Coit Tower

What you need to know

Coit Tower rises 210 feet above Telegraph Hill, with panoramic views of San Francisco Bay and the city below. Lillie Hitchcock Coit died in 1929 and left $100,000 in her will for the beautification of San Francisco. The city used the bequest to build the Art Deco column on Telegraph Hill, completed in 1933.

The tower lobby and ground-floor murals are free. The elevator ride to the observation deck has a separate fee. On clear days the views stretch from the Golden Gate Bridge to the Bay Bridge, with Alcatraz, Angel Island, and the Marin Headlands in the foreground.

The murals on the ground and second floors were painted in 1934 by 25 artists (21 men and 4 women) under the Public Works of Art Project, a Depression-era relief program for unemployed artists. The unified theme was “Aspects of Life in California, 1934.” Bay Area muralists Ralph Stackpole and Bernard Zakheim led the commission, and the style echoes Diego Rivera. Some of the imagery (hammer and sickle symbols, depictions of labor unrest) drew accusations of Communist sympathies, and the tower was temporarily closed during the controversy.

To get to the tower, you can drive up to the small lot (often full), take the 39-Coit bus from Washington Square, or walk up the Filbert Steps or Greenwich Steps from the Embarcadero. The stairs climb through gardens, past cottages, and alongside the wild parrot flock that has colonized Telegraph Hill.

Early morning visits avoid the tour-bus crowds, which start arriving mid-morning. Sunset draws photographers. Foggy days limit visibility.

The surrounding Pioneer Park has benches and trees. Washington Square Park and the North Beach restaurants are a short walk down the hill.