Stairway Walks in San Francisco

Mary Burk has been walking the stairways of San Francisco since the 1980s. While researching the city and its seven hills, she discovered Adah Bakalinsky’s book and quickly fell in love with her unique way of bringing the city to life. Mary and Adah first met at a book event for the fourth edition at the San Francisco Main Public Library. The two became fast friends, bonding through their deep interest in exploring the city on foot. Adah shared with Mary how every walk has its own rhythm, so the two of them began improvising new walks together. Three editions later, Adah passed the torch to Mary. But Mary and Adah still walk together and scout out new stairways and interesting routes for upcoming editions. When not out walking, Mary works as a software systems consultant and enjoys swimming and cooking. She shares a home with her husband, their two cats, and their 19-year-old catfish. Adah Bakalinsky grew up in Saint Paul, Minnesota, surrounded by flat land. She remembers trying as a child to walk up icy Ramsey Hill (near Pleasant Avenue) in winter, slithering down, trying again, and finally reaching the top. Fifty years later, while walking the old neighborhood on a visit, she discovered that a stairway had been built to ascend the hill! Looking for a synthesis for her backgrounds in social work, music, and film, she discovered, surprisingly, that it was walking. She walks, and as she walks, she talks to whomever will talk with her. She records herself to capture stories; she finds that walks shape themselves into a variety of musical forms and dances, and she redesigns a walk until it has just the rhythm it must have. She walks to see and returns to photograph the objects that give flavor to the walk. She feels lucky to live in San Francisco, where walking seems the most natural way to traverse the city. Happy heeling, frisky footing, and merry walking!

Acknowledgments


Foreword


Introduction


Before You Begin


The Stairway Walks




Yerba Buena Cove, Telegraph Hill & Chinatown—Treasures & Digressions
Telegraph Hill & North Beach—Old Neighborhoods
Nob Hill—Castles in the Air
Russian Hill South—Speaking of Intangibles
Russian Hill North—San Francisco Architectural Signatures
Fort Mason—North Waterfront: A Segmented Metamorphosis o’er Land & Sea
Pacific Heights—Walk Forward, but Always Look Back
Presidio Wall & Marina Waterfront—Tripping Lightly
Fort Winfield Scott in The Presidio—A Magical Walk
Lands End—Sutro’s Legacy for All Time
Golden Gate Heights—Lead Thread on a Sugar Sack
St. Francis Wood—Links & Conundrums
Mount Davidson—Now You See It, Now You Don’t: Discover the Fog & Light of San Francisco
Edgehill—Chert, Hideaway Paths & Open Space
Forest Hill—Marienbad in San Francisco
Forest Knolls—Grading & Sliding, Fog & Drip
Twin Peaks Foothills—Angle vs. Contour
Upper Market—Narrow Streets, Privacy & Quiet Among the Planets
Corona Heights—Trees, Rocks & Underground Wiring
Eureka Valley—Amazing Footpaths
Dolores Heights—A Mondrian Walk
Potrero Hill—From Shipbuilding Through Dot-Com to Biotech
Bernal Heights East—Stairway Trails
Bernal Heights West—Circling Two Hills
Diamond Heights & Fairmount Heights—Follow the Curve, Follow the View
McLaren Park & Excelsior—A Harmonious Walk
Four Hills—Views, Views, Views! A Hop from Hill to Hill
Sunnyside—Jazz & Beyond
The Blue Greenway—Past, Present & Future
Upper Haight—The Good View
Dogpatch—The Serendipity Slipknot
Noe Valley—A Glorious Grade
Golden Gate Park—The East Side Route
The Presidio & Marshall’s Beach—Take the Trail; It’s a Stairway
Glen Canyon Park—Walking Sticks Welcome
The Generals’ Walk—Black Point Gardens & Battery Slaughter
Presidio Tunnel Tops & Battery Bluff—Presidio Parks Designed for People
Downtown Financials—Garden Biodiversity at Salesforce Park
Fort Funston Trails to the Beach—Ahoy! There Be Sand Ladders




An Informal Bibliography


Appendix: List of Stairways


Index


About the Authors