Coit Tower, San Francisco, California

From wiki.travel.com

Coit Tower

Coit Tower was built atop Telegraph Hill in 1933 at the bequest of Lillie Hitchcock Coit to beautify the City of San Francisco. Lillie bequeathed one-third of her estate to the City of San Francisco "to be expended in an appropriate manner for the purpose of adding to the beauty of the city which I have always loved."

Contrary to popular opinion, the tower was not designed to resemble a fire hose nozzle. This myth persists in part because of Lillie Hitchcock Coit's affinity with the San Francisco fire fighters of the day, in particular with Knickerbocker Engine Company Number 5. Although the architects claimed to have no design precedent in mind, during this time Europe saw the construction of aesthetically designed power stations that could be claimed as prototypes.

The art deco tower, 210 feet (64 meters) of unpainted reinforced concrete, was designed by architects Arthur Brown, Jr. and Henry Howard with murals by 26 different artists and numerous assistants.

1 Murals
2 The view
3 Parking
4 Photo gallery
5 See also
6 External links

Murals

Two of the murals are of San Francisco Bay scenes painted by Spanish artist José Moya del Piño, who by then was a fulltime resident in the Bay Area. Most murals are done in fresco; the exceptions are one mural done in egg tempera (upstairs, in the last decorated room) and the works done in the elevator foyer, which are oil on canvas. While most of the murals have been restored, a small segment (the spiral stairway exit to the observation platform) was not restored but durably painted over with epoxy surfacing. These murals in particular contained very "leftist" political and social themes related to the Great Depression and socialist political movements. Most of the murals are open for public viewing without charge during open hours, although there are ongoing negotiations by the Recreation and Parks Department of San Francisco to begin charging visitors a fee to enter the mural rotunda. The murals in the spiral stairway, normally closed to the public, are open for viewing on Saturday mornings at 11:00 am with a free San Francisco City Guides tour.

The view

The tower, which stands atop Telegraph Hill in San Francisco's Pioneer Park, offers fantastic views of San Francisco including the Golden Gate Bridge, the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park ("Aquatic Park"), Alcatraz Island, Pier 39, Angel Island, Treasure Island, the Bay Bridge, [[Russian Hill, San Francisco, California|Russian Hill], the Financial District, Lombard Street, and Nob Hill.

Parking

Due to the extreme topography, the parking lot at the top of the hill is only accessible by one road, Telegraph Hill Boulevard. Because Coit Tower is such a popular tourist attraction, at peak times, the street can be backed up a third or more of the way down the hill, and the wait to get to the top can reach 40 minutes or more. This prompts many drivers to make illegal U-turns, block resident access, and delay the 39-Coit bus. For these reasons, the San Francisco Department of Parking and Traffic is considering eliminating public parking at the top of the hill and promoting public transportation alternatives from more accessible locations, though no changes have yet been made.

A system of wooden and concrete stairs and footpaths lead to the top of the hill from various directions, making a steep but direct climb possible.

Telegraph Hill Boulevard connects with Lombard Street, another popular tourist attraction.