Jim Koplas remembers hiking up and down the stairs on Leimert Boulevard 75 years ago when he was a young boy who used the stairs on his way to explore the then-undeveloped Oakland hills.

But over time the four staircases in the neighborhood near Park and Monterey boulevards became so overgrown and deteriorated that many of his neighbors never realized they existed.

For the first time in at least 30 years, Koplas, 86, walked down the 400 steps Wednesday that give pedestrians a shortcut from Leimert to Bridgeview Drive.

"I had pretty much given upon walking on them,'' said Koplas. "I never thought I'd see them fixed."

The stairs were rededicated Wednesday after a city-funded repair project replaced all the steps and regraded about 600 feet of walkway.

The $330,000, 18-month project is part of a citywide effort to refurbish many of Oakland's historic walkways, steps and fountains, said Councilwoman Jean Quan.

"These stairs and path between home are really important for the city,'' said Quan, who led the effort. "They are great for pedestrians to use (on a daily basis), but if there is ever another hills fire, they are an important escape route."

The Leimert-Bridgewater stairs are the last of four staircases in the area to be rebuilt or repaired.

All four are part of the original development created between 1926 and 1936 by Walter Leimert, who built a bridge across Sausal Creek connecting the new neighborhood with Park Boulevard and the rest of Oakland.

"It's a fascinating part of this city's history,'' said Kurt Lavensohn, an architect who lives on Leimert and heads the homeowner association. "It's great to see these stairs back in use again. It's really good for Oakland."

Although not as well known as the outdoor staircases in San Francisco and Berkeley, Oakland has more than a dozen spread throughout the city.

But like the city as a whole, its stairs fell on hard times starting in the 1970s. Many became overgrown and unsafe, while the city had other priorities.

Several years ago, residents banded together to lobby to repair the stairs, and the city began setting aside money each year for such projects, Quan said.

Koplas' wife, Ciel, has lived on Leimert with him for 60 years but walked down the steps for the first time Wednesday.

"It's not just newcomers. I didn't know these were here either,'' Ciel Koplas said. "For a long time people just forgot about them. People just thought they would never be fixed."

E-mail Jim Zamora at jzamora@sfchronicle.com