A Hidden Gem on California Street
A century-old staircase at the edge of Lincoln Park was transformed into a dazzling mosaic landmark after a community-led restoration.
By Joan Walsh
Getting off the bus on California and 32nd, there is a magnificent staircase to behold.
Next to the Katherine Delmar Burke School lie the Lincoln Park Steps, a mosaic staircase with 52 tiled steps at the base of the Lincoln Park Golf Course. Two benches, one on each side, sit along the stairs, and at the top is a long bench with its own intricate mosaic design. From there, you can see far down California Street and a sliver of the San Francisco skyline.
The stairs weren’t always this extravagant. Built back in the 1900s, they had weathered years of use and had started to deteriorate.
The idea to revamp the staircase came from The Friends of Lincoln Park, a group founded by Anna Yatroussis and Meg Autry. Working with the school to brainstorm a project for their 100-year anniversary, they wanted to give back to the community. Yatroussis, an alumna and parent at Burke’s, worried the worn stairs had become unsafe and an eyesore. An art project was decided on to make the stairs more appealing. With community support and fiscal sponsorship from the San Francisco Parks Alliance, the new stairs began to take shape.
The mosaic tiles were designed by Aileen Barr, the artist behind the Instagram-famous 16th Avenue Tiled Steps in the Inner Sunset. The new design was unveiled in 2015, following a seven-year-long project. The tiles’ Beaux-Arts style, influenced by ancient Greek and Renaissance motifs, was chosen to honor the popular trend that was in style when the stairs were first built.
