StepTrek Route: Gold Route 2022

Make left and continue to end of street.

Make left and walk along this shady street of mostly brick houses to S. 12th St.

Be careful as you cross S. 12th St. Make right and walk 20 feet to Mary Ann St.

To the right is the former Polska Szkola built in 1898. Continue down S. 15th St. one half block to Breed St. A couple of doors down S. 15th St., on the left, is St. Adalbert Church. This is the sole active Roman Catholic church in the South Side since the consolidation of local parishes.

At the request of SSSNA & Slopes residents, the City and railroad completed this footbridge and the other at S. 10th St. in 2002. The span is made of the same COR-TEN steel as the UPMC (former U.S. Steel) tower downtown. The brown rust serves as a protective coating over the steel frame. The bridges reinstated pedestrian access between the Slopes and Flats. Another SSSNA effort brought safety lighting to the two bridges. At the end of the bridge, descend 59 steps.

Continue past Clinton to set of steps dropping through the trees. Descend the 60 stairs to the footbridge over the Norfolk Southern Railroad.

Make right before St. Michael Church and descend the 26 steps along left side to Clinton St.

In 1849, a deadly cholera plague struck Pittsburgh. The parish could not find enough burial places for its deceased members. Parishioners prayed to St. Roch and vowed to keep a day holy if the plague would cease. It did. Another plague hit the city in 1853 but no members of St. Michael died. Cholera Day is observed each August in Prince of Peace Parish on the South Side, the successor to St. Michael Parish.

The influence of the church was strong in the Slopes. St. Michael parish started in a house in 1848 where the church front now stands. Designed by Charles Bartberger of Stuttgart, Germany, the church was built between 1855 and 1860 on land donated by German immigrants. The surrounding land reminded them of the Rhine River valley. Though it has a gothic spire, the overall style is Rhineland Romanesque Rival similar to rural Bavarian churches. The church was closed through a consolidation of parishes and has been redeveloped into condominiums.

At 44 Pius is the former St. Michael’s Madchen Schule and previous home of the Veronica’s Veil playhouse. The theater hosted a series of plays throughout the year but was most famous for its Passion play, Veronica’s Veil. Performed during Lent, it was said to be the longest running play in American community theater. These buildings were part of St. Michael’s Parish. A plan to redevelop the site into living units is currently under review. The next building housed the Burning Bush, which had offered a retreat center for quiet meditation in overnight rooms.