Coit Tower

I have to admit that I was kind of anxious about our day trip into San Francisco.  There's just so much traffic and I worried about where we would park to see the various things I had on my list.  Well, in general, it went very well and, luckily, Ron is a superb parallel parker.

Our first stop was Coit Tower, perched high atop Telegraph Hill.  I had read that the small parking lot is always full, so we decided to park close to the base of the hill and take the Filbert Steps.  Ron found a metered place not far from the steps. We deposited quite a few of our quarters and we were off.  (I think it was 7 minutes for a quarter.)

The steps (this is just the beginning of them) climbed right up the side of the hill, past houses where the residents must be in terrific shape.

We admired some beautifully landscaped yards.

Check out these roses.

I thought this painted wall was cute.

But I guess somebody didn't agree.

Built during the Great Depression in 1933, with money donated by Lillie Hitchcock Coit, the 210-foot tower resembles a fire hose nozzle.

Ms. Coit had a great affinity for the fire department and seems to have been an enthusiastic supporter.

Although she financed the tower, the fantastic murals inside were paid for with federal funds through the Public Works of Art Project, part of FDR's New Deal.  Twenty-five artists were paid about $1 per hour and, in just six months, created murals on 3,691 square feet of the tower's interior walls.

The theme of the murals is Life in California and each artist brought his or her own ideas and perspective to the project.  (There were 21 men and 4 women.)  I really like this 'Library' one.

This 'Around Town' one, had some disturbing aspects.

Especially the man being held up at gunpoint.

We could have spent all day just looking at the murals, but we paid our $5 (senior rate) and took the elevator to the top.  As you can see, it was a foggy morning, but isn't it always?

The 360-degree views are amazing.  There's Alcatraz in the distance.

I'm not sure why Christopher Columbus is in front of the tower.  It seems that a statue of a fireman would be more meaningful.

Then it was back to the car - a total of  442 steps from the base of the tower to street level. We counted on the way down.  Now that I read the AAA book a little more carefully, I think we should have taken the slightly less difficult Greenwich Steps up and the Filbert Steps down.  I would say, "Next time," but there's not going to be a next time.