Love Pittsburgh’s city steps? Don’t love litter and illegal dumping? Come support Allegheny Cleanways and Landforce in July and August as we clean up, repair, and restore some historic flights throughout the Hill District.
Allegheny CleanWay’s StepKeeper program aims to preserve and highlight one of Pittsburgh’s greatest assets: its nearly 800 public staircases. These staircases are useful, beautiful, and historic, but they also tend to be highly overgrown by invasive species and blighted by litter and dumping.
Stairs targeted by the StepKeeper program are thoroughly cleared of litter or dumping on and around the staircase. Then, Landforce removes invasive overgrowth, replants native species, and repaints stair railings. Finally, staircases are turned over to community stewards for ongoing care. These stewards help to maintain any continuing overgrowth and to remove trash as it accumulates.
The goal is to make Pittsburgh’s city steps easier and more inviting to use. Be a part of the solution and sign up for one or all of the events!
Here’s the schedule and some unique bits of history:
07/13/2024 SATURDAY: Chauncey Street. This flight once led up to one of Pittsburgh’s earliest baseball parks!
07/19/2024 FRIDAY: Junilla Street. This flight was completely rebuilt by the city in 2019.
07/20/2024 SATURDAY: Ewarts Way. This flight was photographed by Charles “Teenie” Harris when it was under construction!
07/26/2024 FRIDAY: Francis Street. I don’t have any interesting factoids about this flight or the surrounding neighborhood to share. If you know of one, let me know!
08/24/2024 SATURDAY: Watt Street. Beautiful view of the historic Warren United Methodist Church.
If you can’t participate, please consider making a donation to these two wonderful nonprofits. Their work and dedication create a better Pittsburgh for all of us!
As an FYI, some of these city steps are featured in the upcoming book City Steps of Pittsburgh: A History & Guide. Learn more and order your copy today!
