The stairway on Burnside Avenue north of Bosworth Street in Glen Park was a plain set of steps until neighbors turned it into public art. SF Stairways says a huge mural was painted there in 2022 through the Burnside Mural+ project, by the Twin Wall Mural Company.
The mural
SF Stairways says the retaining wall below the stairs shows Glen Canyon’s natural environment, past and present. The low wall beside the stairs shows historical scenes and people from Glen Park’s past. The San Francisco Chronicle says the art celebrates the Gumtree Girls and other local activists. Their protests saved Glen Canyon from being cut in half by a freeway.
The mosaic
SF Stairways said a tile mosaic was planned for the steps. The Chronicle’s best-stairways list, last updated in November 2025, now describes the finished work, calling it Aileen Barr and Colette Crutcher’s latest tiled masterpiece. The dog-legged stairway is covered in a mosaic that pays tribute to a creek running through the neighborhood, with a sparkling tiled sun at its center. The Chronicle counts 69 steps.
Visiting
The Chronicle notes that the steps can be seen from the Crosstown Trail and recommends them as a lunch stop near the middle of the trail.
For the canyon the activists saved, see our Glen Canyon Park guide. For a wooden stairway nearby, see the Harry Street stairs.