Celebrating Pittsburgh: Steepest street in America

PITTSBURGH — A street in Beechview might not be on your list of top places to take visitors when they come to Pittsburgh, but it should be!

Did you know Canton Avenue is the steepest street in America?

It sits not far off Banksville Road. If you look at on a map, it looks like any Pittsburgh Street: short, covered in bricks, and steep enough to warrant a set of city steps.

But when you get there, you realize it’s likely more vertical than any street you’ve been on.

Its 37% grade gives it the honor of being the steepest street in America. It's evident when you drive up the road in Beechview, which is a one-way street, and really apparent when you walk on it.

“It takes your breath away, definitely,” said Elliott Dunn who lives on Canton Avenue.

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The street has caught the attention of Audi. The automaker came to town in 2016 and filmed an ad showing a car driving up fast in the snow and famous athletes tackling the hill going down on a bike, skis and a snowboard.

Canton Avenue has also caught the attention of local athletes.

Riding a bike up the steepest street in America is not for the faint of heart. But it is for those who like a good challenge, like Danny Chew.

“Shortly after I discovered the hill, I spent two hours,” said Danny Chew, founder of the Dirty Dozen bicycle event. “I went up and down it 66 times over a two-hour period without one crash or stop.”

In 1985, he incorporated Canton Avenue into the event.

“Canton Avenue is less than a minute. So it’s an all-out sprint. But it’s technical because if you lose your speed the slightest amount, you will crash or stop,” said Chew.

And you have to be able to get up the street in one fell swoop for the Dirty Dozen. Those are Danny’s rules. He’s not able to ride on it anymore, as a bicycling accident four years ago left him paralyzed from the chest down.

But the hill still means a lot to him — that’s why he was at the unveiling of the markers that make Canton Avenue official.

“It’s a fun coffee table fact,” said Elliott.

He says tourists are always on his street and there’s even a group that works out on the hill for hours. It’s not something he needs, because living on Canton Avenue is a work out enough!

“In better shape,” said Elliott. “My diet is better. I don’t buy as many groceries so I don’t go up and down.”

Some believe Canton Avenue is the steepest street in the world, but the Guinness Book of World Records says that’s in New Zealand.

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