Trip #559 Marengo Street, Southside Slopes, Pittsburgh took place on February 27, 2021, and was published on March 10, 2021.
As I walk around this quiet corner of the Southside Slopes, I think about the power good fiction writing has to draw our attention to real-world tragedies. The audiobook of Long Bright River by Liz Moore is ringing in my ears and buzzing my brain. Set in a neighborhood of lost opportunities and hardscrabble survival and narrated by Michaela, a 33-year-old patrol officer, I follow her journey back and forth through time. I witness decades of painful secrets hidden away out of self-preservation, privacy, shame, fear, and anger. I catch glimpses of a fractured childhood, heroin addiction, economic instability, and the social stigma of poverty. And as I watch Michaela’s quest to create ever-taller and stronger fortresses around her life, I can’t help but wonder how easy it is to identify poor decision-making when it’s someone else’s life (be they real or fictional) but not for myself. No publisher would classify Long Bright River as a “self-help” book, but it contains some pretty powerful lessons that resonated with me – and might do the same for you.
Field Notes: This flight leads up Marengo Street from Arlington Ave to a church on Eccles Street. The building dates back to 1907 and is currently being used as a house of worship. It’s great to see that as many of these small, older churches are often shuttered or abandoned.
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.
