​PHOTO ESSAY  -  
          Walkways, Alleyways and Parklets ​         

The Bradford Stairs  -   Karen Rhodes                                    

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STAIRWAYS OF BERNAL HEIGHTS -
SAN FRANCISCO
​By Karen Rhodes

​Baking sourdough bread. Playing the bagpipes at dusk. Each of us happened upon our own pandemic pursuit. For me, it was walking the stairways of my Bernal Heights neighborhood. Do you know there are about 50 in all? I have stayed healthy and sane by walking all of them, either in one long ramble or a few at a time, whenever a free hour arrives. Here are just a few.

Tompkins Stairway Garden

​I’m especially fond of the Tompkins Stairway Garden, between Nevada St. and Putnam St. I volunteered to write two grants that funded an ambitious landscaping and stairway tiling project, completed in 2019.

Bradford Stairs

The Bradford Stairs, on an open hillside above the Alemany Farmers Market, is at the top of San Francisco’s steepest street, Bradford St. above Tompkins Ave.   

Gates Stairs

The charming Gates Stairs, which connect Gates St. to Bernal Heights Blvd., is lovingly tended by a neighbor with a green thumb.   

Moultrie Stairs

Farther up the Moultrie Stairs, which connect Powhattan Ave. and Bernal Heights Blvd., are a few cottages that can be reached only by the stairway.

Eugenia Stairs

If you look closely around the Eugenia Stairs, between Prospect Ave. and Winfield St., you’ll see displays of public art, including a Honey Bear by the street artist fnnch.

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​​Bernal Heights resident Karen Rhodes retired from UC Berkeley’s College of Engineering in 2017 as Executive Director for Marketing and Communications, following a 40-year career in higher education. She serves on the boards of Walk San Francisco and the Bay Area Ridge Trail Council and is a member of the city’s Parks, Recreation, and Open Space Advisory Committee. She loves to organize urban walks for OLLI, Walk San Francisco, the Crosstown Trail Coalition, and anyone willing to explore with her.

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