Trip #46 Harry Street, Upper Hill, Pittsburgh took place on October 1, 2017, and was published on October 18, 2017.
Sometimes, you just can’t make it to the end. Sometimes, you just don’t want to. At the start of a journey, the endpoint may seem like a good idea, but life happens while you’re climbing. You change your mind and decide to stay where you are. You change your mind and decide to go back to where you started from. You change your mind because you’re tired, bored, or disillusioned and you jump the rail, forging a trail in a different direction. ~
The Harry Street stairs terminate a stone’s throw from the street above. I don’t know why they didn’t take it to the end. I’m sure there was a reason. Maybe the reason was that there was no good reason to.
Field Notes: These are the wooden stairs that run along the three houses on the hillside. I met someone who is a grandson in the family that owns a few houses in this little enclave. He told me that these were city steps, public stairs, but he had no idea why they hadn’t built them all the way to the street at the top.
UPDATE: The family member referenced above spoke with his grandmother and she indicated that the city had said they were going to finish the flight (there is a fire hydrant off to the side, which one assumes was placed because building additional homes was expected) but it never happened.
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!!
