Harry Street Steps
The Verdict
"Climb up from Laidley Street and keep the landings clear, because four households carry their shopping up these steps."
What you need to know
What’s There
A narrow pedestrian only stairway climbing 115 feet from Laidley Street up to Beacon Street. The lower flights are concrete, winding between private gardens. The upper section is wood and runs about 90 feet, tied with the Filbert Steps for the longest wooden stairway in the city.
It feels less like a staircase than a path through a forest, which is not something you expect eight minutes from Glen Park BART.
The Story
The concrete stairs came first, built to serve the houses on Harry Street. The wooden section is later. Sources disagree on when: one dates it to the 1940s, when Beacon Street was paved, another to a 1992 rebuild.
San Francisco Public Works classes Harry Street as an unaccepted street, which means the adjoining property owners rather than the city are responsible for maintaining and insuring it. In 2007 that left eight households arguing over a $40,000 repair bill for the top forty stairs, four of them reachable only on foot up these steps.
Visiting
Neighborhood: Glen Park
Cost: Free
Hours: Always open.
Best time to go: Spring, when the Madeira Island geraniums along it are in flower.
What to know: Because the street is unaccepted, upkeep depends on the neighbors, and the wooden treads and handrails have a history of rot. Watch your footing. The uppermost flights get noticeably steeper and narrower. Not wheelchair accessible.
Getting There
Transit: Glen Park BART, then about a ten minute walk north on Chenery and Laidley.
Parking: Residential street parking on Laidley, usually findable.
Combining: Glen Canyon Park is a short walk southwest, and the Laidley Street Victorians are worth the detour on the way in.
