The Greenwich Steps are two stairways on Greenwich Street that together climb from Sansome Street to the Coit Tower parking lot at the top of Telegraph Hill. SF Stairways says the combined climb of about 280 feet is one of the highest in the city, second only to the Oakhurst Lane stairway. The San Francisco Chronicle counts 387 steps and calls the climb “the Mt. Everest of San Francisco stairways.”
The route
The lower stairway, from Sansome to Montgomery, is L-shaped. SF Stairways says its base is a newer concrete stairway up a steep cliff. The cliffs on the east side of Telegraph Hill come from rock quarrying for ship ballast that went on into the early 1900s. Gardens line the north side of the stairs, and several tile artworks, including a life-size statue of a girl holding a bird, sit near the 90-degree turn below Montgomery Street. The upper stairway, from Montgomery to Telegraph Hill Boulevard, is one of the few brick stairways in the city.
History
SF Stairways says a stairway has been here since the city’s early days. The top flights below Montgomery were built in 1931, when the retaining wall at the end of Montgomery went in. The site says the lower stairs were probably built around 1982, when the Levi’s Plaza area was being redeveloped.
Why go
The Chronicle highlights the views of the bay and the East Bay shoreline, the artistic brickwork and the homes built on the cliffs right next to the walkway. It also recommends the stairs for parrot watching. They are within walking distance of Pier 39 and Fisherman’s Wharf. The Filbert Steps, a block south, make a good way down.
At the top, see our Coit Tower guide. For the parrots and the Filbert side, see our Telegraph Hill guide.