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Jack Early Park

This teeny-tiny park built by a San Francisco man in 1962 is mostly stairs.

San Francisco, California

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Théophile
  vhines200 / CC BY-ND 2.0
Stairs to Jack Early Park   Eugene Kim / CC BY 2.0
Bay Bridge and Treasure Island from Jack Early Park   Eugene Kim / CC BY 2.0
View from Jack Early park   vhines200 / CC BY-ND 2.0
  David Spencer / CC BY-ND 2.0
Alcatraz from Jack Early Park   Eugene Kim / CC BY 2.0
"Dead End"   SEANETTA (Atlas Obscura User)
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Walking down Grant Ave towards Francisco Street, it's easy to miss on your right the stairs going up to this two-person park. This land was owned by the city until 1962, when Jack Early decided to plant eucalyptus and Monterey cypress to turn this undeveloped rocky slope into his own personal park. 

He added steps (using donated railroad ties) and put a bench (maximum occupancy: two) on top of the hill where you get get a great Bay Area view, from the Golden Gate to the Bay Bridge. The sea lions from Fisherman's Wharf can even be heard from there. 

In 1987, after 25 years of painstaking work, the city of San Francisco made Jack Early Park official and its creator climbed his last stairways 10 years later, aged 82. 

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Stairs Parks

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Open daily, between 7:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m.

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teopeaks

Edited By

SEANETTA

Published

March 22, 2022

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