Revisiting Yarrow to Bouquet, Central Oakland, Pittsburgh, took place on August 7, 2022, and was published on August 17, 2022.
These stairs connect Yarrow Way to South Bouquet Street but are not the stairs I’ve spent five years trying to locate. When I first visited the neighborhood in 2017, I took a photo of stairs that reasonably fit the profile, but I knew in my heart they weren’t the right ones. Two years ago, I was photographing another flight nearby and investigated Yarrow more aggressively, but I still couldn’t find anything. Pittsburgh’s built environment has changed so radically over the last hundred years that many places no longer exist, but my Indiana Jones mindset wouldn’t let go. When I stumbled upon this old double-wide flight between two buildings, I tried again to convince myself these were THE missing steps, but doubts lingered. Finally, after scrutinizing several years of Google Street View images, I acknowledged that my inability to locate the treasure wasn’t due to a lack of effort or inquisitiveness. Pittsburgh has always been a place of change. The act of searching can be powerfully addictive, but now, I have proof that my quest has reached its conclusion.
Field Notes: While out walking a possible city steps tour of Central Oakland, I decided to come back and continue my investigation of Yarrow Way. There are LOTS of stairs that connect Yarrow and S. Bouquet, and these looked like a good guess (the railings are certainly in the “old style”), but they’re not.
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!!
