The Vertical Neighborhood

Polish Hill, Pittsburgh

Polish Hill has long called itself “Pittsburgh’s most vertical neighborhood” and you can see that you are on the edge of a very steep street, and with the descending roofs of the buildings on the left this street is at least one example of that designation. They are all pretty steep, many just as steep as this one, and all dominated by Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church where mass is still said daily in Polish, the industrial and warehouse district of Pittsburgh beyond, and the Allegheny River and the 31st Street Bridge beyond that. It has its share of immigrants and descendants of immigrants and working people and young people, all clinging to the hillside.

Below is another shot I found interesting because I liked the bike parked by the rail at the top of the hill, and still the church over all; these buildings are the backs of the ones seen in the photo above. But it was a dark snowy day and there was an ambulance behind me so I had no time to get out of my car to get the photo. One of these days I’ll go back.

A bike at the top of the hill.

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For a print of any photo, visit “purchasing” for availability and terms. For photos of lots of black cats and other cats—and even some birds as I first published this post there—visit The Creative Cat.

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