Looking Down the Vulcan Stairway

Mars, Vulcan, Saturn, Uranus – it’s like we’ve gone to ancient mythology land! We’ll be climbing and descending some of the most interesting and narrow streets and stairways in San Francisco, with spectacular views of the City!

Link to Google Maps.

WHAT: Stairway Walk – Upper Market and Twin Peaks
WHEN: 29 August 2010 – 11am – 2pm
WHERE: Corner of 17th and Clayton Streets
HOW MUCH: Suggested Donation $5 – no one turned away for lack of funds
WHY: Climb every mountain!

Looking Down the Vulcan Stairway

Mars, Vulcan, Saturn, Uranus – it’s like we’ve gone to ancient mythology land! We’ll be climbing and descending some of the most interesting and narrow streets and stairways in San Francisco, with spectacular views of the City!

Link to Google Maps.

WHAT: Stairway Walk – Upper Market and Twin Peaks
WHEN: 18 July 2010 – 11am – 2pm
WHERE: Corner of 17th and Clayton Streets
HOW MUCH: Suggested Donation $5 – no one turned away for lack of funds
WHY: Climb every mountain!

Castro and Eureka Valley c1910. Greg Caur Collection

I thought for Pride Month, we’d traipse and gallivant through Eureka Valley, also known to people the world over as The Castro. This 2.2 mile walk is more strenuous than other walks we’ve done, but I guarantee you it will be worth all the effort.

Google Map.

WHEN: Sunday 20 June 2010 at 11am
WHERE: Northwest corner of Elizabeth and Douglass Streets
WHAT: a jaunt through tree-lined streets, incredible views, interesting architecture, and more!
WHY: because walking is what we do.
HOW MUCH: tips always appreciated – suggested tip, $5.00

Bring yourself some sunscreen, a hat, bottled water, at least one orange or other snack (preferably two), camera, comfortable shoes, a light wind jacket (just in case), and a friend or two.

Photo by http://www.GoSanFranciscoCard.com - used with permission

I skipped March, but the Stairway Walk is back for April!  We’ll be exploring the northern walk on Russian Hill this month, and the southern walk in May.  It’s a two-part walk you’ll be sure to want to catch both sections, and you’ll get to explore some of the small pockets of San Francisco that survived the 1906 Earthquake and Fire.  Hooray!

This 1.6 mile walk is on the low-end of moderate difficulty, so if you have been able to participate in other of our walks, this one will pose no problem for you.

Here’s a

link to the map.

WHAT: Stairway Walk – Russian Hill North
WHEN: Sunday 25 April 2010 at 11:00am, rain cancels
WHERE: Northeast corner of Polk and Greenwich Streets
HOW: free, of course (donations gladly and gratefully accepted)
WHO: hosted by your intrepid guide, Paul Brown.
BRING: sunscreen, hat, bottled water, camera, snack, light jacket.

GGH Route Map on Google

WHEN: 31 January 2010, from 11am to 3pm
WHERE: Kirkham Street and 15th Avenue, at the base of the stairway.

Yes, 2010 is seeing a continuation of our fun and successful Stairway Walk Tours – this time we’ll be going to the neighborhood of Golden Gate Heights, full of curving streets, and interesting vistas of the Pacific Ocean, Golden Gate, and San Francisco itself.  Also, the delightful Grand View Steps, a once-boring set of concrete steps that neighborhood artists and activists transformed with a truly stunning tile mosaic on the risers.  Photographs cannot adequately describe the beauty of the mosaic – you simply must see it yourself!

An event invitation exists over on Facebook, but if you do not have a Facebook account, you can RSVP by commenting to this blog entry.

We’ll meet at Cafe Flore, located at the Northeast corner of Market and Noe Streets at 10am, and proceed from there to Apple Hill, where we’ll take in the Autumn Colors, check out the apple harvest, sample all the apple wares, and if you want, we’ll visit a Christmas Tree farm or two.  There are tons of different varieties of apples grown, as well as pears and other fruits, crafts, foods made from the locally produced fruit – cider, jams, pies, cakes, syrups, all sorts of yummy goodness.  There are also a few wineries up there and we may make a stop at one of those as well.

I am charging a small fee of $20 for this Stairway Walk to cover the expense of renting the van, fuel, insurance, bridge tolls, etc. Once we get there, we’ll have three or four hours to explore before we hop in the van and head back to the city.  Depending on traffic conditions, we may detour through the Altamont Pass or via CA-160 through the delta to save time.  Expect to arrive back in San Francisco between 8:30 and 9:30pm.

All told, it’s going to be a great day!

Please RSVP for this trip.

Link to Google Map

It’s time to leave Old San Francisco and venture west into the neighborhood known as Forest Hill.  Forest Hill contains the largest collection of houses designed by the influential Arts and Crafts architect, Bernard Maybeck, who designed the Palace of Fine Arts, among other famous structures in the Bay Area.  He was a tremendous influes on other architects, including Julia Morgan and others.

This 1.89 mile route takes us through the swooping curves and grand stairways of Forest Hill, including, according the Adah Bakalinsky, the most elegant of all stairways in San Francisco, the grand Pacheco Stairs.

WHAT: Forest Hill Stairway Walk

WHEN: 25 October from 11am to 3pm

WHERE: northeast corner of Pacheco and Merced, facing the Pacheco Triangle (see map)

WHY: to see some incredible homes, vistas, and stairways, and to learn more about the history and neighborhoods of San Francisco.

HOW TO ARRIVE: Muni to Forest Hill Station, or other public transit options are available.

Link to Google Map

The Marina District was created with the rubble of the 1906 earthquake, and was the site of the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition, and we will explore from the Presidio Steps down to the Palace of Fine Arts, wander through the Marina District’s shopping area, have a nice lunch, then trek back up to our starting point. This walk is 3.2 miles of fairly easy walking, with some stunning views and beautiful architecture.

When: 20 September 2009, 11:00 to 15:00
Where: Northwest corner of Pacific Avenue and Lyon Street.

Be sure to bring a hat, light jacket, sunscreen, bottle of water, a piece of fruit or other healthy snack, and camera! We’ll be lunching on Chestnut Street, possibly at Lucca Delicatessen.

Well, I mentioned at the beginning of the month to keep the 22nd of February open for the next Stairway Walk, and here it is!

The Google Map Here.

Nob Hill, home of railroad barons and silver mining bonanza kings, is full of architectural details and fun stories from the mid-to-late 1800s.  This walk is only 1.6 miles, has some climbing and stairways, and will include a diversion to the GraceCathedral labyrinth, Huntington Park, the Flood mansion, and more!

We’ll meet at the corner of California and Leavenworth Streets at 11am.

RSVP: Evite or Facebook.

Link to Google Map of the route.

I am pleased to announce the second Stairway Walk in our hopefully becoming monthly event: North Beach and Telegraph Hill.

Sunday 25 January 2009 at 11am, meeting at the Southeast corner of Bay and Mason Streets.

One of the great things about this event is that it’s going to take us both to some fairly touristy areas, such as Coit Tower and down the Greenwich Steps, but also through some of secluded and lovely side streets and neighborhoods. Come with me and us as we explore some of the oldest neighborhoods and see some of San Francisco’s architectural marvels.

Here’s a video that one of the walkers created from the last walk.

Stairway Walk 1 from Wiley Wang on Vimeo

And here’s a link to my photographs of the last event.

Please join me and the other walker by RSVPing here.