Fodor's calls them "possibly the loveliest street stairway anywhere." The 16th Avenue Tiled Steps -- known locally as the Moraga Steps -- climb 163 steps through the Golden Gate Heights neighborhood on San Francisco's West Side, each riser covered in handmade mosaic tiles depicting a continuous scene that flows from ocean creatures at the bottom to celestial bodies at the top. The design reads as a single artwork spanning an entire city block, transforming a utilitarian stairway into one of San Francisco's most photographed public spaces.
The project was a community endeavor from start to finish. Inspired by the tiled stairways of Rio de Janeiro, particularly the Escadaria Selaron, neighborhood residents organized to transform their own neglected concrete steps. Irish ceramicist Aileen Barr and mosaic artist Colette Crutcher led the design, working with more than 220 neighborhood volunteers who hand-set tiles over the course of two and a half years. The project was funded through a combination of grants, individual tile sponsorships, and community fundraising. Each sponsor could have their name inscribed on a tile, embedding the community literally into the artwork.
The mosaic design flows from bottom to top as a journey from the depths of the ocean to the heights of the sky. Fish, rays, and underwater vegetation at the base give way to terrestrial plants and flowers in the middle sections, then birds and clouds, and finally a night sky with stars and a crescent moon at the summit. The color palette shifts accordingly, from deep blues and greens through warm earth tones to celestial purples and golds. The effect is immersive: climbing the stairs feels like ascending through an ecosystem. At the top, the reward is a sweeping view of the Pacific Ocean and the Outer Sunset district.
The 16th Avenue Tiled Steps completed in 2005 and immediately became a destination. Their success inspired the creation of the Hidden Garden Steps on 16th Avenue between Kirkham and Lawton Streets in 2013, using the same community-driven model. The steps demonstrate something unusual about San Francisco's relationship with public art: the best of it tends to emerge from neighborhoods rather than institutions, funded by the people who will walk past it every day. The Moraga Steps are not in a museum or a gallery. They are on a residential street, connecting two blocks on a steep hillside, used by dog walkers and joggers and children going to school. The art is inseparable from the infrastructure.
Located at 37.76°N, 122.47°W in the Golden Gate Heights neighborhood of San Francisco's West Side. The stairway connects Moraga and Noriega Streets on 16th Avenue. Not individually visible from altitude, but the neighborhood sits on a hillside with views of the Pacific. San Francisco International (KSFO) is approximately 8 nm south.