The Steps of Pittsburgh: Portrait of a City

By Bob Regan; photos by Tim Fabian The Local History Company, 2004, 142 pp., paperback $21.95. Clambering over the hills above the Allegheny, Monongahela, and Ohio Rivers, Pittsburgh is one of the most up-and-down cities in North America. To cope with the steep and in some instances undrivable terrain, Pittsburghers, mostly in the early and mid-20th century, pragmatically built 712 sets of steps — more steps than can be found in any other city on the continent. Sixty-six of the city’s 90 neighborhoods contain at least one set of steps, now constructed mostly of concrete, since wood stairs tended to rot, get stolen for firewood, or be removed as a Halloween prank. Few of the stairs were designed with an eye toward prettiness, but their 44,645 treads — which, if laid out continuously, would extend for 4.5 miles — provide striking views of a once heavily industrial city. They are a part of the urban designer’s art that deserves more attention. Fortunately, Bob Regan, a visiting professor at the University of Pittsburgh, became so fascinated with the steep pedestrian passages that he climbed every one of them, mapped their locations, discovered when and how they were built, and created a fascinating little book. Complete with maps, construction drawings, historical views, walking tours, and Tim Fabian’s photos of many of the steps as they appear today, The Steps of Pittsburgh is a testament to urban moxie and adaptability. Some stairs run close to the fronts of houses. Some carry people above roads and railroad tracks. Many connect to shopping and workplaces in the lowlands. Others end unceremoniously at bus stops and rushing highways. A number provide access to almost rural enclaves of houses or provide escapes into tree-filled ravines. For adults, the stairs are an antidote to today’s sedentary life. For children, the stairs are a source of adventure. The city spends nearly $1 million a year repairing and sometimes rebuilding steps, which these days may be designed with lower profiles for easier climbing and with reinforcement fibers in the concrete for resistance to weathering. The stairs remain overwhelmingly utilitarian. Imaginative designers could devise more attractive ways to fashion handrails, landings, overlooks, and surfaces. At the moment, Pittsburgh’s difficult finances may leave little room for artistry, but maybe in time this will change. The stairs are worth celebrating, and they could do more for the city and its neighborhoods if their aesthetic potential was used to full advantage.