Published last July, "City Steps of Pittsburgh: A History & Guide” tells the history of Pittsburgh’s city staircases and includes a walking tour of the steps. On Jan. 18, the book’s authors held a talk about the 739 staircases that lace the city’s hillsides.

Scattered around Pittsburgh, countless steps stretch across the city’s slopes. Hundreds of staircases snake up and down the hills and ravines — many weathered and eroded, hidden amongst the trees,...