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<\/a><\/p>\nThe pitched terrain comes from ridges of bedrock formed millions of years ago extending into Northern Manhattan.<\/p>\n
Back in the early 1900s when the Bronx was undergoing urbanization, all these hills posed a challenge to transit engineers, since some roads would be too steep for vehicular traffic. <\/p>\n
The solution? Build a \u201cstep street,\u201d basically an open-air masonry staircase not accessible to cars but that pedestrians could use to get up and down regular streets at different elevations.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019ve ever seen Joker, then you likely remember the step street scene. <\/p>\n It was filmed on what\u2019s now known as the Joker Stairs<\/a> on West 167th Street and Shakespeare Avenue in the Bronx, turning this grimy step street into a popular hashtag and tourist mecca.<\/p>\n More than 100 step streets exist in New York City. But if you\u2019re looking for the longest (and the one that might leave you seriously huffing and puffing), head to 230th Street between Netherland and Riverdale Avenues in the Spuyten Duyvil neighborhood.<\/p>\n These step stairs are actually three staircases, with a landing on each of the four streets it connects. <\/p>\n On a recent visit I rarely encountered another stair walker in either direction, and the surprisingly rustic backyards on either side of the step street made me feel like I was hiking a trail.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re walking up, you\u2019ll begin your step street journey at Riverdale Avenue. The steps cross Johnson Avenue, then Edgehill Avenue, and finally Netherland Avenue\u2014a quiet stretch of lovely suburbia in the Bronx.<\/p>\n The borough has other step streets; one connecting Broadway to Naples Terrace is this colorful shorter staircase (fourth photo).<\/p>\n Another step street is blocks south on 215th Street in Inwood just past Spuyten Duyvil Creek (fifth photo). Built in 1911 to connect Broadway to Park Terrace East, the stairs and their cast-iron lampposts were recently renovated<\/a>. <\/p>\n These days, motivational quotes from famous figures are carved into some of the 110 steps, which connect a bustling commercial and transit stretch of Broadway to the quiet residential streets above.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n