Trip #700 Juno Street, Central Oakland, Pittsburgh took place on February 16, 2022, and was published on March 4, 2022.
As Pittsburgh has experienced such extreme depopulation, it is easy to imagine that, in the “old days,” every street was bursting at the seams. And while that may have been true in many areas, it wasn’t universal. A glance at the city maps from 100 years ago shows that life along Juno Street, located deep in the bowels of Panther Hollow, was quiet, with only a few buildings. These days, Juno is a private road, with bold proclamations warning people to stay away and the remaining homes appear trapped in an endless cycle of decay and repair, occupancy and desertion. At one point, mail delivery occurred at the top of a long flight of wooden steps accessed from a parklet at the corner of Parkview Avenue and Boulevard of the Allies, but these days, the collection box is unlocked and unused, and the wooden flight is in significant disrepair. But the spot isn’t without attention; a careful walk around shows it’s routinely visited by those seeking an insider view of the Anderson Bridge—a massive structure that can only be fully appreciated from the viewpoint of this quiet hollow.
Field Notes: A year ago, Pittsburgh Trail (a popular Twitter account) shared a photo of this flight that leads to a long-closed road in Panther Hollow. The photo was several years old, and at the time, it appeared people were still residing in the homes at the bottom. I was excited to check out this flight but dismayed to see it’s in bad shape and the houses at the bottom look decidedly empty. However, the view of the underside of the Charles Anderson Memorial Bridge is pretty wild. You can learn more about the bridge, and lots others, at pghbridges.com/pittsburghE/0589-4476/anderson.htm
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.
