Blog Archives

Fort Mason Stairs

9/26/2016

In the 1970s he National Park Service took over the administration of Fort Mason as part of the GGNRA (Golden Gate National Recreation Area).

In 1976 the lower part became Fort Mason Center, a nonprofit organization for local cultural events and orgs.

Starting at the east side of the park, 64 older steps with a narrow paved walkway and two built-in concrete benches: 1 thru 9

23 more steps continue up from a flat spot, making the total 87 so far, continuing up.

But there is still another short flight continuing up from here, 12 more to the highest spot, where there are two more flights of 12 each and one of 11 at the same level:

Down the previously climbed 23 to an old battery with a cannon and 9 old wood steps: 10 thru 15

Next, 37 openspace steps to a green-lawned part of the park: 16

Up again for another flight leading to the hostel from the main upper trail.: 17

From the upper to lower level, 85 streps: 18 thru 21

South to the community garden with 23 main steps: 22 thru 26

Community garden: 27 thru 46

Nice old buldings: Last two

1 East side of the park

2 64 for the main stairway

3 Older steps and walkways

5 First of two benches on the walkway

6 View east

8 Second bench and the stairs start up again

9 Top of the walkway steps

10 Now several short stairways continue up

16 Openspace steps

17 Main tail up to hostel

20 Upper to lower level

22 23 community garden steps

27 Garden gate

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NW Russian

9/17/2016

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Starting up from Bay St. into Russian Hill Park, 59 steps up to the old reservoir that's to be converted into a park: First three pix.

The stairs continue up. I’m therefore inclined to count all these steps as the Larkin stairway. If counted separately, 74 more for Larkin up from the reservoir: 4, 5

Down Chestnut, 116 steps: 6, 7, 8

At the foot of Chestnut, a left for Culebra's 32 steps up to Lombard: 9, 10, 11

Lombard south sidewalk stairs: 12 thru 16

Above the Broadway tunnel on the west side: 17

Pacific near Hyde: 18

1 Russian Hill Park

3 Old reservoir to be made into a park

4 Top of Larkn stairs

6 Chestnut stairway

7 South side

8 116 steps

9 Culebra steps

10 32 steps

11 Up to Lombard

12 Lombard's south sidewalk steps

16 Down to Leavenworth

17 Broadway Tunnel, west end

18 Pacific near Hyde

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Oakhurst Lane to Parnassus

9/13/2016

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Oakhurst’s 354 steps up from Warren in Mount Sutro’s Forest Knolls neighborhood: 1 thru 20

From the top at Crestmont (pic 21), hang a left to the scramble-up, unmarked West Ridge Trail into the forest: 22 thru 26

At the top of this steep beauty, at the (upper) Historic Trail (pic 27),

the West Ridge continues up, tree roots, a log, and rocks, up to the summit: 28 thru 32

Summit: 33

Down the North Ridge Trail: 34, 35

Pedestrian walkway along the road: 36

Over to the stairs descending from the permits-only parking lot, 136 down and a short walk out to Parnassus: 37 thru 41

1 A few blocks uphill on Warren to Oakhurst's foot

2 About 354 steps

9 Dead-end of vehicle street Oak Park at Oakhurst

10 Oakhurst continues up from Oak Park

17 The forest awaits

18 Up to Crestmont

19 Looking down

20 I love gettin' high

21 A short walk on Crestmont

22 Two steps and a steep dirt trail

23 Lower West Ridge Trail

25 ˙historic Trail up ahead

26 West Ridge at Historic Trail

27 Historic Trail. West Ridge to left.

28 Upper West Ridge

33 Summit

34 Down the Notch Ridge Trail

35 NorthRidge Trail

36 Along the road

38 136 steps

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Greenwich and Sterling

9/11/2016

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Russian Hill's Michelangelo Park is slightly below Greenwich, 14 wood steps, a playground, garden, picnic tables and benches on the wood deck, and a restroom.

If smaller parks like this one and Bernal’s Holly Park can have bathrooms, why not Mount Davidson and Bernal Heights Parks? Instead of rampant pesticide use and excessive tree-felling in some of our parks.
Michelangelo Park: 1 thru 4

Up Greenwich to the garden stairs that rise from Leavenworth. North stairs lead to a residence.

A beautiful place to visit with alternating stairs and curving paved pathways. 58 steps up to a vehicle-street. Greenwich: 5 thru 14

On both sides of the street are sidewalk stairs up to Hyde. For the north side - 23. 32 for the south side.

North side: 15, 16, 17

South side: 18

Crossing Hyde, up 26 north steps into George Sterling Park. At the top of these is the Alice Marble Tennis Courts, 16 steps. Pix 19, 20

Down the main park stairs on the south side, 112 to Larkin: 21, 22, 23

On the north side is another flight back up inro the park: 92 for this one. Pix 24 thru 32

1 This park is slightly below the street

5 58 steps and curving walkways

15 Greenwich north Sidewalk steps

17 Up to Hyde on the north side

18 South sidewalk steps

19 Up from Hyde into George Sterling Park

20 Alice Marble Tennis Courts to right

21 Main Sterling park stairway down to Larkin

22 112 steps for the south side

25 Foot at Larkin, south side

24 Up from Larkin on the north side

25 92 steps for the north side up from Larkin

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Ina and Fallon

9/10/2016

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Russian Hill’s Ina Coolbrith Park’s stairs descend from Taylor partway to Mason. The two stairways merge into one main flight higher up.

166 steps for the north side: 1 thru 4

South side, 164, and main: 5 thru 8

The north side steps start up alongside a couple of older apt. buildings.

Now for next-door Fallon. Used to be able to see some of the original steps here from when it was “the San Francisco street of 86 steps.” Looks like some or all have been replaced.

This is an out-of-print book that I found some years ago at the main library. Don’t recall the author’s name. Did anyone know the author or live there when she did? I never dld find the book again. From the 1970s, pic 9.

Fallon now has 77 steps and is a dead-end at the foot due to new residences built years ago.

Ir’s still a public stair-street and there’s a street sign. You’ll just have to walk back up to Taylor. The north side of the buildings faces Ina Coolbrith Park.

Fallon Place: 10 thru 16

Last, Nob Hill’s Priest, 56 steps, is another dead-end (stairs, then a walkway) that used to have a view east many years ago. Its ancient wood railings had yellow caution taoe on them when I visited. Assume new railings are planned.

Priest, up from Washington, looks down on humming cable car tracks.

1 Down from Taylor

2 Fallon Pl. to right.

4 Looking across to north side from south side

5 Up the north steps

6 North steps

8 Back up to Taylor

9 THEN: Fallon, 1970s

10 Starting down Fallon from Taylor

12 This older home stayed

16 Dead-end steps

17 Priest up from Washington, Nob Hill

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New Macondray

9/9/2016

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The 39 replacement Macondray Lane steps are gorgeous and well done: 1 thru 7

Where the rough bricks are, just before the wood steps start, has been added sturdy wood railings on both sides: 8 thru 15

More Macondrays: 16 thru 21

Up from Leavenworth, the “hidden” Havens beautyspot.

Starting at the lower stairs, under the tree up to the walkway: 22 thru 25

Havens doesn’t run thru to Hyde. At its dead-end is a bench, occupied by a guy and his dog when I visited. At the paved path’s north side are the backs of houses on the south side of Filbert and its sidewalk steps: 26 rhru 28

Returning, took the upper stairs. For the lower route, 74; for the upper, 75, back down to Leavenworth: 29 thru 33