Photo Essay: The Stairs of LA

In a country full of elevators, escalators, and moving walkways, LA is a town that climbs and runs its stairways for fun.

A friend of mine conducts walking tours mostly around Downtown LA and the city's easternmost reaches, focusing on the hidden stairways along the route, and taking each stairway that they pass (even if it means making detours of varying lengths).

But in LA, plenty of stairs have become tourist attractions, with their own Yelp pages. Case in point: Santa Monica Stairs.

Santa Monica Stairs is actually several different sets of stairs, including one off Adelaide Drive...







...the really well-known and heavily-trafficked one at 4th and Adelaide...





...a little spur staircase off the 4th Street one that leads to a creepy, overgrown sidewalk path behind the residences in the trees...



...and the Palisades Park stairs amongst the bluffs.







These stairways were built as necessary access points, but here I was, descending them and turning around and going right back up them. Is this form of recreation inspiring, or completely frivolous?

In my mind, it's an industrious way to get exercise. After all, it wasn't the first time I'd climbed stairs in LA for (supposed) fun.

See also:


Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook


Runyon Canyon

...and the ultimate...


Murphy Ranch

To become a fan on Facebook, click here.