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All the United States California San Francisco Secret Tiled Staircase

Secret Tiled Staircase

An artsy hidden staircase leads to breathtaking views of San Francisco.

San Francisco, California

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Rebecca Grossman-Kahn
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About

The 16th Avenue Staircase is 163 steps of mosaic tiles, a colorful staircase hidden in the quiet Sunset district of San Francisco. This neighborhood has few other tourist draws, but those who find the staircase will be rewarded with sweeping views of the city, and a beautiful garden design including succulents and native habitat plants for the Green Hairstreak butterfly.  The site is an important waypoint on San Francisco's famous butterfly-bolstering Green Hairstreak Corridor.

The project began in 2003 and was completed in 2005, with the help of artists and many neighborhood volunteers, and was inspired by the Selarón staircase in Rio de Janeiro, a brightly colored tiled staircase and popular tourist destination.

All the mosaics are donated by the community. At the very top is the sun (the stairs ascend from "sea Level" to the sun—get it?). There's also another garden at the bottom and one of the last crops of Franciscan formation at the top (it has its own biozone!).

The artists for this stairway are Collette Crutcher and Aileen Barr.

Related Tags

Outsider Art Architectural Oddities Stairs Architecture

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Added By

rebeccaclara

Edited By

PQPP3, GTC, mhalloran, tress220...

  • PQPP3
  • GTC
  • mhalloran
  • tress220
  • Rachel
  • tylercole
  • Meg
  • SEANETTA
  • tonyanrob
  • ccesare
  • Aty Trocious
  • jyackabonis
  • color flow
  • lizameak

Published

February 29, 2012

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Sources
  • http://www.tiledsteps.org/
  • http://blog.budgettravel.com/budgettravel/2010/02/san_francisco_5_favorite_stair.html
  • http://www.artandarchitecture-sf.com/golden-gate-heights-june-30-2011-mosaics-in-san-francisco.html
  • http://natureinthecity.org/green-hairstreak-corridor/
Secret Tiled Staircase
1700 16th Avenue
San Francisco, California, 94122
United States
37.75625, -122.473451
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