Ortega Steps

The stairs you are standing near were carved into the landscape of Golden Gate Heights in nineteen twenty-seven. During this decade, city engineers were rapidly grading the steep terrain of this district, creating a network of concrete stairways to make the hilly residential blocks accessible to pedestrians. While many of these paths were purely functional, they became essential infrastructure as families moved into the newly developed hillside lots. Today, these passages function as quiet, vertical shortcuts that connect the winding streets of one of San Francisco's most elevated neighborhoods.