The towboat M. J. Monahan pushes a big train of coal barges up the Mon. Yes, “towboat” is the correct name for such boats on American rivers, even though they obviously push.
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The Towboat M. J. Monahan
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Brunot Island
Brunot Island, or Brunot’s Island, or Brunots Island, because the Board on Geographic Names “does not recognize the use of the possessive apostrophe,” as Wikipedia puts it (Father Pitt would be willing to explain it to them if they would like to make an appointment), is the first island in the Ohio downstream from Pittsburgh. It was once the home of Dr. Felix Brunot, who built an estate there in the late 1700s, and saw it washed away in a flood in 1811. Now it is home to the Brunot Island Generating Station, and it is inaccessible except by water, by railroad, or by a private pedestrian walkway for the workers at the power plant. These views were taken from the north shore of the Ohio.
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Barge Train on the Mon
Father Pitt took this picture in November of 2000 from the Smithfield Street Bridge.
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Panhandle Bridge
When Amtrak stopped using this bridge and the downtown tunnel into which it led, the Port Authority seized the opportunity. The bridge now carries the streetcars over the Mon and into the subway, the first part of which uses that old railroad tunnel—so that, like many other things in Pittsburgh, our subway is cobbled together from spare parts.
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Monongahela River
Looking upstream from the West End Overlook.
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Sunrise on the Monongahela
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Fort Pitt Bridge from the Smithfield Street Bridge
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Tiki Boats
They belong to Cruisin’ Tikis Pittsburgh: you can charter one for up to half a dozen people, or two lashed together for up to a dozen. Bring your own alcohol, because as far as Father Pitt can tell these are basically floating bars.
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Canada Goose Swimming
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Heinz Field
