Coit Tower

Last Friday night the boys and I went to Coit Tower with the family pass we scored at the library earlier in the day.  Coit tower is up the street from us and we have a lovely view of it from out bathroom window.  We are located halfway up Russian Hill and Coit Tower is atop Telegraph Hill so the walk is a short one, but it is up hill both ways.  We set with some baked goods from Victoria Pastry Co which was kind enough to relocate to our street this week.  With cake, brownies and a chocolate eclair in hand we began the hike up hill.

Coit Tower

Coit Tower is a well known San Francisco landmark.  Built in 1933 with funds donated by Lillie Hitchcock Coit, it is thought to represent a giant fire nozzle.  According to the SF Rec and Park website, however, this is a myth.  Coit donated a substantial sum to the city upon her death in 1929 "for the purpose of adding beauty to the city I always loved." The city decided to use the sum to build Coit Tower and a statue of the San Francisco Firefighters that is located in Washington Square.

Firefighter Statue in Washington Square

Coit Tower is 21 stories high and tickets can be purchased to ride the elevator to the top.  It is free to walk around the base of the tower inside and out.  In 1934, a group of artists commissioned by the Public Works of Art Projects painted amazing frescoes inside the tower on the ground floor.  The murals depict life in California during the Depression.  Scenes include people panning for gold, picking oranges and grapes, butchering pigs, and many nuances of city life.  They are amazing and there are so many small details that every time I go look at one I find something new.  At night, when the tower is locked, we walk around the base and look out at the beautiful city lights.  Friday night we had our family pass so we actually rode the elevator to the top.

View of Treasure Island from the top of Coit Tower

The top of the tower is a circular room with windows allowing viewers to look in all directions.  Considering the tower is 210 feet high and is on top of an already high hill the views are breath-taking. Visitors can look across the bay towards Oakland and Berkley then move to the next window grouping and see the fabulous Bay Bridge.  The next six windows have fabulous views of the downtown high rises.  Then to the west is the view of our lovely apartment as well as many, many other residential buildings.  Normally the next windows would show the Golden Gate Bridge and Sausalito, but last Friday night they were covered in fog.  We could barely make out Alcatraz Island.  The boys love finding all the buildings they recognize such as the Ferry Building, Pier 39, and the Transamerica Pyramid.  The Transamerica Pyramid is the tallest building in San Francisco, so the boys never call it by its name.  They simply holler out "I see the tallest building!"

View of the Bay Bridge from the top of Coit Tower

The boys were only impressed with the view for so long.  What captured their attention were the coins that tourists place on the window ledges.  People slip the coins through the gaps around the windows.  To the boys, however, it appeared to be magic.  The kept asking me, "How did those coins get there?" and I would respond by saying, "People throw them up there from the bottom of the tower."  They didn't buy that story, but they never did figure out how the coins got there.  We did have fun looking at the different coins and trying to guess which countries they came from.  We each picked our favorite coins and explained what we liked about it.  Then we headed back down the elevator and walked around the base of the tower.  

Nigel at Coit Tower

Basil at the top of the tower

Xaviar at the base of Coit Tower

Nigel's crazy pose deserves some crazy special effects  :)

Leaving Coit Tower is the fun part for the boys.  They get to run down the hill at top speed hollering the entire way.  Friday nights don't get much more fun than this!