We have lots of bridges in Pittsburgh.
If you continue down Brown’s Hill Road you then get onto the Homestead High-Level Bridge. Always, always–I connect this ride with Kennywood because once you reach the other side you turn left and eventually reach our beloved amusement park.
When the families on my street got together in the summertime for picnics we crossed this bridge. The children had this superstition about not breathing while crossing; so we stopped singing and held our breath. One time, when Naomi and I were 11 or 12 years old, we persuaded our mothers to let us walk down to Beechwood Blvd., then over to Brown’s Hill Road, then all the way down to the bridge. Sometimes I think I must have dreamed this but in those days we were allowed to run free.
It’s really quite a ride, whizzing across the Monongahela and listening to the bridge producing a singing, vibrating sound.
I think most Pittsburgh people love the Smithfield Street Bridge. One time when Michael was about 12 we took a kind of exploratory trip of Pittsburgh, and I have a photo of him standing, with a big smile on his face, on the bridge. People are always walking back and forth because this bridge connects downtown Pittsburgh with Station Square, the inclines, and the place where you can get on one of the boats for tourists.
But I have a personal favorite of all the bridges. My favorite is the Birmingham Bridge that connects the Hill District/Fifth Avenue–I think–with the South Side. Why do I love this bridge? The setting for my book, Sitting Shiva For Terry, is nearby on the Fifth Avenue side. Also–when you cross the Birmingham Bridge you end up close to the South Side branch of the Carnegie Library. It’s a wonderful walk when the sun’s out. The main character in my novel actually takes that walk and visits the library.
lgmwriting 