If you’re interested in having a Pittsburgh city steps adventure you won’t soon forget, check out these inspiring resources! This page is designed to be a working document so if you have suggestions for materials that should be added, let me know.
Online Maps
Because sometimes, Google just can’t help you find public stairs!
Pittsburgh City Steps Interactive Map and Presentation
Created by Sam Lerner, this is a combination map and presentation about the city’s public stairs.
StepsPGH
This website, part of the Department of Mobility and Infrastructure, shows the location of almost all of the stairways in existence today. It’s a great resource!
Regional Data Center
The official City of Pittsburgh database is where you can access or download the city’s comprehensive list of many of the public stairways within the city.
GIS of Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission
This map of infrastructure within the SW PA Commission’s jurisdiction includes steps in parks and along city streets, as well as steps incorporated into PennDOT bridges and PRT bus stations.
Pittsburgh Neighborhood Map
Great to use in conjunction with Google Maps. I use this map to determine which neighborhood to use when classifying a stairway location.
Pittsburgh Historic Map
If you’ve ever wondered how a neighborhood or street has changed over the years, this map can be a help. Select a map from a past year and layer it with a more current map. The results are fascinating!
G.M. Hopkins Company Maps
Offered through Pitt’s library system, the Hopkins maps show Pittsburgh as it was in the years 1872-1940.
Books
Please note that many of these titles are available through the Carnegie Public Library system and at many local, independent bookstores in addition to online shops like Amazon!
City Steps of Pittsburgh: A History & Guide (coming July 15, 2024!) Authors Laura Zurowski, Charles Succop and Matthew Jacob present the history of the Steel City steps and a walking guide to their scenic locations today.
Pittsburgh Steps: The Story of the City’s Public Stairways (2016) by Bob Regan
If you have some money burning a hole in your pocket, you might want to invest in the first edition (black-and-white cover). It has some similarities with the later printing, but there are many differences!
Art Inspired by Pittsburgh Steps by Bob Regan (2019)
Bridges of Pittsburgh by Bob Regan
The Names of Pittsburgh by Bob Regan
Allegheny City: A History of Pittsburgh’s North Side by Dan Rooney, Carol Peterson
Engineering Pittsburgh: A History of Roads, Rails, Canals, Bridges & More by ASCE Pittsburgh
Allegheny City, 1840-1907 by The Allegheny City Society
Around Troy Hill, Spring Hill, and Reserve Township by James W. Yanosko, Edward W. Yanosko
The Spectator and the Topographical City by Martin Aurand
Pittsburgh: 90 Neighborhoods by Ron Donoughe
Of course, don’t forget to visit the Mis.Step shop to pick up copies of Mis.Steps: Our Missed Connections with Pittsburgh’s City Steps!
Film & Social Media
Pittsburgh City Steps Facebook Group
If you’re a Facebook user, this is the go-to place for questions, suggestions, sharing photos, and finding Pittsburgh urban hiking/walking/running friends!
Dean Bogdanovic
Dean is a local documentary filmmaker with an AWESOME YouTube channel exploring everything in Pittsburgh. Public transit, parking chairs, stairs – he’s got a short film that’s guaranteed to make you smile.
Pinburgh (2010)
I guarantee you’ll love this short animation piece of life and travels over the Southside Slopes! Drawn by Doug Cooper, Andrew Mellon Professor of Architecture at Carnegie Mellon University and featuring CMU School of Drama students.
pittsburghistory and pghthenandnow
Charles Succop, history buff, oral historian, and educator.
Friends of Public Stairs
A Facebook group dedicated to the discovery, documentation, and preservation of major outdoor public stairways anywhere in the world.
www.publicstairs.com.
Pittsburgh Orbit
Pittsburgh Orbit squints through dusty windows, climbs overgrown hillsides, unfurls the platte maps, and pokes a finger into the little corners of Pittsburgh art, history, and culture that may not get their due.