16th Avenue Tiled Steps

What you need to know

What’s There

Each riser is a different handmade tile mosaic, and the design flows continuously from step to step. The 163 steps are covered in more than 2,000 unique tiles and roughly 75,000 glass fragments. The sea-to-sky scene runs from sea creatures at the bottom up through land animals, birds, and the moon and sun at the top, so the full effect reads from below looking up.

At the top, Grandview Park has a 360-degree panorama of Ocean Beach, the Marin Headlands, and downtown.

The same two artists, Aileen Barr and Colette Crutcher, also designed the Hidden Garden Steps about a 10-minute walk away on 16th Avenue between Kirkham and Lawton.

The stairs are the only route up. There is no elevator or alternative path to Grandview Park.

The Story

The original concrete staircase was built around 1927, when the streets of Golden Gate Heights were graded. The tile mosaic was a much later addition, pitched in 2003 by neighborhood residents Jessie Audette and Alice Yee Xavier and funded by more than 220 sponsored tiles. The completed mosaic opened on August 27, 2005.

Visiting

Address: 16th Ave & Moraga St, Inner Sunset (base of the steps)

Neighborhood: Inner Sunset

Cost: Free

Hours: Always open. The steps are on a public street.

Best time to go: Morning for softer light on the tiles. Late afternoon for the view from Grandview Park.

What to know: Start at the bottom on Moraga Street and climb up. The design is meant to be viewed from below. 163 steps in one continuous climb.

Getting There

Transit: Muni N-Judah to 9th Ave & Judah, then walk south on 9th and west on Moraga to 16th. The 66-Quintara bus stops at Quintara & 16th Ave, four blocks south of the base.

Parking: Free residential street parking on 16th Ave and surrounding blocks. Usually available on weekdays.

Combining: The Hidden Garden Steps at 16th Ave between Kirkham and Lawton are a 10-minute walk north. Both staircases were designed by the same artists.