Stairway across from the Ritz Carlton on Nob Hill.
by James A. Bacon
I am fascinated by small urban spaces that normally elude the attention of city planners, star architects and travel magazines. In low-density settings where low value is placed on land, inhabitants pay little heed to the small spaces. But in densely settled cities, residents apply loving creativity to making the most of the nooks, the crannies, the alleyways and the odd bits of land around them. The accumulation of detail in these small spaces is part of what makes a city like San Francisco great.
Some of the most interesting sights I saw here were tucked away in alleyways and in-between spaces. Many of them were stairways. The photo above shows a particularly beautiful stairway that led between two houses to a destination up the hill. (I was too tired trudging up and down hills to see where it led.) With manicured trees and flowers along the edge, this stairway was a significant enhancement to the neighborhood.
The stairway below is all the more interesting because it is all the more ordinary, part of an alleyway on a steep hillside that provides access to several nondescript apartment dwellings. It shows few signs of anyone having lavished money upon expensive materials or landscaping upon it, yet it is visually interesting nonetheless.
I love the front doorway shown at right. The house opens almost directly onto the sidewalk, leaving only a tiny transition space. The owner framed that space with a short brick wall and carefully selected plants. I was particularly struck by the way a heavy vine branch had been trained across the door well. It must be spectacular when the vine is in full bloom.
In my perambulations — I perambulated a lot because I am navigationally challenged and wound up in off-beat places — I came across this little shrine. I have no idea who placed it there or why, but I found it heart-warming. Someone’s private faith had inspired them to create a small thing of public beauty.
One more shot, this also of a narrow stairway. The open space is a little wider here, giving it a plaza-like feel. The ornamental trees and planted fringe (presumably maintained by the property owners) frame it very nicely.
We saw nothing like this in Silicon Valley where the public realm is dominated by roads and parking lots (I’ll have more on that shortly). The corporate campuses have lots of landscaping, some of it very attractive, but there is so much acreage that no one tends to the small spaces. You need an older, denser city to find places like these.
