StepTrek Route: Black Route 2021

Make left and descend 78 steps to Jane St.

Follow Harcum past S. 29th & S. 30th Sts. Though the sign ahead reads “No Outlet,” continue up slight grade past Print Shop Lofts. At the end of Harcum, follow the path cleared through this area for approximately 100 feet until you reach Jane St. steps.

After the stop sign, stay right and continue along Mary Jane St. to Harcum Way.

Make right and stay on the sidewalk. You are now in the area known as the Hollow. Follow Mary to 2820 Mary St. and cross to Mary Jane St.

Use take caution as you cross Josephine St. Continue down S. 27th St. to Mary St., located just before the railroad underpass.

The Oakley St. Steps mosaic was completed in 2016. The first of its kind in Pittsburgh, the installation was designed by artist Laura Jean McLaughlin, who led a group of 100 community volunteers in assembling the tiny mosaics on mesh. The finished panels cover 200 square feet and were mortared and grouted onto 77 risers. Led by SSSNA, the project was community-designed, funded and created.

Make left. Descend 182 steps, built in 1928, pass McCord to Josephine. You are descending through a mosaic art installation. Stop to look back as you descent. Foundations of long gone houses sit to the right. A total of 289 steps, the equivalent of 12 floors, stretch from Josephine St. below to Sumner St. above.

Go ahead . . . give it your best Marlon Brando: STELLA! Walk up Stella and keep to the right of the metal fencing that divides the road. In 1935 the Work Projects Administration (WPA) terraced this part of the hillside and created the bi-level street topped with an iron fence. In 1998 Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation designated the Stella-Shelley fence as a historically significant landmark. Stay right on the upper level and walk to first set of steps.

Located at the eastern terminus of Leticoe St., these 3-ft. wide wooden steps were rebuilt by the City of Pittsburgh in the summer of 2021. There are 69 steps. At the top cross Barry St. to Stella St.

Make left and stay right as you descend Leticoe. At bottom of street, descend 23 steps where Eleanor St. meets Leticoe. Continue up Leticoe. In the 2500 block, just past the crest of the hill, look left to the houses tucked behind houses. Close quarters! Continue to Kosciusko Way, named for one of the Polish generals who assisted America in its War for Independence.