Adah Bakalinsky’s Stairway Walks in San Francisco, first published in 1984, made the city’s public staircases a destination. The San Francisco Chronicle cites the book as an inspiration for its own list of the city’s best stairways. One of the stairways on that list carries her name.
A tribute she didn’t want
The Chronicle says Bakalinsky, a low-profile author, protested when the stairway was dedicated to her and was upset that her name was on it for everyone to see. The paper dates the dedication to 2015, while SF Stairways says the stairs were renamed in her honor in 2012. Either way, the Chronicle calls it the perfect tribute: a low-key staircase that is all about the journey.
The climb
The stairway starts in the Duboce Park neighborhood and climbs to Buena Vista Park, which has many more stairways to explore. The Chronicle counts 99 wide steps framed by cobblestones, with an early-1900s water fountain and a leaf logo along the way. SF Stairways says the stairs run along the south side of the street, with a plain sidewalk on the north side and gardens down the middle. The gardens were improved around the time of the renaming, and the surrounding concrete was replaced with rocks.
For two of Bakalinsky’s favorites, see the Harry Street stairs and the Lyon Street Steps.