Filbert Steps

The Filbert Steps exist because of a daring battle against a planned roadway in the middle of the twentieth century. City engineers intended to blast a wide thoroughfare directly through this hillside to connect the waterfront with the crest of Telegraph Hill. Residents organized a fierce campaign to protect the pedestrian character of the slope, successfully forcing the city to abandon the road project entirely. This victory preserved the staircase as a quiet, vertical path for locals and travelers alike.