Tag Archives: Southside Slopes

South Side Slopes Step Trek 2009

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Image by peterp via Flickr

Get ready for a vertical hike – Pittsburgh is home to thousands of city steps that help people get up and down the hills around this city.  Each year the South Side Slopes Neighborhood Association organizes a self guided tour of some of the different steps and points of interest around the slopes.

Sunday, October 4, 2009 – Noon to 4pm
Register at 21st and Josephine Streets – UPMC South Side Lot

Walkers will enjoy all of these features as they tour, at their own pace, approximately 2,700 steps and the intertwining streets and sidewalks that connect them. The courses have changed to offer a different perspective of the South Side Slopes. Trekkers should find the routes pedestrian friendly, especially as they explore the middle areas of the Slopes neighborhood.

The South Side Slopes may quite possibly have the most steps of any neighborhood in the United States. After all, it is home to nearly 10% of the 712 sets of steps within Pittsburgh, which has the most steps of any city in the country. The city with the next greatest amount of steps is the Ohio River town of Cincinnati, followed by

coolest yard ever
Image by peterp via Flickr

San Francisco. The steps of the combined cities, however, do not equal those in Pittsburgh. Altogether, some 66 out of the city’s 88 neighborhoods have steps. These hundreds of public stairways give tribute to the many hillside neighborhoods.

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Trekable

I made sure to hop on the stairmaster at the gym last weekend so that I will be ready for the annual South Side Slopes StepTrek. If you are an urban hiker or a hiker in gerneral this is an event for you. This is the annual fundraiser for the South Side Sloped neighborhood association.

The StepTrek is a well organized, self-guided tour (trek) up the city steps in the Southside Slopes neighborhood. I did the trek in 2005 and I would rank this as one of the best events I have attended.

Sunday October 14, Noon-4pm
Trek begins at the UMPC Lot at 21st and Josephine Streets.
More info and Online Registration: www.southsideslopes.org/steptrek/

Step Facts:

So, just how many steps are there?  Well, the city of Pittsburgh has 712 public stairways with a total of 44,645 steps.*  When tallied in full, they number 24,108 vertical feet, or over four miles in height.  To put it into perspective, that’s higher than Mt. Aconcagua in Argentina, the tallest mountain in the Western Hemisphere.
* Source Bob Regan Steps of Pittsburgh, 2004

Steps in Art:

The last few years the StepTrek has been fortunate in sharing the wonderful work of artists who have depicted the steps in their art.  This year we recognize painter Cynthia F. Cooley, as our Honorary Chair. www.cynthiacooley.com

Here is a picture I took on the last StepTrek, which is one of my favorite pictures of Pittburgh…

I Made It! Market, Sat., Sept. 29, 12 – 5 pm, Brewhouse, 2100 Mary St., South Side

Visit…the Brewhouse
Support….Local Arts
SHOP…the next I MADE IT! Market Who: 50 vendors and YOU!
Where: the Brewhouse, 2100 Mary Street, Southside
When: Saturday September 29th, 12-5pm
Free Admission
(Look for info. soon on the upcoming I Made It! Scary, October 27, 12 – 5 pm, Braddock)

Handmade offerings include…dress-up pillows, plastic dinosaur jewelry, t-shirts, mix CDs, vintage inspired handbags, mosaics, hand-knit accessories, upcycled paper goods, ceramics, books, blown glass sculpture, lamps, kitchenware, dollhouse furniture, screen printed clothing, digital photographs, vegan baked goods, reusable coffee clutches, natural bath products, kimono wrist cuffs, custom sewn children’s goods, magnets, stickers, pendants, zines, holiday items, finecrafted woodcuts and etchings, babyslings, greeting cards, wheel thrown porcelain, repurposed clothing, tote bags, and MORE…

Learn what happens in the Brewhouse, take a tour, and get involved.

A Chance Auction will be held featuring exclusive wares from our vendors.

For more information about the I Made It! Market, visit www.myspace.com/imadeitpgh or e-mail imadeitpgh@gmail.com. To learn more about this Market’s Sponsor, the Brewhouse Association, visit www.brew-house.org.

What exactly is I Made It!?
I Made It! is a regularly occurring, nomadic Market that provides the opportunity for young entrepreneurs to establish their businesses and to enjoy low barriers to bringing their wares to market in order to create successful businesses built on arts and crafts. The Market is an inclusive happening that welcomes artists or other “makers” in the Pittsburgh region to meet like-minded individuals, create new opportunities, and find a receptive environment in which to interact with and learn from each other.