 Nothing
can be more surprising than entering Coit Tower! The tower, perched
atop Telegraph Hill, affords some of the most magnificent views the city
has to offer. Built as a memorial to the firefighters of San Francisco
by Lillie Hitchcock Coit in 1933, the tower is also know for it's murals,
created by WPA artists in the late 30's and 40's. Legend has it that during
the early days of the Gold Rush, Lillie deserted her own wedding and chased
down the street after her favorite fire engine, Knickerbocker No. 5, in
her bridal gown and veil. Ms. Coit left the city $125,000 when she
died in 1929 at the age of 86, to "expend in an appropriate manner … to
the beauty of San Francisco."
The walls inside the lobby
are covered in 19 Depression-era murals in the style of Diego Rivera, commissioned
by the U.S. government as a part of its Public Works of Art project. The
25 painters, some of whom were fresh from art school while others were
out-of-work professional fine artists, were paid $38 a week to create the
murals.
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