ridgemont

Endness Way 

Middle Hill

Amazing discovery in Hazelwood

Yesterday I went for a run. The weather was perfect and unseasonably warm for late January. I found myself in Hazelwood. 

a video of my experience. 

the lower portion of the steps closest to Irvine St.

The lower portion of the steps closest to Irvine street is inaccessible. Allegheny Fence Company which resides on Irvine street has erected a fence blocking the steps. Imagine that. 

the view from the top portion above Sylvan St 

If you feel like exploring these steps yourself, do it in the winter. If you try during the warmer months, chances are the overgrowth will be too thick. The best bet for reaching the location is to take Sylvan Street from Hazelwood. Follow the trail and be careful of the mud. You could also reach the location from the other side of the trail in Greenfield. Theoretically, you can find the steps from the top of the hill by Tasso Street but it feels a lot like trespassing. You'll have to go through someone's back yard.  Just be careful. 

looking down toward Sylvan Street from Tasso Street and Noah Street 

looking toward Tasso St and Noah St

Thoughts on the butler street bottleneck

The intersection of 40th and butler streets is almost always a nightmare; Choked with traffic and dangerous for pedestrians. The problem is clear. Eliminate the Wendy's and the get go. As if a bottle neck wasn't bad enough, this poor design begs the motorist to exit and re enter the bumper to bumper traffic from opposing corners. Lawrenceville needs a gas station, yes, but in this particular location? And the necessity of a fast food drive through is always debatable. This one is just so tremendously inefficient.

Kdka

So last week I received a Facebook message from a local news reporter, David Highfield, to be interviewed for a story about the city steps. Elated, we set up an interview for Tuesday evening at the place of my choosing. I picked German square in the south side slopes. It's isolated and a bit weird and the steps are plentiful as are the views.  Perfect in my opinion. But Sunday night I had a pretty rough bike accident resulting in a sprained wrist and bruised ribs. If anyone's ever bruised a rib you know how laborious breathing becomes. It was also 90 degrees the day of the interview and I obviously had to wear pants and a nice shirt to be on tv. This already is a perfect storm for sweat city but as part of the special, the lovely people with the cameras wanted like a million shots of me ascending and descending the steps. Wide shots, different angles, action shots, steady cam, some weird go pro shot from underneath. Don't get me wrong, I was absolutely thrilled to participate, I just think the circumstances were silly. You'll see this jag-a-muffin all glistening and out of breath on September 29th at 7:30 on kdka talking crazily about my weird obsession.

Loose Ends

Lately I have been transferring all of my data into Google map engines which is an app building program. 

This program works so much better than what I had been using before. It does everything! Correlating data from spreadsheets and all. You'll see below the many Tapping a green line in the active map brings up all the info on the particular set of steps.  One is even able to get directions. 

New Home

Just some pictures from my walk today. This is mostly 54th St. in Lawrenceville. I live in Lawrenceville now right between two of the biggest sets of steps in the city. It's an interesting little alcove of homes built at the turn of last century. Yeah, it's a dream come true. I hoped that moving next to these steps I'd be more motivated to work on the old book. It's slow going however. Moves are rough and I only just got internet hooked up last week. So expect lots of back logged blogs.

California-Kirkbride

California-Kirkbride is a neighborhood on the brink. Recently, many derelict properties were torn down to hopefully reduce the amount of crime in the area. What's left are lovely old distinctive homes.


The neighborhood gets its name for the intersection of two streets. It lies on the hillside above The neighborhood of Manchester. California Kirkbride's steps are very frequent. A curious fact being that they don't really service any homes anymore. Sometimes steps can feel like some art installation that you aren't meant to understand.

Crafton Heights

Crafton heights...what can I really say? It was a neighborhood, it bordered Crafton (it still borders Crafton) it had the BEST steps ever...(that's not true). Straka street is pure magic. Many city steps are blunt. They take you as quickly as possible to the bus stops or whatever. But straka street feels like a walk in the park. It's long but not difficult. Each step is separated by 3 or 4 feet (sometimes more) of flat, easybreezy sidewalk. And it's in the woods. Completely shaded. And it's well maintained. And it's in good shape. And it's....just go there.

Other parts of Crafton heights aren't quite as pristine but the allure remains. Clairhaven street is abandoned along the steps. Two houses sit as silent sentinel to the neglect of the past. They are beautiful, hidden monuments to the temporary. As vines invade, windows break, wood siding fades, and encroaching tree limbs sway to bring their kin in clabber board to earth; its final resting place....did I just write a poem? Shit.

Lincoln place

Lincoln place is south of the city bordering Munhall, Hays, and bum #*%¿ Egypt. It's not as stark as I describe it and it's damn near convenient transportation-wise. My only qualm is that it sits, completely isolated from the rest of Pittsburgh proper, in its own little world. I always lamented Lincoln Place doing my research because of how far removed it is. Its not practical for me to drive out there for its four sets of steps, when I have to go to work every day, slaving over a hot espresso machine, with no respect from anyone, and now the kids need money for summer basketball at the rec center...I mean, schools aht, I need em aht of my hair, I have a life too n'at...I list my train of thought...

Anyway, but, as I've said a million times by now, I've been pleasantly surprised. if you must live in Pittsburgh (city proper) Lincoln place is perfect. Ok, they don't have a lot, but it's a spit away from the waterfront, the Southside, and the country. The homes are modest but they all have actual YARDS! By that I mean your neighbors house isn't touching yours. There's about ten/fifteen feet betwixt yinz. Prefect for the gardener. It was quiet, peaceful, everything...

Upper Lawrenceville (again)

Along Route 8 by the 62nd Street Bridge, there are a few great sets of steps. They are very hard to find though.

This is Dressing Way. I like to think of it as Ranch Dressing Way. There certainly was enough greenery to make a salad.


This is the Baker St steps...mmmmm baked goods. I was very hungry during the trek today and these names didn't help.



I also found a set that I didn't know existed. It leads from Butler to Sawyer Street. It wasn't on the maps I researched but there it was, all 87 rungs and in great shape too.



Here is what else I saw.



And of course I revisited the 57th St. steps. The longest albeit half closed.




There are around half a dozen abandoned homes up along the way. Maybe if the hipsters knew they existed, they'd snatch them up and revitalize them. Oh wait, you can't get there on a fixed gear bicycle...never mind.