Mattachine Steps, Public stairway in Silver Lake, Los Angeles, United States

The Mattachine Steps are a public concrete stairway in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles, linking two residential streets at different elevations. The steps run up a steep hillside and are lined with private homes and vegetation on both sides.

The stairway was built in the 1920s to help residents reach public transportation and shops in the city below. In 2012, it was officially designated as a memorial to Harry Hay and the Mattachine Society.

The steps are named after the Mattachine Society, one of the first gay rights organizations in the United States. Walking up them, you pass through the neighborhood where Harry Hay, the group's founder, once lived and worked.

The stairway climbs the hillside from Cove Avenue to Lucile Avenue, so it can be worked into a longer walk through Silver Lake. The grade is steep and the surface is unpaved concrete, so wear firm shoes, especially after rain. The stairs are unlit at night, and the historical plaque that once stood here has been removed, so bring your own notes on the site.

Silver Lake holds 52 historic public stairways, and the Mattachine Steps are among them. The staircase is unpainted, and the plaque that once carried the Mattachine Society's history has been removed, so nothing on the steps themselves marks the site.