COIT TOWER

Description

Essentials about Coit Tower in brief

Due to its hilly location, San Francisco has many good viewpoints. But the best one in the city center is definitely the 64 meter high Coit Tower on Telegraph Hill. From Coit Tower you have a magnificent 360-degree panoramic view of large parts of the city and the San Francisco Bay. To the north, you can see Fisherman’s Wharf and Pier 39, as well as Alcatraz and Angel Island in the bay. To the east, the bay opens up with Treasure Island and Yerba Buena Island and you have a great view of the Bay Bridge. To the south are the skyscrapers of the Financial District, the Ferry Building, Chinatown and Nob Hill. And to the west you look at Russian Hill and Lombard Street and the Golden Gate Bridge appears in the background.

The history of Coit Tower

The history of Coit Tower is quite unusual historically and is associated with a young woman. Lillie Hitchcock Coit was a socialite in San Francisco in the late 19th century who was both wealthy and eccentric. Not only did she dress in men’s clothes to gain entrance to the men-only gambling casinos, but she was also an ardent fan of the fire department. Prior to 1866, there was no municipal fire department in San Francisco, so the fires that frequently broke out in the city’s wooden houses were put out by volunteer fire departments. At age 15, she helped extinguish a fire on Telegraph Hill, becoming the mascot for Engine Company No. 5 of the volunteer fire department. In later years, Lillie Coit continued to volunteer for the fire department.

After her death in 1929, she bequeathed $118,000 to San Francisco for the beautification of the city. The money was used to erect two monuments: A sculpture honoring the firefighters and Coit Tower, completed in 1933. The concrete tower was designed by Arthur Brown Jr. who also designed San Francisco’s beautiful City Hall. The legend that Coit Tower was built to honor firefighters is only partially true. It was intended to enhance the beauty of the city, as desired by Lillie Coit, in which visitors could enjoy a magnificent panorama of San Francisco from the observation tower. Some visitors think that the shape of the tower resembles the end of a fire hose. However, this was never intended by the architect.

The interior of Coit Tower

The interior of the cylindrical tower is decorated with a series of murals, most of which depict life in the USA during the Great Depression. Against this backdrop, many of the paintings are critical of society and capitalism. Some of the murals caused controversy at the time because they were considered too left-wing.

Getting to Coit Tower

By the way, those who are sporty can make their way to Coit Tower on foot via the charming stairs of Greenwich Steps or Filbert Steps. More comfortable people can also take the car or the bus.