A 1920s public stairway in the Los Feliz hills, built back when a neighborhood was meant to be climbed on foot.
What are the Los Feliz Heights Steps?
The Los Feliz Heights Steps are a public stairway in the Los Feliz hills, designated Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #657 on October 14, 1998. Built in the 1920s, the steps climb the hillside between Bonvue Avenue and Cromwell Avenue and are a surviving example of the pedestrian infrastructure that once connected hillside neighborhoods to streetcar lines below.
Tucked into the hills above the neighborhood, the Los Feliz Heights Steps are easy to walk past without noticing. There is no grand facade, no famous architect's name attached, no plaque visible from the street. What there is, instead, is a long public stairway built into the slope, a piece of everyday infrastructure that has quietly served the neighborhood for roughly a century.
That ordinariness is exactly what makes the steps worth protecting. They are one of the clearest physical records of how the Los Feliz hills were meant to be lived in when they were first developed, and they earned a place on the city's roster of designated landmarks for it.
At a glance
The architectural significance
The Los Feliz Heights Steps were built in the 1920s, during the decade when the surrounding hillside tracts were being subdivided and sold. Developers of that era laid out hillside neighborhoods with the understanding that many residents would not drive everywhere. Public stairways were threaded between the curving streets so that people could move directly up and down the slope on foot, often to reach a streetcar stop on the flatter ground below.
The construction is modest and practical: concrete treads set into the grade of the hill, landings spaced to break the climb, and a route that takes the most direct line up a slope too steep for a comfortable street. There is no ornament to speak of. The significance is in the form itself, a surviving example of the pedestrian planning that shaped Los Angeles before the car became the default way to cross even a single block.
Built for walking
"The steps outlived the streetcars they once led to. What remains is a neighborhood you can still climb on foot."
A walk through time
Climbing the steps today is a small act of time travel. They connect Bonvue Avenue and Cromwell Avenue, two of the quiet residential streets that wind through this part of the hills, and they pass the backs and sides of homes that have looked out over the same stairway for generations.
In the 1920s and 1930s, a stairway like this one would have been part of a daily routine, the shortcut a resident took to catch a ride downtown or to reach a neighbor a street away. As car ownership spread and the streetcar network was dismantled, many of these public stairways fell out of regular use, and a number across Los Angeles were lost entirely to neglect or new construction. The ones that survive, including the Los Feliz Heights Steps, are now valued less as transportation and more as living history.
Los Feliz Heights Steps today
On October 14, 1998, the City of Los Angeles designated the Los Feliz Heights Steps as Historic-Cultural Monument #657. The designation recognizes the stairway as a cultural and historical resource and gives the city a formal review role over changes that would affect it, helping ensure the steps are maintained rather than removed.
For the neighborhood, the steps now serve a different purpose than the one they were built for. They are a walking route for residents, a quiet bit of exercise with a view, and a reminder that the Los Feliz hills were designed as a place to walk. They sit comfortably alongside the area's better-known landmarks, the architectural houses and the historic Shakespeare Bridge, as part of the same story of how this neighborhood was planned and built.
How to find the steps
The Los Feliz Heights Steps run between Bonvue Avenue and Cromwell Avenue in the hills above the neighborhood. Like most of the city's public stairways, they are not marked with prominent signage, so they reward a little patience and a willingness to explore the quieter streets on foot. Comfortable shoes and a relaxed pace are the only real requirements.
Exploring the surrounding area
The steps are best experienced as part of a longer wander through the Los Feliz hills. The same streets hold a remarkable concentration of designated historic homes, from Frank Lloyd Wright's Ennis House to Richard Neutra's Lovell Health House, and Griffith Park sits just beyond. A walk that strings together the stairway, the bridge, and a few of the architectural landmarks is one of the best ways to understand why this neighborhood draws the people it does.
Conclusion
The Los Feliz Heights Steps will never be the headline attraction of the neighborhood, and that is the point. They are a piece of working infrastructure that outlived its original purpose and became something else: a record of how people once moved through these hills, preserved because the city decided it was worth keeping. For anyone who loves Los Feliz, the steps are a quiet invitation to slow down and read the neighborhood the way it was meant to be read, one landing at a time.
Buying or selling a historic home in Los Feliz?
Historic-Cultural Monuments reward representation that understands the architecture, the Mills Act math, and the specific buyer pool. If you are buying a home in Los Feliz or selling a Mills Act or HCM property, it pays to work with a Los Feliz architectural homes specialist. You can start with a no-pressure valuation or get in touch.
Frequently asked questions
When were the Los Feliz Heights Steps designated a Historic-Cultural Monument?
The City of Los Angeles designated the Los Feliz Heights Steps as Historic-Cultural Monument #657 on October 14, 1998.
Where are the Los Feliz Heights Steps?
The steps climb the hillside between Bonvue Avenue and Cromwell Avenue in the Los Feliz hills. Like most of the city's public stairways, they are not marked with prominent signage.
When were the steps built?
The Los Feliz Heights Steps were built in the 1920s, when hillside neighborhoods were laid out with public stairways connecting homes to the streetcar lines below.
The Los Feliz Historic-Cultural Monument series
An ongoing series documenting every Historic-Cultural Monument in Los Feliz. You can also explore the full HCM guide or the architectural map.
- Ennis House: Frank Lloyd Wright's Mayan Revival Masterpiece | HCM #149
- Lovell Health House: Richard Neutra's 1929 Masterpiece | HCM #123
- Derby House: Lloyd Wright's Mayan Revival
- Midtown School: John Lautner's Organic Architecture | HCM #553
- The Jacobson House: Edward Fickett, Mid-Century Modern | HCM #674
- Sherwood House: Mid-Century Modern in The Oaks | HCM #1026
- The Shakespeare Bridge: Glendower Place | HCM #111
- Blackburn Residence: Paul R. Williams Spanish Colonial Revival | HCM #913
- Abraham Gore Residence: Spanish Colonial Revival | HCM #1061
- Durex Model Home: Spanish Revival in The Oaks | HCM #1025
- Paul Lauritz House: California's Plein Air Master | HCM #784
- Los Feliz Heights Steps: Hidden Historic Stairway | HCM #657
- Avocado Trees: Los Feliz's Natural Monument | HCM #343
About the author
Debbie Pisaro is a Los Feliz real estate specialist with 24 years of experience and founder of Coastline 840, an independent California real estate brokerage. She specializes in architectural and historic homes across Los Feliz, Silver Lake, and the Eastside, and lives in a 1907 Craftsman in Silver Lake with her Doberman, Lennon.
California DRE #01369110
The Los Feliz Heights Steps are one of the hidden monuments in the hills. It is one of more than fifty Historic-Cultural Monuments in Los Feliz. For the full overview, see the Los Feliz HCM guide, browse the complete collection of Los Feliz monuments, and if you are weighing designation for your own home, here is how to get a home designated.
The Los Feliz Historic-Cultural Monument Series
An ongoing series documenting every Historic-Cultural Monument in Los Feliz — the architects, the homes, the stories, and what it means to own a designated landmark. Written by Debbie Pisaro, 24-year Los Feliz real estate specialist.
Browse every post in the series ↓
- Ennis House — Frank Lloyd Wright's Mayan Revival Masterpiece HCM #149
- Lovell Health House — Richard Neutra's 1929 Masterpiece HCM #123
- Derby House — Lloyd Wright's Mayan Revival
- Midtown School — John Lautner's Organic Architecture HCM #553
- The Jacobson House — Edward Fickett Mid-Century Modern HCM #674
- Sherwood House — Mid-Century Modern in The Oaks HCM #1026
- The Shakespeare Bridge — Glendower Place HCM #111
- Blackburn Residence — Paul R. Williams Spanish Colonial Revival HCM #913
- Abraham Gore Residence — Spanish Colonial Revival HCM #1061
- Durex Model Home — Spanish Revival in The Oaks HCM #1025
- Paul Lauritz House — California's Plein Air Master HCM #784
- Hidden Steps of Los Feliz Heights HCM #657
- Avocado Trees — Los Feliz's Natural Monument HCM #343