Coit Tower, a North Beach landmark, reopened on May 14, 2014 after being closed to the public for six months of extensive renovation and restoration work. The ceremonial festivities began at 11:00 amidst an enthusiastic crowd of admirers and dignitaries. The ribbon cutting and ceremony was well attended and included remarks by city officials and families of the Coit Tower artists, Coit Tower advocates and fans.
Coit Tower on May 14, 2014. Photo by Catherine Accardi
Coit Tower on May 14, 2014. Photo by Catherine Accardi
The comprehensive, $1.7 million project included interior and exterior repairs, plumbing and mechanical system upgrades, new accessibility and education signage, and a full restoration of the murals, which had suffered water-damage from a leaking roof.
In 2012, the people of San Francisco took a monumental step to protect the city landmark Coit Tower and its beloved New Deal-era fresco murals. It was in June of 2012 that San Francisco voters approved a ballot measure that required The City to take action to protect Coit Tower and its famous fresco murals from falling into further decay and disarray.
Designed by the firm of Arthur Brown, Jr., architect of San Francisco’s City Hall, the elegant iconic landmark is named for Lillie Hitchcock Coit, a wealthy patron of the City’s firefighters. Coit died in 1929, leaving a bequest “for the purpose of adding to the beauty of the city I have always loved.” It was with that bequest that Coit Tower was realized.
The May 2014 reopening was a bit different than the initial grand opening back in the Fall of 1934. That occasion was delayed due to the perception, at the time, that some of the paintings portrayed controversial political items. Clifford Wight’s mural contained a hammer and sickle, which was later removed. Throughout 1934, twenty-five men and women worked for months to cover 3,691 square feet of the interior walls of Coit Tower with the first public works of art funded under the New Deal.
The vintage elevator within the fluted tower transports visitors to the top where they are greeted by 360 degree views. Fog and bay breezes never fail to delight tourists and residents alike as they gaze West past the Golden Gate, East to Mount Diablo, North to the Marin headlands, and South over the consummate urban fabric that is San Francisco.
Coit Tower
One Telegraph Hill Boulevard
Phone: (415) 249-0995
Website: http://sfrecpark.org/ destination/telegraph-hill-pioneer-park/coit-tower/
Catherine Accardi is a native San Franciscan, historian and local author of two books, “San Francisco’s North Beach & Telegraph Hill” and “Images of America-San Francisco Landmarks”. She can be contacted via email at caacat@comcast.net.
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