Laden with heaped coal and dusted with snow, a barge named The Janet Marie courses down the frigid Monongahela.

Pigeons forage for crumbs in South Side. Moments earlier, an elderly man tossed feed onto the sidewalk, drawing hundreds of pigeons from the rooftops.

Soapsuds are jetted over a windshield at a Homewood car wash. Holiday travel and salt-crusted roads may cover a car with grime within hours.

Jumpers are pulled from freezing waters during the annual Polar Bear Plunge. This bone-chilling event draws hundreds of people every January 1. Participants leap into the Monongahela and scuttle to shore, where towels await.

A North Side resident strums from the comfort of his third-story fire-escape. T-shirts resurfaced as Pittsburgh experienced an unusually balmy New Year’s Eve.

An audience settles into chairs at Most Wanted Fine Art. This poetry reading was just one of many exhibits and events held at the Unblurred art-walk in Garfield. Despite the cold, the walk remains well-trafficked.

Paddling against a breathtaking ribbon of fog, kayakers take advantage of the mild January air and watch the jumpers of the Polar Bear Plunge.

Vaulted ceilings soar inside the East Liberty Presbyterian Church. This stone church is one of the most recognized structures in Pittsburgh, but only a fraction of residents who use it as a reference point actually venture inside. The Presbyterian Church is not only an architectural masterpiece – it houses a thriving community center.

One second after "Go!" is shouted, racers spring over the starting line. The Frigid Five drew hundreds of runners to North Park. Neither cold nor Sunday morning blahs could keep these folks indoors.

Rivers of road-salt flow down a Bloomfield sidewalk. The up side: An ambulance (background) receives a Bloomfield resident and drives off safely.

Dan Cercone Barber Shop continues to take customers as darkness falls over Bloomfield. This old-school shop has shorn local hair since 1931.

Lights and sound are adjusted only hours before a First Night performance at the Byham Theatre, downtown. Squonk Opera performed a spirited half-hour version of their new show, Magic & Mayhem.

Two Capitals fans head down a North Side sidewalk, flanking the walls of PNC Park. Pittsburgh was overrun with hockey enthusiasts thanks to the 2011 Winter Classic.