Trip #737 Cagwin Avenue, Beechview, Pittsburgh, took place on April 20, 2022, and was published on June 8, 2022.
The Cagwin Avenue city steps belong in an “Unsolved Mysteries of Pittsburgh” collection. The flight once connected this residential street to the Able Long Playground, but the houses are long gone, and park access is now from Coast Avenue. As I meander around, I see a bunch of concrete jersey barriers, so I decided to investigate further. As I walk around the expanse of old asphalt, additional questions come to mind. Was this closed-off area once a tennis or basketball court? A parking lot for the playground? Was there a business on this hillside that required an employee lot? I search the city’s historical maps but find no answers. At some point in time, someone thought making something here was a good idea and invested time, money, and labor to create it, and now, those days are long gone. If you’re curious to see how Mother Nature reclaims her domain, this spot is worthy of your explorations!
Field Notes: This long-forgotten flight leads to the Able Long Playground in Beechview but is now barely traversable. Cagwin Ave no longer has many houses and sections are blocked off with barriers. While the iType print accurately captured the scene (which is ideal for the risograph print), this Spectra print shown here is my favorite.
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, and trash and dumping, should be reported to the city. You can easily do this online or by calling.
