Trip #678 Hobson Street, Brookline, Pittsburgh took place on November 20, 2021, and was published on January 5, 2022.
Our minds frequently cling to events that are either very positive or very negative; We easily recall fantastic celebrations, terrible break-ups, awe-inspiring sights, and gut-wrenching horrors that occurred decades ago. But in the grand scheme of our day, our year, and our lives, these heart-bursting responses of love and sadness are outliers. We don’t typically spend our days with such intense emotional highs and lows. In fact, most of our waking moments are filled with the ordinary, commonplace, bland, and unseen. These interactions don’t command much attention, and it’s easy to walk by without a glance or a second thought. Of course, it’s impossible to imprint every moment of the day in our memories, and I’m confident we wouldn’t want that ability even if it were available. Still, when we take a slower, more patient approach to our daily existence, we allow ourselves to savor the more mundane bits and bites, like a smile from a coworker, that first sip of morning coffee, or the chilly air rushing over your face as you walk outside. While these moments might not stay in our memory recall for years on end, they certainly make life more enjoyable during the here and now.
Field Notes: This flight of sidewalk stairs is almost hiding in plain sight! The flight meanders along the ridge of the hillside in front of houses with endpoints at a dead-end (Hobson) and Breining Street (the main road). It’s very quiet, with lots of shrubberies lining the hillside, and it appears that many of the Breining Street homes have entrances on Eliria Way which runs parallel to the main road.
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.
