It was a chance encounter behind a tire shop in Globe, Arizona that led me to find Stairizona. Last summer, the murals on the shop’s back wall caught my eyes. Then, I saw the bright green stairs. Wondering where it led, I ran a Google search and learned that Stairizona is a collection of 9 historical stairs (built in the 1930s), 3 pedestrian bridges, and various artwork created by locals. Other than that, information was scarce and there was no marked route on Google Maps.
Adding the Trailhead Marker
The signs where I had stood indicated I was at the Stairizona Trailhead. Seeing it wasn’t on Google Maps, I was able to add it- so myself and others can easily find where Stairizona starts. Not only that, adding the place marker builds awareness of this little-known cultural spot, as users can now see it when zooming in to explore the Globe area. Since the trailhead was added 2 months ago, it has garnered 9,817 views.
Creating Online Map (with Google My Maps)
Two weeks later, I got a paper printout of the Stairizona map at the Cobre Valley Center. I saw the 6 mile path marked that would take me on a self-guided tour of all of Stairizona’s features. Thinking this would be an easy walk on flat sidewalks, I marched excitedly forward.
Boy, was I wrong! The sidewalks were very steep. Also, I found myself misreading turns on the paper map or sometimes even distractedly walking past signs. With each block, the map became more crinkled as I constantly turned it this and that way in my hands.
By late afternoon, though the map promised a 6-mile loop, somehow I was on mile 8, lost in a tangle of residential streets. My stomach was rumbling with hunger, and my legs were cramping up. If only there was an online map….
Cue the #BardChallenge triviaon Google Maps hosted by @jayasimha78 and @Denise_Barlock , where I discovered Google My Maps. That gave me an idea! I would work on “converting’ that paper map into a usable map online.
*** Here is my finished Google My Maps map of Stairizona. ***
These are the steps I took to create it:
- First, I created a Google Sheet table listing out the names of Stairizona’s POIs (places of interest) along with credit to the artist(s) that created them. To find the latitude and longitude, I cross-referenced the location on the paper map along with Google Maps satellite imagery to pinpoint a dot on the Maps. I then copied this location information over to my sheets. The sheets were broken out by a.) bridges and streets and b.) artwork, murals, and signs.
- I imported both sheets as separate “layers” so users to toggle on/off seeing a.) bridges and streets and b.) artwork, murals, and signs. I used 3 symbols to categorize the stairs, bridges, and artwork - so users can easily distinguish them.
- For accessibility for both those who digest information visually vs reading, I added both an image to each location on the map as well as a short text description.
- The final layer I added was a hand-drawn suggested path that you can walk to see all of Stairizona’s POIs in their entirety. I used a brown star to indicate the starting and ending point.
(The path starts at the aforementioned Stairizona Trailhead and takes you down to Cottonwood, up to Monroe- where you turn onto Broad St. From there, you trek on inclined residential streets leading up to the birds-eye view on Fairview St from G-Hill. Then, you pass by the cemetery. On your way out, you see a little bit of the murals downtown before heading up to see the dog park. From there, you loop back down on Broad St to see the rest of downtown artwork, eventually ending by the “Welcome to Globe Sign” on Pine St.)
How to Use the Online Map:
Users can click on the Google My Maps map link of Stairizona. This saves the map so that when the user is on Google Maps, they can navigate to Saved → Maps. From there, the user can select the saved Stairizona map. Once done, the Stairizona map POIs and route are overlaid over Google Map’s view of Globe, Arizona. Clicking on the icons will give more details along with imagery of the location.
My hope is this will make navigating Stairizona easier through:
- a mapped-out route overlay on Google Maps that shows points of interest to stop at
- images to help users better locate the POI, as they can see what the POI should look like
- a one-stop place for information where users can click on the icon to read more information in the description and see who the artist is
Perhaps then, more visitors will be able to more fully and comfortably explore and experience the colorful wonders of Stairizona. 
My legs ached for days after doing that. 
It was definitely tough, and I haven’t done a walk that long in years.
