Trip #182 Cust Street, Hazelwood, Pittsburgh took place on August 19, 2018, and was published on September 5, 2018.
How often do we take our standard of living for granted? Refrigerators and indoor plumbing, cars and airplanes, vaccinations, medications and vitamins: these everyday items would appear miraculous in the eyes of city dwellers from years gone by. And let’s not forget the plants. In addition to the modern “miracles” residents have in their homes today, this is a place with an abundance of plants and trees. I don’t know what the 2nd Avenue corridor of Hazelwood looked like a hundred years ago, but I can’t imagine much greenery survived the unchecked air and water pollution and a rapidly expanding population. Technology and science have raised our standard of living, but the real miracles are the plants. In a place once polluted beyond belief, they have returned to survive and thrive. A valuable lesson for all of us.
Field Notes: This is a continuation of the flight in Trip #181. The Cust Street stairs go all the way down to Second Avenue (which is scheduled for some major re-development so we’ll see what happens over the next few years…).
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!!
