StepTrek Route: StepTrek Route 2020

Make left and ascend 100 steps to Mission Street. Eleanor is a paper street in this section. That is, it appears on a map as a street, even though it is passable only by its steps. Notice the house on the left whose only access is from the steps. Moving day here takes on new meaning.

Make left and descend 58 steps. Located at the eastern terminus of Leticoe St., these wooden steps have been reconstructed in stages beginning in the 1990’s. At the bottom cross Kosciusko Way and continue up Leticoe St.

Cross Mission and climb five steps to high sidewalk on uphill side of street. Make right. Ahead lies the scenic St. Josaphat’s Chapel and the spectacular view that takes in Mt. Washington, the Liberty, Fort Pitt and West End Bridges, the roofs of the South Side and the City beyond the Monongahela River. Stay left and descend the 80 steps to Barry St. These 4-foot wide steps were built in 1950.

Climb 22 steps to Shelly St. and then 98 steps to Mission St. Turn around and take in the view!

Beginning at 2700 Stella are three of eight townhouses built in 2003 by the South Side Local Development Company in cooperation with the SSSNA. The new homes had to be shoe-horned into the hillside between existing homes. Continue walking Up Oakley Way.

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.

Be careful as you cross Josephine St. Climb the mosaic created on 77 of the first 98 steps, built in 1928, to McCord St. Notice the foundations of long gone houses on the left as you climb over the mosaic. Cross McCord St. Climb an additional 63 steps to Shelley St. Take a break. You’ve just climbed the equivalent of 12 floors.