“I had never done handmade tile before and Aileen had never done mosaic, so we learned a lot in the year or so working on the project,” Crutcher says. Neighbors asked six artists to submit design proposals, and asked the duo-who had never met-to collaborate, since their ideas shared common elements. Created by artists Colette Crutcher and Aileen Barr, the 163-step stairway comprises more than 75,000 tile, stained glass, and mirror pieces. A neighbor, Jessie Audette, once lived there and raised funds to transform the plain concrete stairs by her new home. The staircase was inspired by a mosaic stairway in Rio de Janeiro’s Santa Teresa district. Local flowers and hummingbirds, dragonflies, and bumblebees appear in the design, followed by a night sky spangled by the moon and stars. Located in the Golden Gate Heights neighborhood, swirls of ocean sprinkled with sea creatures and seashells spill over the start of the stairway at 16th Avenue and Moraga Street. The most renowned of the staircases is the 16th Avenue Tiled Steps, a kaleidoscope of sea, land, and sky in brilliant colors. | Photo: Sharon McDonnell A collaborative effort The 16th Avenue Tiled Steps are a kaleidoscope of sea, land, and sky in brilliant colors.
Those who reach the top are often rewarded with a jaw-dropping view of the bay or Pacific Ocean as a bonus. “They’re filled with surprises, and a wonderful way to experience our city’s unique charms.”įinding these mosaic staircases is a journey of discovery that will take you past houses painted in soft pastels and the palm trees, succulents, and bougainvillea that flourish in the city’s Mediterranean climate. “ an easier way to navigate the hills,” says Howard Pickett, chief marketing officer of the San Francisco Travel Association. The masterpieces are mostly tucked away in residential neighborhoods, not near tourist landmarks.
But unless you’re one of the many runners and walkers that have made these tiled steps part of their daily exercise routine, you likely won’t stumble across them by chance. As a result, the city also has more than 600 public stairways, some of which are decorated with beautiful mosaics. With 43 major hills and steep streets-some set at nearly a 45-degree angle-San Francisco, California, is the hilliest city in the U.S.
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