Your Downtown Cincinnati Pedestrian Experience is Incomplete

You’ve visited Findlay Market and attended Bengals, Reds, and FC Cincinnati games. You’ve hung out in Washington Park and meandered along the riverfront. But your pedestrian experience in Cincinnati is incomplete until you’ve toured the historic alleys and stairways tucked between houses and zig-zagging throughout downtown.

So join Spring in Our Steps and Green Umbrella’s Greenspace Alliance for Stairs Walk in Downtown Cincinnati on Friday, September 13th, from 3-4:30 PM! 

Keep reading to learn more about these alleys and stairs ahead of the hike. We hope to see you there!

A Fading Past

Some of the most iconic features of downtown Cincinnati, unknown or unused by many in the community, are the public alleys and stairways that traverse the city’s historic hillsides. Maybe you’ve driven by one on your way to Clifton or passed by another during a trip to the Over-the-Rhine. But if you haven’t noticed them, don’t worry, you’re not alone.

Hundreds of these public walkways were built as Cincinnati expanded in the 19th and 20th centuries. They became an integral part of how people navigated the city. Over the years, however, many of these spaces became neglected and fell into disrepair – fading into the shadows of buildings and overgrown by brush. Their usage diminished and many have been closed and are no longer open for public use.

Reclamation and Revitalization

Since 2012, a local nonprofit called Spring in Our Steps (SiOS) has been dedicated to repairing, and cleaning these forgotten public walkways to improve their usability and breathe new life into a once-thriving feature of the Cincinnati urban landscape. Christian Huelsman, co-founder and Executive Director of SiOS has been revitalizing these spaces for over a decade. Through volunteer cleanup efforts and community outreach events like their Alley Flicker Film Series, in addition to several walking and biking tours, SiOS has continually achieved its mission to bring a brighter future to the city’s most neglected public corridors. 

Some of their key projects include the revitalization of Peete Alley, the upper Ohio Avenue Steps, Fig Alley Steps, and Fairmount Avenue Steps.

Explore Cincinnati’s Public Stairs and Alleyways

If you’re interested in completing your pedestrian experience in downtown Cincinnati, we hope you’ll join us at our upcoming Downtown Stairs Walk for a unique urban exploration experience. The walk will take place on Friday, September 13th from 3-4:30 p.m. and will be guided by SiOS’s Christian Huelsman.  It will feature the alleys and stairways connected along Vine Street Hill and allow participants to observe the urban greenspaces that are often neglected and overlooked. We will meet at Deeper Roots Coffee (1814 Race) across from Findlay Market.

This hike is a part of our monthly Meet a Greenspace Hiking series. We hope these hikes will provide those who join the time and space they need to reconnect with nature. If you have any questions, contact Green Umbrella’s Greenspace Alliance Manager Claire Carlson at claire@greenumbrella.org.