Stair streets are those where the street is so steep there is no pavement or wheeled vehicles, just stairs. My introduction to the concept was the staircase in the Georgetown section of Washington, D.C. used in a scene in the 1970s film The Exorcist. The stair streets in the Montmartre section of Paris definitely qualify, as do the Spanish Steps in Rome. The Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem sort of qualifies; this narrow street is stepped but it is not a staircase.
New York City has more than 100 stair streets on its many hills. The terminal moraine of the Ice Age Wisconsin Glacier forms some of the hills on Staten Island and a ridge line that runs the length of Long Island, starting in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn and continuing through Queens. The foothills of the Berkshires begin as several ridge lines in Manhattan and the Bronx.
Join me on a rolling tour of the stair streets in New York City. I’m doing this for post-stroke physical and spiritual therapy, and because I’m endlessly curious about my home town and delight in finding new things.
June 2022 Update: I’ve compiled a list of stair streets in New York City from various on-line sources, from an old list compiled by the New York City Department of Transportation, and from my own walks; you can find it at https://www.dropbox.com/s/3n7h2r9ig5z04zj/stair%20streets.pdf?dl=0.