Trip #154 California Avenue, Marshall-Shadeland, Pittsburgh took place on June 16, 2018, and was published on July 2, 2018.
We spend a lot of time re-visiting the path of history. Our personal history, our city’s history, our nation’s history. The history of our homes and neighborhoods and objects. We re-visit to identify and connect with significant events that occurred along the way (positive, negative, or otherwise), and while no one can stop us from visiting the past in our memory, all those return trips are never going to change or preserve what happened. We can’t go back. We can only go forward. The future becomes the present and the present becomes the past. And the past is a giant collection getting larger and more complicated with every passing day. We can look back and see what was and imagine what might have been, but now, more than ever, we need to look ahead and see what still can be.
Field Notes: Off of California Avenue, this is a big flight with a few walkways off of it. It’s under a large bridge, but I’m not sure which one. At the bottom, sections of the walkway are sliding down the hill!
Want to visit these stairs? You can locate them on the Pittsburgh City Steps Plan website!
See the Risograph print of this photo and story in the Mis.Steps Shop.
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. If the location has an abundance of illegal dumping and trash, also contact Allegheny Cleanways, letting them know the location and the nature of the garbage. Thank you!!
