Coit Tower rises 210 feet above Telegraph Hill in San Francisco’s Pioneer Park as an Art Deco observation tower built in 1932–1933 from Lillie Hitchcock Coit’s bequest to beautify the city. Designed by Arthur Brown Jr. and Henry Temple Howard and dedicated on October 8, 1933, it stands on a hill long used for signaling arriving ships. Though often linked to firefighters because of Coit’s devotion to them, the tower was not built as their memorial. Its greatest distinction is the 1933–1934 New Deal mural cycle by twenty-two artists, whose socially charged scenes of California life sparked controversy but endured as a major public art achievement.

Photo: Wikipedia · Public domain

Photo: Wikipedia · Public domain

Photo: Wikipedia · Public domain

Photo: Wikipedia · Public domain

Photo: Wikipedia · Public domain

San Francisco, California · USA