Pittsburgh and the Dancing Waters, both day and night:

Most of this series was taken on Friday evening, August 10, 2007 around the time Carl

was doing a wedding at the Sheraton, Station Square.  I took this one out the window

of our car as we drove east on Carson St. toward Station Square.

I went by myself to the second floor balcony of the Sheraton overlooking the Mon River

(Monongahela) with the Gateway Clipper river boat, Majestic,  moored just outside. The

black building with the waistline is Westinghouse.  The tall modern/gothic one is PPG...

Pittsburgh Plate Glass, my favorite one to photograph.

This is also from the balcony, looking east up the Mon toward the Smithfield Bridge as

a double barge is starting to go under it.  It was about 5:10 PM when I started taking

pictures.

This is that same barge, only directly across from me now. You can see the tug pushing it.

I'm always trying to frame the PPG building (as you will notice) and here I'd come down

the outside steps from the balcony and was walking east and took this view through the

iron fence.

This is the walk that leads from the Sheraton toward Bessemer Court at Station Square

where the Dancing Waters fountain is.  As this used to be the train station, they've tried

to maintain that "feel" in the whole area, no matter how new.

This is Bessemer Court, so called after the steel furnace. That's the top of Mount Washington

in the distance where the incline comes up.

Here's the PPG behind the fountain, which was playing the Sleeping Beauty waltz. That's

the old Clinton furnace they have there as a decoration.

Furnace and PPG...

The colored lights are not on, of course, during the daylight, but it makes its own natural

rainbow of colors.

This was the finale of the Sleeping Beauty waltz.

This is the incline station atop Mount Washington framed...sorta

The fountain turned off (it dances every 20 minutes)...

For some reason I kinda liked the look of the candy/gum jars by the entrance. Across the

little street is the main shopping area of Station Square.

Bessemer Court looking back toward the Mon. After dark Carl and I went up on that

rectangular tower that overlooks the river. Here, during the daylight, I'd walked down

by myself.

I sat for a couple of minutes on the bench just to the right of the round bush in the

picture above this one and took this shot of the furnace, then noticed how the PPG

stuck up above it...so...

I decided the contrast between the two was just too interesting not to get a close-up of

and then the fountain started again, giving a different look.

I'd just curled my hair and got all sprayed by the mist before the wedding, but didn't

really mind as I was happily taking pictures.

That high walkway leads out to the observation tower that Carl and I visited later.

Making sure the PPG shows between the tower and the furnace.

Rainbow again

I just enjoyed the way the water looked against the sky

Overview of fountains with a bit of rainbow

More water and sky

Looking through the fountain from the Mon side

Same side as above

Making PPG contrasts again

Then a train whooshed by.  They don't stop here any more. They just whoosh by.

I took this one through the window of the room the wedding ceremony was to be in.

The Majestic was just putting out upstream.  During Hurricane Ivan, the boats

almost knocked at the door of the Sheraton.  We did a wedding here that night, too.

Also out the window as the Majestic heads for the Smithfield Bridge. The tall, dark building

is US Steel.

This was at the reception. I was tryin' to be all artsy-fartsy with the ice sculpture

of the two swans and the PPG building.

Top of ice sculpture and PPG

Wedding cake and PPG

Again...

...and again.  I never stop.

The smallest of the Gateway Clipper Fleet...the Good Ship Lollipop. This was

the first stern wheeler we went on when we arrived in Pittsburgh in 1974. Used

to have red on it back then instead of blue, I think.

They kept coming by and I kept taking pictures of them.  This is the Liberty Belle.

I've been on this one twice.

Liberty Belle heading up the Mon.

Later in the evening, the Keystone Belle went by. I've never been on this one.

When we left the reception and walked down to Bessemer Court, they had a bit of

clear waters going...so, of course, I positioned myself so the PPG would be behind it.

The Smithfield Bridge lit up

From the high walkway to the tower, looking down on the clear water.

From the tower, looking west, the Sheraton on the left, the Fort Pitt Bridge, the

Majestic.

From the tower, showing the Sheraton with the high row of lights being the top of

Mount Washington.

Heading back across the walkway to come down for the lighted show.

This was the first picture I took close up of the fountain in the night and the water

droplets show up as big round balls, almost like Chinese lanterns.

They were repeating the Disney show this time and "I Can Fly" was playing...

More Chinese lantern water droplets...I kinda like the way they look.

Not so many here, but still interesting.

I don't know who this boy is, but he struck some good poses as he watched the show.

They're doing the Sleeping Beauty waltz again now.

I liked the way this girl was watching the waters

The Sleeping Beauty finale, but at night.

These next several I took atop Mount Washington on a walk Carl and I did along

Grandview Avenue on a very warm, hazy July 4th, 2007. I was trying to frame some

different shots of the city to use in my Libriscrowe story, "Stepping Up", set up here.

The fountain at the Point...very hazy.

Boat race going on, circling around under the Smithfield Bridge.  The peach-colored

building is part of the Sheraton. Down to its right you can see the viewing tower.

Sumac growing on the face of Mount Washington along Grandview Avenue.

View out Doug's window of the city.

The Point as seen from Doug's.  The barges on the right were where most of the fireworks

were to be shot off from.  This is looking up the Allegheny River, with the barges being

on the Mon.

Looking across one of the concrete "mushroom" view platforms off Grandview.

This was from a couple of years ago, but I took it because I like the contrast between the ornate

small cathedral (Heinz Chapel...see whole photo album about that) and the old log cabin.

This was June 2006 from the West End Overlook just before Carl did a wedding up there.

Same day.  You can see the Trimont (tallest on far right) where Doug lives.

Showing how the Allegheny comes in from the left to meet the Mon from the right to

form the Ohio River. That's the Fort Pitt bridge on the right.

Crossing the Fort Pitt bridge

...and then curving east past Westinghouse and PPG

The Allegheny River just north of the city. I took this behind Longvue Country

Club, June 2007, just before we did a wedding there.

BACK TO JO'S OTHER PLACE

BACK TO RIVERBOAT AFTERNOON

BACK TO PLACES OF REBELLION

BACK TO PPG...MY LOVE AFFAIR WITH A BUILDING