Trip #704 Hartford Street, Southside Slopes, Pittsburgh took place on March 10, 2022, and was published on March 14, 2022.
Just because humans inhabit this world doesn’t mean they’re informed or even aware of events happening around us. If you’re someone who cares deeply about an issue or has community concerns, it can be frustrating to encounter someone who shrugs their shoulders and moves along without showing any interest. Witnessing the gradual (or rapid) changes around us requires mindfulness, attentiveness, and compassion, and it also requires a thick skin and a beaver-like persistence. In a world filled with struggle and hardship, it’s easy to stop paying attention, to drift downstream into a “meh”-induced apathy. The more challenging path is the one where we keep caring, keep working, keep helping, as it’s through climbing those long, steep hills that we realize who we are and what we’re capable of accomplishing.
Field Notes: This wooden flight is right up the street from visits #204 and #196. I’m not sure why Bob Regan didn’t count them all at the same time – maybe he thought this set was privately owned?? At the top of the flight is a wooden DPW box and I opened it to see if there really would be salt in it…. and there was! Now I just need to figure out if DPW put it there or if it came from someone who lives on the street…
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.
