April 07, 2006
San Francisco Stairways #1--Mosaic Steps...
San Francisco is a hilly place, and one of its charms are the many stairway walks to be found here. At least 350. Some of them are exceedingly beautiful places, lined with charming gardens and old houses that are sometimes only accessible via the stairs. There's even a book on the subject, Stairway Walks in San Francisco by Adah Bakalinsky.
The various stairs in the Golden Gate Heights neighborhood are utilitarian concrete affairs, fun to climb but not attractive. Except this one, at 16th Ave at the top of Moraga St, which has recently been transformed...
The tiles of sea creatures you see inset in the design all have names of different neighbors, or local businesses....Here's a link to the project.
Cincinnati is also known for its steps - it's got lots hills overlooking the river (the rivers, actually) (with nice parks with great views at the tops), and stairs to all of them. In fact, the city maintains 400 hillside stairways - which doesn't count the ones within the 36 city parks! If you see a hillside in Cincinnati, there'll be staircases going up it.
Say, you know how you periodically post poetry? A recurring subject of San Francisco steps might make another nice counterpoint!
Posted by: Ethan Hahn at April 8, 2006 09:33 AMThe color of the tiles on top of the risers makes the whole thing look fake somehow. (I know it isn't, but my brain keeps insisting it is. Too clean, somehow.)
But yeah, that's fantastic. I first saw the idea (not mosaics but paint) in Denver, where I just loved the concept. I love public art like this because it brightens your day just to see it, and anything that brings a smile to somebody's face is far from wasteful.
Posted by: B. Durbin at April 8, 2006 11:25 AMEthan, that's a good idea.
When you climb the stairs you soon stop noticing the risers. Actually, I don't even see the overall pattern--I'm too close and the details are too intense.
Posted by: John Weidner at April 8, 2006 01:19 PM
