Trip #561 Syrian Street, Arlington, Pittsburgh took place on March 3, 2021, and was published on March 15, 2021.
There are times when our hopes, dreams, or plans don’t turn out as we expected or as we wanted. Dispiriting events aren’t always because we had “pie in the sky” expectations or weren’t working hard enough or smart enough: Sometimes, shit just happens. And it doesn’t matter how much effort we put in. There are times when projects fail to launch, support evaporates, ideas or innovations come too late (or too early), and all that’s left to show are a bunch of loose ends and letters left uncrossed and undotted. There’s no simple or easy solution for getting up off of the floor, and how each of us does it is a unique and personal choice. So find a way to make peace with desolation, and start looking ahead.
Field Notes: This long, hillside embedded flight leads from the bus stop on Arlington Avenue up to the neighborhood above. It looks quite pastoral in the Polaroid but in reality, there was quite a bit of litter and trash due to an unoccupied house.
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.
