Jun 5, 2025

Flights of Fancy San Francisco

Artful stairs

""Flights of Fancy" or the Arelious Walker Stairway in San Francisco is inspired by patterns drawn from various world cultures & is handsomely decorated!"

Exploring the city more often than not turns up completely unexpected surprises.  During a trip down Innes Avenue, I happened upon a flight of stairs that is so handsomely and colorfully decorated, I had to not only photograph them, but find out the origins of the art itself.

Their actual name is the “Arelious Walker Drive Stairs”, named after the community pastor and activist Arelious Walker, of the True Hope Church of God in Christ. The artists were inspired by patterns drawn from various world cultures -- namely cloth from Ghana, Native American painted pottery, Central American textiles, Japanese and Indonesian fabrics, Middle Eastern tile patterns and paisley designs from India.

The City of San Francisco Arts Commission actually commissioned the work by Aileen Barr and Colette Crutcher for the San Francisco Department of Public Works. There are other staircases in the city that have been created by these two extremely talented women. In particular, there is the 16th Avenue that are 163 separate mosaic panels, one for each riser. Amazing.

Amsterdam
Antwerp
002-building
Art & culture
002-building
Art & culture
002-building
Art & culture

About this spot

859 Innes Avenue

US$

no-price

Find your way with 156 Insider Tips from our Local Spotters

Discover hidden gems and all our locals’ favourites! Get full access to our San Francisco guide.

Nice place right!? There’s so much more to discover:

Discover all other hidden gems in San Francisco

Free Gold Watch

Honest old school pinball palace

When I can hear the sound of spare coins jingling, I get an itch for a real pinball fix and head to the Haight and Free Gold Watch in San Francisco...

002-building
Art & culture
017-plant-1
Relaxing

by

Byron

Beach

Jul 1, 2025

View Deck at UCSF

Best view in Western SF

When I want to know if the fog is coming in under the GG bridge in SF, I walk over to the public deck at UCSF's Helen Diller Medical Center...

002-building
Art & culture
017-plant-1
Relaxing

by

Byron

Beach

Jul 1, 2025

6th Ave Skate Park

Daily free roller skate party

When I am in Golden Gate Park in SF, I almost always stop for a few minutes at the 6th avenue skate park to watch the skaters dance to the music...

002-building
Art & culture
017-plant-1
Relaxing

by

Byron

Beach

Jul 1, 2025

GG Park Golf Course

A 9-hole gem

I love coming to the Golden Gate Parks Golf Course in SF in the morning, where it's almost 100% guaranteed to be foggy...

017-plant-1
Relaxing

by

Byron

Beach

Jul 1, 2025

Columbarium

History, heritage and dioramas

The SF Columbarium is one of the only cemeteries within San Francisco city limits. Pair a diorama with a dash of biography & you have me hooked...

002-building
Art & culture

by

Byron

Beach

Jul 1, 2025

Green Apple Books

Get lost in a real book store

"Green Apple Books" in San Francisco is one of my favorite places to get lost for an afternoon. Unmatched levels of discovery await...

026-thrift-shop-1
Shopping

by

Byron

Beach

Jul 1, 2025

Zazie

A bit of French dining all day long

"Zazie" in SF is my perfect local French bistro, whether I'm up at 8 am, peckish at lunch or in the mood for the greatest pork chop in town...

021-spoon-and-fork-1
Restaurants

by

Byron

Beach

Jul 1, 2025

The Turrell Skyspace

A hidden meditation

"The Turrell Skyspace" in San Francisco is a hidden oculus buried underground that provides a moment of either meditation or social overload...

002-building
Art & culture

by

Byron

Beach

Jul 1, 2025

Ushi Taro

Ramen with beef bone marrow

"Ushi Taro" is a tiny ramen house that specializes in beef ramen. A personal favorite is their spicy tomato beef ramen that never fails to warm my core...

021-spoon-and-fork-1
Restaurants

by

Byron

Beach

Jul 1, 2025

InoVino

Italian wine bar

"InoVino" in San Francisco is a lovely Italian bar with amazing food! The arancini are my go-to bites with either a Verdicchio or a Barolo...

028-beach-bar-1
Bars

by

Byron

Beach

Jul 1, 2025

Corbin Steps

Fantasy garden stairway

The "Corbin Steps" represent everything delightful & quirky about San Francisco. It's an art project composed of fantasy creatures built of found objects!

002-building
Art & culture

by

Byron

Beach

Jul 1, 2025

Ferry Plaza Wine

Wine by the bottle

"Ferry Plaza Wine" in the San Francisco Ferry building is, perhaps surprisingly, one of the best wine bars in the Bay Area...

028-beach-bar-1
Bars

by

Byron

Beach

Jul 1, 2025

Heading to San Francisco?

156 Insider Tips from our local Spotters

Authentic Stories by Real People

Escape the Crowd & Travel Slow 🐌

... for just €9.99

Heading to San Francisco?

0 Insider Tips from our local Spotters

156 Insider Tips

✓ Escape the Crowds

✓ Find Spots nearby

✓ Authentic Stories

... for just €9.99

App Download Download our app

City guides by those who know the city in and out!

Our Locals' Favorite Art & culture

Our team loves San Francisco

Get to know our other Spotters from San Francisco

As featured on:

New-York-Times
the-guardian
mashable
the-sunday-times
false
0
false
64
Filters