Revisiting Inglenook Place, East Hills, Pittsburgh, took place on July 10, 2022, and was published on July 12, 2022.
There’s something uniquely satisfying about walking along a 100-year-old path of city steps. As I look at the East Hills street map from 1923, I smile at the sight of the tightly spaced parallel lines and neatly printed words, “steps.” And as much as I dislike a John Cougar Mellencamp earworm, the lyrics of his 1983 hit flood my mind as I look at the parceled lots of Inglenook, Karl, Sickles, and Nimick streets and see the little pink rectangles and carefully lettered names. Those people are the reasons for the red brick streets and the old home or two still standing guard. When I visited here in 2017, the once vibrant hillsides had long become empty and were overtaken by illegal dumpers on an extreme scale. I remember seeing a young deer curled up against a tree trunk surrounded by old sofas, mattresses, and bags of clothes. It was a terrible, overwhelming sight that, thanks to neighborhood activists and Allegheny Cleanways, is now (hopefully) a thing of the past. In 2022, my walk along these old stairs featured an abundance of birds and the fragrance of native plants. Yes, beauty can be reclaimed and restored. I’d like to think the people from 1923 would be pleased.
Field Notes: There have been some big changes thanks to Allegheny Cleanways knocking out a huge illegal dump site that once occupied the hillside along the city steps. It’s truly transformed.
Love city steps? Get yourself the latest and FINAL issue of Mis.Steps: Our Missed Connections with Pittsburgh’s City Steps! Each copy is unique and features 10 randomly selected “trading cards” of the 739 public stairways referenced in Bob Regan’s Pittsburgh Steps book. Visit the Mis.Steps online store to see all issues and place your order.
Want to visit these stairs? You can locate them on the Pittsburgh City Steps Plan website!
Be a good neighbor! Have you visited these stairs and found them in poor condition or that illegal dumping and trash were abundant in the area? Please take action and make our city steps cleaner and safer for everyone! Grab a photo if you can, and submit a report to Pittsburgh 311. All problems should be reported to the city. You can easily do this online or by calling. Thank you!!
