Tug, Barges and Carrie Furnace on the Monongahela River- Autumn Afternoon
After school I drove down the slopes to the flats and headed to Homestead to buy a special cable for an external hard drive so I could retrieve a summer photo for Erika.
I turned onto Waterfront Road towards Best Buy and saw the late afternoon light reflected and warm the rusting metal across the Mon. Pulled over and stood on top of a guard rail to capture the sinking light on the Carrie Furnace, remnants of Homestead Steel Works and then I heard the tug and saw it pushing the barges up the river. It was a mighty scene on the river and the limitations of photography or my ability to capture it thoroughly, the seeing and feeling it, became clear once again.
The Rivers of Steel Heritage Corporation sponsors tours but the last one was October 15th so will have to wait until 2012.
If you want to get a real feel for the Blast Furnaces and the incredible history, interviews with employees and historical photographs I recommend watching at least video # 1 at this website. I especially liked the man reading the last names of the workers he found in some type of log at the site. He spoke of reading obituaries of workers who gave 30-40 years of hard work for the Homestead Steel Works What a compilation of footage of Carrie Furnace. Closed in 1986.
Interesting photo. Be careful Ruth. One of these days you’re going to hurt yourself getting the perfect shot!
December 2, 2011 at 6:54 am
it looks cool
December 2, 2011 at 6:56 am
excellent picture – it’s who were. People don’t realize how those steel mills and glass factories helped this country grow.
December 2, 2011 at 7:38 am
What a quintessential Pittsburgh photo! I love it.
December 2, 2011 at 9:10 am
Great shot, Ruth on its own – but also brought back lots of memories of my sight of these mills in operation, when Pgh. was “hell with the lid torn off.” Thanks for both experiences.
December 2, 2011 at 9:12 am
A steel mill along a river. Now that’s Pittsburgh! What a great photo! Having been raised in Detroit, the fortunes of our 2 cities were so intertwined for the greater part of last century. And as they went, so went the rest of the country.
December 2, 2011 at 10:47 am
You are so right John. “Went” is the key word.
December 3, 2011 at 12:26 am
Brr, I get cold just looking at the river and those trees.
December 2, 2011 at 12:30 pm
Great Shot my friend
December 2, 2011 at 8:26 pm
This scene looks like one that is powerful to feel. Good photograph; but likely an even better experience. Cool that you got them both.
December 2, 2011 at 8:31 pm
We love to watch the barges go past when we visit Ritchey’s sister in Rumsey, Kentucky. They live on Green River.
December 4, 2011 at 8:10 pm
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