Lace up your walking shoes and get ready to become a stair master, because the views at the top of these five Greater Cincinnati staircases are worth the climb.
Ohio Avenue Steps
These steps run in two sections, from Ohio Avenue near UC down to Van Lear, and then from the lower jag of Ohio and Clifton avenues to an alley behind Philippus United Church of Christ. They remain a valuable connection to bus routes and include branches to Bellevue Park and Vine Street.
Main Street Steps
These are Cincinnati’s first concrete steps, poured as a WPA project in the 1940s, and longest, at 355 risers. Built into the right-of-way of the defunct Mt. Auburn Incline, they rise from the corner of Mulberry, Main, and Antique streets and are a workout—but well worth it for the views at the top.
PHOTOGRAPH BY BRITTANY DEXTER
Fairview Park Steps
Connecting Fairview Park with McMicken Street below, the steps are bright with tile mosaics created by folks from the West McMicken Improvement Association. Pause at the top to admire the view of the entire Mill Creek Valley.
Devou Park Steps
Built in 1914 to help create a park from the former Devou family estate, these steps tunnel down through thick woods below the main overlook to Western Avenue and Devou Drive. They reward the walker with a rare, hushed immersion in nature just a stone’s throw from the urban hustle below.
Photograph by Sarah McCosham
Cincinnati Art Museum’s Art Climb
The city’s newest stairs feature white and light gray risers and landings zigzagging like madcap piano keys grown from the hillside itself above the Baldwin Building on Gilbert Avenue. They invite the neighborhood up to the museum’s front door in a functional and welcoming manner, surrounded by sculptures and some fresh perspectives.
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