Murals, Churches, and Sandcastle Progress

09/14/12 230# 56m

Felt the desire to ride a little bit outside of the normal zone, and perhaps a little bit long today. Started with S. at the Bastille at 0700 and rode to McKeesport, where we stopped for some mural sightings.

Near the UPMC Complex in McKeesport on Lysle Blvd, a great mural in need of some upkeep:

At 515 Walnut Street in McKeesport, four murals.


NAMB: Not A Mural But... I've got to learn the nomenclature of the various crosses. I've seen three-armed crosses many times before, but never with the anchor-flukes (surely not a crescent) at the bottom. Further research is called for. This is St. Mary's Russian Orthodox Church; illumination provided by the designer.


This is a great structure, completely out of context in the current setting. I've seen a similar one of these in Carnegie. Is it an office for people who want to look down on others? A time-out room? An early panopticon? No, I'm told it's a sort of railroad control tower, from which workers could observe the tracks and, when necessary, stop road traffic or throw switches.


On the McKeesport Loop, about to cross the river, we saw this toy jeep on a gravel pile in the municipal lot, an expression of whimsey in an otherwise utilitarian setting:


We rode out past Boston to the country, had a snack, and reversed. On the way back, we found this mural which had eluded us earlier, at 815 Market Street in McKeesport.


Stopped at Smoke in Homestead for a taco and mac-and-cheese. Came out and took pictures of "Welcome to Homestead" by Ian Greene, a collection of several murals.


While we were there, a gentleman came over and offered to identify the artist, and I recognized local photographer and artist Tom Jefferson who had documented the Tour de Frack. Small world, stand on a corner in Homestead and meet somebody you've ridden with.


This old and faded mural is at 311 Eighth Ave in Homestead:


This mural is "Drum Circle" by Ian Greene at Fifteenth and Sarah in Homestead. There's a lot of things going on within the image, and it was totally worth climbing up the hill to see it.


St. Nicholas' Russian-Greek-Catholic Eastern Rite Church had these three figures built into the front of their church entrance, I don't know the significance of them - are they the Three Wise Men, the Bishop-Priest-Deacon, the three Patriarchs that remained aligned? Any insight would be appreciated.


On the way across the Sandcastle property, we saw a bulldozer and a tree-trimming company at work clearing land for the GAP trail across that property. They had started earlier in the day. I do know the significance of that: progress on a long-coming trail completion.

56 miles on a great day.