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Volunteers needed for weeding and pruning the hillsides surrounding
the Tiled Steps.
Date: Sat April 27 from 10:30AM to 12:30.
Refreshments will be served. Wear sturdy shoes.
Meet at the base of the mosaic steps @ 16th Ave & Moraga St, SF
Cancel in the event of rain.
The 16th Avenue Tiled Steps project has been a
neighborhood effort to create a beautiful mosaic running up the
risers of the 163 steps located at 16th and Moraga in San Francisco.
We succeeded!!
We've been working on this project since January of 2003, with the support of the Golden Gate
Heights Neighborhood Association. The San
Francisco Parks Trust is
our fiscal sponsor.
Artists Aileen Barr and Colette Crutcher led the creation of the
163 mosaic panels that were applied to the step risers, over 300 neighbors joined
us
in making them, and over 220 neighbors sponsored handmade
animal, bird and fish name tiles imbedded within the mosaic. The City permitting process was completed on August
18, 2004. KZ Tile, a major San Francisco tilesetting company,
generously agreed to set the mosaic panels into
the risers and tile the step treads with rough, nonslip tile. We
completed the installation of the Project in August 2005, with the
exception of the caulking, which will be done in early September
2005.
On Saturday, August 27th, 2005, we had our inauguration ceremony.
Chinese lion dancers (Sefu Dino
Salvatera's "Hung Sing Gung Fu Club") rushed up and down the steps
to the sound of popping firecrackers, gongs, and drums. They were
followed by graceful members of Nguyen Dance Company descending the
steps. We were honored to be joined by Prof. Francesco Pignataro, Mayor of Caltagirone, Italy (location of the famous Scala
Steps), who cut the ribbon, together with Supervisor Sean Elsbernd
(acting as Mayor for the Day). Assemblymember Leland Yee,
Supervisor Fiona Ma, Adah Bakalinsky (author of Stairway Walks inf
San Francisco), Frank Bonfiglio (President of the Sicilian American
Association), and Fabio Ficano and Valeria Rumori, representing the
Italian Cultural Institute, also joined us for this happy occasion.
The event was covered by Italian national television, a Sicilian
newspaper, and several local San Francisco newspapers, including the
Chronicle and the Beacon. For photos click
here!
Thanks again to KZ Tile for its excellent
tilesetting work and generous assistance to our project. Thanks also
to our artists Colette Crutcher and Aileen Barr, our core of project
volunteers, the Golden Gate Heights Neighborhood Association Board,
our pro bono architect and longtime advisor, Ned Fennie of Fennie
and Mehl Architects, Nibbi Brothers General Contractors, EuroWest
Tile, Schluter Systems, the San Francisco Department of Public
Works, the Mayor's Neighborhood Beautification Fund, the Union Bank
Foundation, and San Francisco Beautiful Foundation.
Donations for Maintenance Fund are tax
deductible through Golden Gate Heights Neighborhood
Association.
Send to: GGHNA PO Box 27608, SF CA 94122 www.gghna.org.org
*** VOLUNTEERS NEEDED TO HELP MAINTAIN THE LANDSCAPING OF
THE STAIRWAY !
EMAIL: acxavier@aol.com
acxavier@aol.com
Over 300 neighbors got together this summer to
make the Project's mosaic panels.
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