Trip #595 East Woodford Avenue, Carrick, Pittsburgh took place on May 28, 2021, and was published on June 9, 2021.
Mathematical wrangling can’t change the facts: A city of 300,000 built to house 700,000 will have empty hillsides and abandoned buildings. Based on the numbers alone, there’s no mystery, no uncertainty, no cause for disbelief. The situation appears similar to a 5th-grade math problem involving trains, variable speeds, and opposing directions. Those word problems come to mind whenever I stumble across an empty home. What is the “value” of a structure in the complex algorithm that determines its fate? There’s the rate of decay and a neighborhood’s desirability coefficient to analyze. There are costs of rehabilitation versus demolition versus deconstruction value to consider. Although I want the answer to be straightforward, like the basic arithmetic of elementary school, the words and images surrounding the numbers are heavily weighted with context and history. Arriving at any solution becomes a deceptively complex undertaking.
Field Notes: This flight is far below street level (see the retaining wall) and makes me wonder if the street was elevated. The stairs look older than 1970 and the houses alongside it (one of which is empty but with a beautiful rose garden) date back to the early twentieth century. A bit of a mystery!
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.
