Wick Street, Crawford Roberts, Pittsburgh took place on October 23, 2022, and was published on November 3, 2022.
A triangle has three sides and three angles. This story is about the triangle of land between Dinwiddie, Bentley, and Fifth in the Hill District neighborhood of Crawford Roberts. Today, this large section of hillside has very few streets and even fewer houses, but a century ago, it was densely packed with residential and commercial properties, and the hilltop was occupied by Booth & Flinn’s Brickyard.
Within this triangle are two stone slab city steps connecting Colwell Street to Diaz Way and Lombard Street. These flights are visually striking in their construction and are still in fantastic condition. Beyond the rusted railings, the only signs of wear and tear are the grooves worn into the stone from one hundred and twenty-five years of pedestrian travel. First appearing on the 1903 city map, these stairs overlooked the Prohibition-era bootlegging operation of businessman and mobster Joe Tito, the owner of Latrobe Brewing Company. Tito’s garage, located at 1818 Colwell, became Latrobe’s first Pittsburgh beer distributorship and was the first known place where Rolling Rock beer was sold beginning in 1935. Tito’s house, a grand Victorian that preservation advocates succeeded in securing historic designation for last year amidst a fair amount of controversy, is located around the corner on Fifth Avenue.
Despite the area’s fascinating history, it’s woefully neglected. The stairs, streets, and hillsides have a disproportionate amount of illegal dumping, litter, junked cars, and people wandering on the furthest reaches of the margins. Despite its preserved status, Tito’s house is covered in graffiti and vines. The garage has an unchained, open door. From whatever angle you look at it, authentic concern, care, and compassion appear to be in short supply and far removed.
Field Notes: It’s a shame this section of Crawford Roberts is so forgotten and neglected. Dinwiddie Street looks very nice with new-ish townhouses and the recently redone public housing complex up the hill on Bently is also very well-kept and attractive. Hopefully, this interior section will get some positive attention in the near future. Fingers crossed!
Love city steps? Get yourself the latest issue of Mis.Steps: Our Missed Connections with Pittsburgh’s City Steps! Each copy is unique and features 10 randomly selected “trading cards” of Pittsburgh’s 739 public stairways. 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 (large items like tires, old furniture, and construction debris) and trash were abundant in the area? There are two things you can do to take action and make our city steps cleaner and safer for everyone! First, grab a photo if you can, and submit a report to Pittsburgh 311. All problems, both broken stairs, and railings, as well as trash and dumping, should be reported to the city. You can easily do this online or by calling.
