| 16th Avenue Tiled Steps | |
| Nickname: | Moraga Steps |
| Image Place: | Inner Sunset, San Francisco, CA, USA - panoramio.jpg |
| Image Caption: | A view of the stairs from the bottom |
| Place Type: | Staircase |
| Open: | August 27, 2005 |
| Construction: | July – August 2005 |
| Steps: | 163[1] |
| Surface: | Mosaic |
| Location: | Moraga St. between 15th & 16th Ave., San Francisco, California, United States |
| Pushpin Map: | San Francisco County#California#USA |
The 16th Avenue Tiled Steps, colloquially known as the Moraga Steps, is a stairway in the Golden Gate Heights neighborhood in San Francisco, California. Fodor's calls it "possibly the world's largest mosaic staircase",[2] and it leads up to Grandview Park. The flight contains 163 steps stretching 90feet high. These steps are also covered in over 2,000 unique tiles from over 75,000 glass fragments.[3]
Inspired by the Escadaria Selarón in Brazil, the project was first pitched by two residents of the neighborhood, Jessie Audette and Alice Yee Xavier in 2003.[4] The duo tried to find a way to link all their neighbors together in an effort to enrich the area. Aileen Barr and Colette Crutcher, who also designed the nearby Hidden Garden Steps six years later,[5] were chosen by residents to plan the panels of the mosaics. The project was funded by over 220 sponsored/named tiles which were also placed on the staircase. Community members all pitched in to create panels together, and three workshops were held.[1] [6] The Mayor's Neighborhood Beautification Fund also donated to the construction effort.[7]
The opening ceremony was held on August 27, 2005, featuring lion dancers. Francesco Pignataro, the then-mayor of Caltagirone, Italy, also attended, as the steps' sister, Staircase of Santa Maria del Monte, was located there.[8] Acting Mayor and member of the Board of Supervisors Sean Elsbernd declared August 27 as 16th Avenue Tiled Steps Day.[1]
Areas nearby the steps rose in crime during 2016, as car robbers took advantage of the tourists viewing the steps to break in.[9]
Both sides of the stairs contain a garden containing native California plants (which support the endangered green hairstreak) and succulents,[10] with the south side being donated by the Xavier family, while the north side was developed in 2006, after a grant was obtained from San Francisco Beautiful. The San Francisco Succulent Society dontated succulents in 2010, and Nature in the City helped with a restoration of the butterfly habitats in 2014. One Brick assists in organizing volunteering days, which occur on Earth Day weekend and fall.[1]
The stairs themselves have a design focused on the sky and sea, with sea creatures containing names of sponsors dotted within.[4]