and Roebling’s Brooklyn Bridge with the stone piers and suspension ropes. Before we walked across this one and read the plaque, we were under the impression that it was a Roebling bridge.
Wheeling has two different trends of riverfront uses than those found in Stuebenville. On one side of the river (island side), is riverfront housing of surprisingly old construction. On the other side (city side), is a modern riverfront park with bike trail.
Market St, Steubenville
On a road trip this summer, one of the goals was to search out and walk interesting bridges. The first bridge we stopped at was an unplanned eye-catcher. We went to Steubenville in order to drive across the iconic Veteran’s Memorial Bridge. Heading south from that bridge, our eyes were caught by this one. So we took an unscheduled stop to walk across.
This is the Market Street Bridge in Steubenville, OH. The best part about this bridge was that it marked the first time I walked across a state line by bridge.
The other thing that fascinated me while walking this bridge was the uses on along the river. On the West Virginia side, it was all wilderness at the end of the bridge, but further downriver an active mill could be seen.
On the Ohio side, the feature river-side uses were the sewage treatment plant and the jail.
The innocent looking brick building is the Jefferson County Justice Center and Jail. While I can image the sewage plant was probably a long standing use on the river side, the jail appears to be of more recent construction. After a short internet search, I wasn’t able to find the date of construction of this building, but did find out that this was the third jail. The second jail was built around 1950 and converted to offices when this building was constructed. If I were to hazard a guess, I would say this third jail was probably built around the time that the Allegheny County Jail was built on riverside property in the Pittsburgh, PA. That jail opened in 1995.
I find it fascinating that riverfront property has been used more than once to locate a jail. Historically, industry settled along the rivers because that was either its main transportation or power source. Recently, cities have been taking strides to reclaim their riverfront properties as economic boosters in the form of parks and entertainment venues or housing. In both these scenarios, the uses are placed on the rivers due to the greater economic benefit to be gained from the interaction between the use and the river. Placing a jail on a river seems contradictory to the view of rivers as the heart of a city’s economy (previously industrially based, now tourist based).
However, the rivers may confer a benefit of another sort to the use of the property as a jail. When I was recently confined to a hospital room for a week, the sight of the small sliver of river that I could see from my window went a long way toward helping me stay sane. It also prompted some more contemplation about the siting of hospitals in a way I had never considered before. The view I had of the river was beyond a sea of parking associated with the hospital and partially blocked by the buildings for a water treatment facility. There was little of interest to see in the immediate vicinity. I hope that in the case of the jails, the river view windows are for rooms and the non-river view windows are for offices and/or back-of-house operations.
Big Dam Bridge
The name says it all. This bridge was built as the longest pedestrian- and bicycle-built bridge in the country spanning 4,226 feet across the Arkansas River, connecting Little Rock and North Little Rock. It is part of the Arkansas River Trail.
On a trip to Arkansas this winter, I discovered this bridge and naturally had to add it to my list of bridges I’ve walked across. The intention of my trip to Arkansas was to visit friends but also to get a break from the cold northern winter by heading south. When I bought my tickets in January, the Little Rock region was having 60 degree weather. A month later when I arrived, the high was 26.
View of Pinnacle Mountain from the Big Dam Bridge
View toward downtown Little Rock showing Rebsaman Park
By the time we reached the half-way point of the bridge, we were frozen stiff. The farther we got on the bridge the stronger the wind got, probably creating a wind chill factor closer to 20 degrees or less. After admiring the views from the midpoint for a minute, the cold and wind forced us to turn back toward the car.
While I didn’t make it all the way across, I can still say I’ve been on one of the Top 10 Bridge Travel Sites in the US. Now I just have to find the other 9 sites.
urbantraipsing 