The Mis.Steps Mission
Mis.Steps aims to creatively encourage Pittsburgh’s residents, current and past, to discover and remember the city’s public stairways: a unique feature that can be explored by all and connects our history to present-day neighborhoods.
What’s this Mis.Steps thing all about??
Mis.Steps was a multi-year endeavor to visit all of the 739 city stairs listed in Bob Regan’s book, Pittsburgh Steps. With each visit, I took a Polaroid Spectra photo, wrote a creative non-fiction “missed connection” that was inspired by my time walking and sitting on the stairway, and published the images and stories on Instagram, Twitter, and this website’s blog. I also created a risograph printed ‘zine twice a year with artist and printer Jimmy Riordan. The tenth and final issue was published in July 2022. Back issues can be purchased on this website and at Printed Matter (online and NYC).
Want to know even MORE about Mis.Steps? Check these out…
Monroeville Public Library – December, 2023. The latest version of the city steps history talk featuring information sourced from the City of Pittsburgh Archive. Includes information about “orphan houses” and the preservation concerns surrounding Rising Main, one of the longest flights of city steps. ~ 1 hour.
City Cast Pittsburgh – July 29, 2022, with Morgan Moody. Have 15 minutes and want to take a listen to a recent podcast interview about Pittsburgh City Steps and the Mis.Steps project? Head over to Google Podcasts and look for “The First Public Transportation In Pgh? City Steps.” If you visit the City Cast newsletter, they also have a list of some of my favorite “must explore” flights of city steps!
Atlas Obscura
– June 21, 2022, by Rossilynne Skena Culgan. Rossilynne is the author of 100 Things to Do in Pittsburgh Before You Die and she’s a diehard city steps fan. Written for the quirky, off-the-beaten-path travel website, Atlas Obscura, this article provides an overview of the Mis.Steps project and gives lots of reasons why locals and visitors should make time to explore the public stairways. Local news website CityCast Pittsburgh also provided a write-up about the piece and a link to the original article.
Governing Magazine – April 14, 2022, by David Kidd. Excellent longer-format article about Pittsburgh’s public stairways featuring interviews with Bob Regan, Matthew Jacob, Christine Tripoli, and yours truly. Lots of fantastic photos of city steps throughout the city including Rising Main in Fineview. Local lifestyle website NEXTPittsburgh also provided a brief write-up about the piece and a link to the article but chose not to include Kidd’s photographs.
Society for Industrial Archaeology – Recorded April 21, 2021, for the monthly Series of Talks on IA Subjects. This 25-minute presentation provides a detailed look at the history of Pittsburgh’s public stairways, the different styles, and the current state of the stairs. Orphan Houses and the deterioration of the Rising Main city steps in Fineview are also touched upon.
~ Pittsburgh has the most staircases in the country – Recorded 4/6/2021, for WESA’s The Confluence for Pittsburgh Public Radio. I spoke with host Kevin Gavin about my explorations, discoveries, and opinions on why residents and visitors need to get outside and connect with the city’s public stairways. My segment begins ten minutes into the program.
~ City Stairs: Stepping Back Into Pittsburgh’s History One Staircase at a Time – Recorded 11/23/2020, for Doors Open PGH. City steps were the first mass transportation system, designed to bring workers from the hills to the mills. Did you know that Pittsburgh has the most stairways of any other city in the U.S? Step back through Pittsburgh’s history with these staircases! Note: There is a $5 ticket price that Doors Open charges for access to the recording.
Small Mall Tiny Talk – Recorded 11/20/2020, for Small Mall Pittsburgh. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Small Mall Pittsburgh hosted virtual artist talks featuring artists whose work is sold through their online and store-front gallery. This talk is unique in that I spoke more about my creative reasons for using a Polaroid Spectra and risograph printing and how I approach this project as both a writer and an artist. But don’t fear, I manage to work in plenty of city steps background details!
~ City Steps and Archaeology? You Bet!
The 2020 FestivalCHAT annual conference for Contemporary and Historical Archaeology took place in late October of 2020 and my 20-minute presentation about Pittsburgh’s city steps, their history, and current status, is archived on Twitter. Keep in mind that the order of the slides does not display correctly. However, they are all numbered, so by scrolling a wee bit you should be able to re-create the experience.
~ An Evening of Oakland Storytelling was presented online as part of City of Asylum’s The Show Must Go On(line) channel. The 45-minute long program featured songs and stories inspired by life in Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood. Visit the Oakland Planning & Development website to learn more and access the recording of the event. For my part of the performance, I read a short story inspired by the Frazier and Romeo Street stairs in South Oakland.
~ Osher Lifelong Learning Institute invited me to be a part of Bob Regan’s Quintessentially Pittsburgh class in June of 2020. Bob talked for the first hour about bridges, inclines, and other unique forms of municipal infrastructure and then I spoke for an hour about city steps and the Mis.Steps project. Hopefully, you’ll find it interesting!
~ Very Local Pittsburgh is a great resource for all sorts of local happenings. In late January, I was interviewed for The Slaw, their weekly podcast, and got to talk about city steps, my favorite places in the city, and the pitfalls of using a Polaroid camera in the winter. Give it a listen!
~ 100 Things to Do in Pittsburgh Before You Die is a must-have book for locals and visitors alike, but if you’re looking for even MORE details, check out PCTV21’s 100 Things to Do in Pittsburgh channel. Hosted by author and journalist Rossilynne Culgan, there’s even an episode where she interviews me about City Steps. When you’re stuck indoors and want to start planning warm-weather excursions, this series will do you right.
~ The Best Urban Hiking City is… Pittsburgh? is a GREAT short film created by Pittsburgh filmmaker Dean Bogdanovic and features interviews with Bob Regan, Tim Fabian, and yours truly.
~ In October of 2019, I was part of a Pittsburgh Print Group show at Gallery One in Bloomfield with fellow PPG members Casey Connelly, Katie Kaplan, Adam Linn, and Joe Lupo. I screen printed a variety of city steps maps and with cork-boards and pushpins, incorporated many of my original Polaroids and risograph prints. A special, limited-edition ‘zine titled The Legend was produced for attendees and contained previously published stories associated with each of the city steps included on the maps. Photos from the event are on the PPG website (although you will need to scroll a bit to get there).
~ Pittsburgh’s Group Against Smog and Pollution (GASP) interviewed me as part of their podcast segment, “Road to a Cleaner Future” featuring advocates and creatives working to highlight alternative transportation options in the city.
~ Read the article about Pittsburgh City Steps (which includes interviews and photos of Mis.Steps, Bob Regan, and others) in the October 2018 issue of Southwest: The Magazine. The online version is very accessible (navigate to page 78), but in my opinion, the traditional print format offers more photos and a nicer layout.
~ The Incline wrote about Mis.Steps’ “Stair Stepping in Spring Garden” events at Threadbare Cider on May 22, 2018
~ Take a look at what Pittsburgh Orbit had to say in the March 2018 issue.
~ See what Pittsburgh Magazine had to say in the December 2017 issue.
All photos and stories associated with the project are archived on Flickr under a public domain license, 100% free of any copyright restriction. Feel free to use, share, re-mix, and appropriate as you wish.