Parkway Steps
Posted by: SCPO Rich
N 40° 24.424 W 079° 50.356
17T E 598490 N 4473585
A set of public steps built by the WPA in 1936. These steps span a steep hill between Parkway Avenue and North Avenue, Chalfant, PA
Waymark Code: WM8NH0
Location: Pennsylvania, United States
Date Posted: 04/24/2010
Views: 15
These steps, like any of the thousands in this county, were built to facilitate factory workers' travel to and from work in a world with few automobiles and steep terrain.
Chalfant, as you will see when you approach the site, is a small community built on a very steep hill. It is less than a half-mile wide at its widest point. When these steps were built, there were three registered autos in this borough of 800 residents. For the most part, they worked in the industrial Turtle Creek valley to the east. The Westinghouse LRA (Large Rotating Apparatus) and the U. S. Steel Edgar Thompson plants still loom large, even though they are shadows of their former selves.
The project did more than just provide a way to and from work: it provided work to dozens of Chalfant residents, stores, and suppliers as the project got in to full gear. When it was complete, it was a monument to hard work during hard times - and stands proud still due to the efforts of local residents.
This WPA project was added to the list of Pittsburgh History & Landmark Foundation's Historic Landmarks on 10/22/2009.
References and Articles:
Post Gazette Article, 12/07/2008
Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation newsletter