Trip #461 Kerr Street, Elliott, Pittsburgh took place on June 28, 2020, and was published on July 10, 2020.
Every day we witness how easily people forget the past. Time moves forward, and yesterdays quickly disappear into the rearview mirror. It’s tempting to think that a tree-lined stairway is a relic of the past, but closer examination reveals a very different story: stone walls and foundations. These stairs were not constructed to amble through nature but rather as a way to access hillside homes. If you let your imagination wander, you can envision where the front door might have been, where a family would have sat for dinner on a Sunday afternoon. These days, the homes have been replaced by trees and saplings, decades of fallen leaves, and smatterings of trash. But as I look upon this space, I prefer to see a young man sitting on the front stoop with a cold drink in his hand. He’s waiting for someone to arrive. It’s another hot summer day in a string of hot days, and the announcer’s voice comes through the transistor radio with the play-by-play from Forbes Field. The aroma of a baking cake drifts through an open window, a sign that it won’t be long before family and friends arrive.
Field Notes: These are right across the street from #460 and are a great climb! You can see the openings that once went to houses and there is one “orphan” house that is near the top. While the build date is listed as 1985 I think that’s most likely a more modern repair date.
See the Risograph print of this photo and story in the Mis.Steps Shop.
Want to visit these stairs? You can locate them on the Pittsburgh City Steps Plan website!
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.
