Trip #517 Gray Street to Dilworth Street, Mount Washington, Pittsburgh took place on November 4, 2020, and was published on November 20, 2020.
Photographing and writing about Pittsburgh’s 739 city steps is fascinating, but it can also be challenging. Some days, I feel like an elementary school portrait photographer who must capture each child’s unique essence despite a multitude of similarities based on age and gender. The temptation to view each stairway as nothing more than a lump of decaying concrete and rusted railings is strong – press the button and move on to the next one. But just as everything starts to look the same as the week before and the month before and a year ago, the surrounding trees and cars and houses and sky and people and sidewalks get involved, and the point of view starts to change. The whole process becomes interesting and exciting again, and if the camera behaves, a gem of a portrait might appear, all sparkly-eyes and tiny teeth, with a cowlick refusing to stay pasted down.
Field Notes: Gray Street is sharply steep when it reaches Dilworth, so I can see how this once pretty flight of city steps was useful. But, those were long-ago days, and now, traversing the stairs is the trickier option.
Love city steps? Get yourself the latest issue of Mis.Steps: Our Missed Connections with Pittsburgh’s City Steps! Each copy is unique and features 10 randomly selected “trading cards” of Pittsburgh’s 739 public stairways. Visit the Mis.Steps online store to see all issues and place your order.
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.
