Fauntleroy and Morgan Junction
3 Comments →Here's a wide-ranging stairway walk in the northern part of the Fauntleroy neighborhood. On this walk you'll step down the second-longest Seattle stairs, at Thistle Street. You'll also see wonderful examples of neighborhood art; take winding timber stairs down the Lincoln Park bluff to the cobblestone beach below; and "discover" a well-hidden stairway as you near Morgan Junction. There's also a stop at Solstice Park, where you'll visit a giant earthen astrolabe - an instrument that predicts where on the horizon the sun will set with each solstice. Where your stair walk nears the end, you'll find ample opportunities for food or drink - such as the excellent pub in Morgan Junction that specializes in craft beer and cider.
The slideshow marked by the "www" icon below contains the extra pictorial content referred to in the book.
Looking back up the Thistle stairs, midway down
Here are a few more pictures:
Detail of the Thistle Street stairs: note the recycled electric streetcar railing
After walking to Solstice Park, with its astronomical earthworks, you'll make your way over to Lincoln Park. To get down from the top of the bluff in Lincoln Park to the beach, you'll have two choices. The main route takes a bluffside path right. Or, you can turn left to walk along the top of the bluff south, until you arrive at the alternate bluffside pathway down to the beach, pictured below:
Midway down the alternate south bluff stairs
At the base of Lincoln Park bluff: looking across the Sound to Blake Island
Reader Comments (3)
Very creative site. My technique for getting up the Thistle stairs was taught to me by a friend; count the first stair as "January 1" and work your way through the calendar, one day for every stair. As you remember friend's birthdays or special dates, you're just a bit distracted from the effort of all that climbing.
We also have started a project to describe Seattle Stairs - for the same reasons you have. Our stair routes are on Google Maps, you can search them under "Seattle Stairs". Here is a link to the West Seattle ones:
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=117030597293428655854.0004847b1650bd2f1710d&t=h&z=13
We did this walk several weeks ago - loved the mosaic on the retaining wall, and Solstice Park. Lots of hidden gems - we thought we knew West Seattle!Thanks!