This was an evening run in the Southside Slopes, focusing on Sterling Avenue. Starting in the flats along Mary St, I crossed under the railroad trestle and made my way up. Very quickly Sterling Street acquires a “stair sidewalk” – that is, stairs alongside the street, interspersed with flat, sidewalk, landings. Many of the public stairs in Pittsburgh are of this variety. This is as opposed to the street-free stairs which zip up a hillside, where no street has been laid. There’s also the “alley stairs”, like Caesar Way, a disappointing little flight which ended in a grassy goat path.
Sterling and Mission Intersection
Caesar Way
Sterling Street Stairs with a stair intersection
Finally getting out of these dizzying streets, I explored the streets below Spring Street, then took Spring Street all the way through Arlington Heights. At this point, the scenery became surreal. Tall chain link fences protected acres and acres of flat, empty land. I dubbed it the “Arlington Heights Serengeti” as the stark trees and grassy flat land looked like a nature preserve.
Spring Street
Nice Architectural Detail!
“Serengeti” of Arlington Heights
I made my back via Josephine Street. The cool thing about running up here is that you’re always treated to great city views.
This was a fairly long run, over half-marathon distance, on a cool, cloudy Saturday morning. I started at Nova Place, on Pittsburgh’s Northside. It is literally around the corner from the Children’s Museum, a place where I spent many hours with my children. It was quite an adventure land for them, with so many activities, from a multi-story maze to painting and screen printing.
Modern Entrance to the Children’s Museum
Post Office now part of Children’s Museum
“P” for Post Office
Running out of the Northside along Chateau Street, the neighborhood becomes less stately and more forlorn. Old architecture still shows its fine bones, even in decay.
St. Peter’s Church
Boarded up house along Chateau St
Crossing under the Route 65 highway took me to an industrial area. It features wide flat streets and is lined with large yards for the Port Authority, Duquesne Light, Mascaro Construction and others. Railroads coming out of the city make a large curve here and cross the Ohio River on massive bridges.
Duquesne Light Wire Coils
Under the train trestle
Railroad Trestle and Bridge
Knowing these flat streets wouldn’t last forever, I made a turn onto Eckert Street. Strangely enough, a group of runners passed by, coming down Eckert Street. I was curious as to which running group they represented, so asked the last one ” Who are you running with?” She just smiled, threw up her hands and said “I’m in my own pace group!” She was only 50 yards behind the other five, but it must have seemed like a mile.
Now, I was truly exploring. Like all good explorers, people had actually been there before, but it was new to me.
Three bridges over Eckert Street
Eckert St Stairs
View from California Ave Bridge
With all the bridges, hills and houses on the hills above, I knew there would be stairs somewhere. Sure enough, just past Don’s Diner, in the shade of the California Avenue bridge, I found a set of stairs. Coming off the stairs on top, I landed in a cove of fences and backyards with a narrow sidewalk leading to the bridge. Once on the bridge, I headed north, away from downtown. I was officially in the Brighton Heights neighborhood. Rising slowly, California Avenue goes past a mix of houses, mostly on the larger, older side where dinosaurs peaked out from the bushes.
Typical Brighton Heights Street
Dinosaur & Satellite Dishes
Grand Residence
Eventually, on Wilksboro Avenue, I ignored another “No Outlet” sign, and ran to the end, hoping to find another set of stairs. I didn’t, but what I DID find was amazing! There was a long pedestrian bridge rising high off the ravine floor. It had the structure of a full size bridge, but only the width of a sidewalk. Unfortunately, it was closed. I haven’t seen another structure like this in Pittsburgh. As I later discovered, this is the “Wilksboro Avenue Footbridge”.
My detour around the closed bridge brought me to another typically Pittsburgh scene, a small neighborhood park with a lively game going on. In an earlier run through the Hill District, it was football. Here it was Deck Hockey.
Deck Hockey
Crossing into Bellevue briefly, I turned around and made my way back toward downtown. I kept a block off of California, on Massachusetts. There were some cool houses; the blue portal house, the rambling wooden wreck with a rounded porch. I found myself going down Richardson Street, nearly to Eckert St again, but took the stairs up to Bainton Street instead. That was a long flight!
Beautiful Porch
Crumbling Glory
Bainton St Stairs
I ran through the upper section of California-Kirkbride, where Success is a two-block street. It is better than Fineview, where Compromise is a dead-end. Finally, I got to Marvista street and its long flight of stairs. This one is not for the faint of heart. Many of the railings are missing and there’s a section of broken stairway as well. At the low end, Marvista is a sad street rising up from California Avenue. But some people still live here beside the houses emblazoned with the city’s blue “condemned” badge. Missing from my pictures are the set of stairs on Hyena Way that come down at right angles to Marvista St.
Marvista St Stairs
Don’t worry, you’d only fall three feet
Lower end of Marvista St Stairs
From here, I just ran back to Nova Place, catching a few more streets on the Northside. Nova Place was busy when I got there, full of runners and families recovering from the Children’s Museum.
Many the runs that December brought Many December's runs have been depicted and blogged Others... All but forgotten These are their simple stories.
RATS #00151
RATS #00151
On a night of some distress and chaos, this run was a godsend. Missed a group run, but ended up running with an old friend, chatting it out and covering a new streets in Shadyside, including, Stratton Lane, Yardley Way and Spirit Street.
RATS #00156 – Another Lights Run
RATS #00156
Who knew that Market Square would be so busy on a Monday night, two days before Christmas? Not me! Lots of people skating, shopping at the Market Square Christmas Market and going to holiday shows. I met a new runner friend and, even though the map isn’t very clear, we ran most of Third and Fourth avenues.
RATS #00161
RATS #00161 in North Oakland
A short run to cover a few streets and stairs prior to doing steps at the Cathedral of Learning. Schenley Terrace confounds the CitySteps app because it is so close to Bigelow Boulevard that it can’t tell which street you’re on.
Colmar St Stairs
Schenley Terrace Stairs
North Star, aka Cathedral of Learning
RATS #00162 PBR from Modern Cafe
RATS #00162
A cool group run with Pro Bike & Run. I added on a couple of miles so that I could reach 1,400 miles for the year. Those last two felt like they took forever, as I was running alone in dark alleys. There was beer, I mean light, at the end of the tunnel, though.
If I were a crow, a flying crow, that is, getting from the 16th Street Bridge to the Birmingham Bridge would be a piece of cake. Start on one of the 16th St Bridge globes, go up about 300 feet or so, fly directly over the Hill District and coast onto some light post on the Birmingham Bridge. Getting there on foot is another matter, with railroad tracks, the East Busway and a cliff standing in the way.
16th Street “Globes” – picture taken on an earlier run
Instead, I went up Liberty Avenue with a Steel City group. A Thanksgiving Day Parade, was starting up, so bands and floats stretched far down Liberty Ave. I saw Santa’s Sled, but Santa was AWOL. Probably checking on kids or something. Anyway, just past Santa’s Sled and to the right, I went up 28th Street. This curves and starts to ascend a slope before crossing an old metal bridge, the 28th St Bridge, which takes you over the tracks and busway.
Now, when I’m driving, I always go left after the bridge. Today, I went right. It took me to a warren of dead-end streets perched above the Strip District and just below Bigelow Boulevard. There was a mix of houses; some fairly nice and well-maintained. I was hoping there would be some stairs or other way to get past Bigelow’s fifteen foot retaining wall. Alas, I did not find any. So I had to retrace my steps and run through Polish Hill. I caught Herron Ave, trudged up the steep slope, took the stairs UNDER Bigelow Blvd and kept on Herron.
I zig-zagged a little bit in the Hill, eventually making it to Kirkpatrick Street, where cars were parked on every inch of the sidewalks as a little league football game got underway in Kennard Playground. Crossing the Birmingham Bridge, I scaled the barrier between the empty bike lane and the sidewalk, preferring to get something between me and the cars. Then it was just about circling around the South Side because you can’t walk directly from the Birmingham Bridge to UNDER the bridge. Damn railroad tracks! If only I were a crow!
