Trip #584 Pliny Way, St. Clair, Pittsburgh took place on May 1, 2021, and was published on May 10, 2021.
I didn’t know a thing about the neighborhood of St. Clair before I visited but discovering it had a population of only 200 (!!) prompted me to dig deeper into its history. According to early twentieth-century maps, much of the area was farmland. Then, in the 1950s, a large public housing complex and the Pliny Way city steps were built. No sooner had a thousand people moved into St. Clair Village than the boom-times of Pittsburgh slowly started to wane, and by 2010, the entire complex was demolished. As people moved out, nature moved in. Grasses, wildflowers, and quick-growing trees filled the earth and cracked the roads, patiently stewarding the space for its next chapter. And today, after a decade of planning, Hilltop Urban Farm has started working in harmony with the land. Once again, the Hilltop communities in the South Hills will have access to healthy, locally grown food. Solutions to our changing world don’t have to be complex. In fact, it’s the simple soul-utions that often work best.
Field Notes: The railings on this flight are very dark green, which makes me think they are from the 50s when the public housing complex was built.
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.
