Trip #193 Gregory Street to Magdalena Street, Southside Slopes, Pittsburgh took place on September 20, 2018, and was published on October 1, 2018.
A sidewalk is laid, a street is paved, a home is built, telephone lines are run, stairway railings are constructed and installed and removed and taken away, a sidewalk crumbles, a road is widened, and the house is condemned and demolished. Telephone land lines become a thing of the past. Yesterday is forever being destroyed by today. We look back at yesterday, often seeing it as the best we could do with the resources, knowledge, and skills, we had, but knowing that today, now, we can do better. And tomorrow we’ll improve upon, we’ll rectify, and if necessary, we’ll destroy today’s shortcomings, weaknesses, and failures – most assuredly. We can do better.
Field Notes: These are kind of beat-up sidewalk stairs connecting Gregory Street to Magdalena Street. Lots of construction sounds in this neighborhood (and lots of building permits in the windows). Met a woman walking a dog and she mentioned lots of students rent apartments in this area.
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!!
