Continue up St. Thomas to Monastery St. Stay right to climb 5 steps. Look right at downtown and the rivers.
StepTrek Route: StepTrek Route 2020
StepTrek Route 2020
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Hackstown St.
At the top of St. Michael Steps is Hackstown St. Make right and cross to St. Thomas St. Steps, which are on left.
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St. Michael Steps
At corner of Brossville & Pius Streets, on the left, are the St. Michael St. Steps. They are part of the Church Route of the Slopes, which takes Trekkers past the significant churches built along the hillside. The permanent signs were installed in 2016. When ready, begin climbing these 149 steps.
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* Cholera Plague of 1849
In 1849, a deadly cholera plague hit 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 South Side 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.
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* St. Michael Church
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.
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* St. Michael’s Parish
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. The complex on the left includes the Burning Bush, which offers a retreat center for quiet meditation in overnight rooms.
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Pius St. Cont’d.
Stay left and continue along Pius toward town. St. Michael Parish buildings once occupied this stretch of Pius St. The former convent at 66 Pius Street, on the left, is now a condominium complex.
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* All Wars Memorial
Just past 107 Pius St., overlooking South Side Flats, is a small, but well-kept All Wars Memorial. Tucked behind a gate and row of shrubs, the site honors veterans. State Elm Street funds permitted extensive improvements that included landscaping, fencing, sidewalks and new flagstone. The memorial, completed and rededicated on September 11, 2007, is maintained by Slopes residents.
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Pius St.
Make left. Signage throughout the Slopes point out public stairs such as S. 18th St. Steps, located before 107 Pius St.
