Posts Tagged ‘Television Hill’
The Big Kahuna of City Steps
Friday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Lanark Street, on the north side of Pittsburgh, and looking back towards the Fineview Overlook where this scuttle got started. According to municipal signage, I was standing on ‘Television Hill.’
The reason for that is pretty obvious, if you look at the next photo.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This broadcast antenna is used by two local television stations WPGH-TV (Fox 53) and WPNT (The Point). It was in a large and stoutly fenced off property with lots of ‘no trespassing’ and ‘danger of electrocution’ signs. No bueno.
I underexposed this one by a couple of stops to make that pale sun visible in the cloudy sky.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
So, why was I up here on Television Hill on the ‘ass side’ of the Fineview neighborhood? Glad you asked.
Pittsburgh offers pedestrians a choice of hundreds of sets of ‘City Steps’ to help negotiate the often steep streets within this Appalachian city.
I was heading for the fourth longest set of steps in the city, which offers 371 individual vertical steps that play out over just 2/10ths of a horizontal mile. The vertical distance from the top to bottom of these steps is equivalent to the height of a 15-18 story building. Masochists and sports enthusiasts use these steps for training and running upon, usually in an upward direction. I opted for the downhill experience instead.
That’s where I was heading… and they’re called ‘Rising Main.’
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The first sets of steps along Rising Main Avenue you see are wooden, constructed from the sort of ‘treated’ lumber which is commonly used for decks and docks. The first house at the corner of Rising Main Avenue looked abandoned and I spotted a condemnation notice on its window. This persists for about a block, ending at a wide intersection.
That’s not so dramatic, you might think. Interesting but…
Then you see the actual Rising Main steps.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
One has been fascinated by the City Steps of Pittsburgh since moving here. Remember when I walked down those terrifying metallic steps nearby Duquesne University back in 2023? I’ve been wandering all over the place, using the ones strung through in South Side Slopes section as well. Heck, I’m just getting started out here…
On a side note: let’s say somebody regularly experiences fairly debilitating episodes of PTSD, at the top of staircases due to having suffered an ankle crushing injury in the recent past. In that case, what sort of gentle ‘exposure therapy’ might you recommend in the direction of mending this mental health issue?
18 steep stories of rickety ass steps? Yup, that’s the ticket.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Also, I’d like to mention that I’ve been going back and forth on the title of this post. It’s not my term, ‘Big Kahuna,’ rather that’s what they call these steps locally. Saying that, I’m fairly certain that there’s got to be some form of racism which I’m completely clueless about which describes the origin of the term ‘Kahuna.’ Don’t know. If so, sorry. That’s what they call these steps. The Big Kahuna.
Back next week with more from Rising Main and the North Side of Pittsburgh at this – your Newtown Pentacle.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
Buy a book!
“In the Shadows at Newtown Creek,” an 88 page softcover 8.5×11 magazine format photo book by Mitch Waxman, is now on sale at blurb.com for $30.
The Newtown Pentacle 