Today we have the letter “C” in our A to Z excursion and Coit Tower fits the bill. This is another one of those places that I have not explored very well, only having been here twice, once at night when the tower was closed and once during the day for a quick drive by.
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Pretty close to the drawing isn’t it?
In fact, I didn’t even know until reading about it for this post that you can go inside the tower and see some beautiful murals around the base, which is free to all visitors. Unfortunately, right now it is still closed because of Covid (stupid Covid) but you could also take guided tours when it is open and see the view through the observation deck at the top for a minimal charge.
The tower sits atop Telegraph Hill and some parking is available or you can park at the bottom and walk up the winding path. The views are spectacular, offering a 360 degree vision of the city and the surrounding counties. We just drove by on the day that I took these pictures and unfortunately I didn’t get any of the view from here. Another reason to go back for sure.
Coit Tower was built between 1932 and 1933 and named for Lillie Hitchcock Coit who was the benefactress of the construction. Lillie was an eccentric woman and apparently had a love of firefighters so this tower is dedicated to the volunteer firefighters who died fighting fires in San Francisco. Some think the tower resembles the nozzle on the end of a firehose. Occasionally the city changes the colors of the lights in tribute to different things, such as all orange for when the Giants were winning the World Series or rainbow colors for LGBTQ pride, red, white and blue for 4th of July, red and green at Christmas, etc.
Another “C” is Cobbs Comedy Club. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen the television program “Cash Cab” but it used to be a favorite of ours and when I saw that Ben Bailey, the star of the show, was coming to San Francisco I had to get us tickets. We had never been to Cobbs Comedy Club before but the tickets were very reasonable and we ended up having such a good time that when Mr. Bailey came around again later in the year we went and saw the show again! This time he was standing outside afterward and I was able to get a picture of him with my husband. He is very tall! My hubby is 6 feet. We got his autograph on a DVD too!
Cobbs has been around since 1982 although it was in a different part of the city for a while. A fire caused them to move to their current location on Columbus Avenue. The venue is small, only 400 seats, and it is first come first served so we got there early enough to get good seats all three times. It is a short walk from a parking garage if you can’t find parking in the blocks surrounding it. The prices were very reasonable (at least they were when we went) and they do serve food if you want.
We also saw Rosanne Barr there. She was pretty funny too. Unfortunately, one of the policies is no picture taking so the shots I got were on the sly and not very good. Still, they are enough for me to remember the evening and make some scrapbook pages.
There are a few other “C” things I could have described like Crissy Field and Cable Cars but I made a “rule” for myself that I wouldn’t just take pictures from the internet for the things I was writing about. I mean anyone can Google Cable Cars and come up with some information. I want to be able to talk about the experiences I had and show you what it looked like from my perspective. So if you wanted Cable Cars or Crissy Field, I’m sorry about that.
Okay, that’s all I have. Hope you come back tomorrow for “D.”
Disclaimer notice. The coloring book pages are from the inserts the San Francisco Chronicle put out and I mentioned them in my theme reveal so you can go to that to get the info about the artists if you are interested. I did the coloring. The pictures were taken by me. Thanks to our daughter for driving me around to take pictures for this.
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Hi, Janet!
ReplyDeleteStupid CODIV is right, dear friend! Think of all the sporting events, cultural events and educational events that have been scaled back, postponed or canceled due to the ongoing outbreak. If we ever get "normal" back, it will seem extraordinary.
I know Mrs. Shady and I would enjoy the panoramic view from Coit Tower and, art lovers that we are, gazing at the murals around the base. (Maybe someday... one day...) It was interesting to learn who funded the tower's construction and about its use of various colors of lights depending on the occasion. I'm starting to realize that San Francisco must look spectacular at night.
I also enjoyed learning about Cobbs Comedy Club. I never heard of Cash Cab or Ben Bailey. He does look like a giant - 6 foot 8" perhaps... or 6 foot 9. I'm glad you had a chance to catch his shows at the Comedy Club and pose with him afterward.
I get that you could cover several places of interest with most letters of the alphabet. I think you are wise to cover only one or two per post. Just think, you could save the others on a list and do the same type of Challenge next year using the landmarks you didn't get to this year.
Happy Easter to you, your hubby, your daughters and my buddy Benny, dear friend Janet!
Interesting that you mention sports, we just got tickets to see our Giants next weekend. They have very limited seating and lots of restrictions but I'm sure it will be fun. Cash Cab was a game show where Ben would pick up people on the streets of New York and they would have to answer questions as he drove them to their destination. The more questions they answered right the more money they won. If they answered 3 questions wrong he would stop the cab and they'd have to get out even if they weren't where they wanted to go yet. It was pretty cool, especially because they didn't know they were getting in a special cab until they were already sitting in it.
DeleteDoing another A to Z on strictly San Francisco might be difficult but if I included all of Northern California maybe. Thanks for stopping by my friend. The kids (we have a son too) will all be here on Sunday as we are combining Easter with my husband's birthday. Hope you have a good Easter as well! No A to Z tomorrow!
I'm quite enjoying this series, Janet. And I think it's great you're focusing on covering your own experiences. I love those personal peeks.
ReplyDeleteThanks Deborah. I really didn't want it to be just something anyone could look up online, plus, I am having so much fun going to these places!
DeleteMan, he is tall...I had no idea he was that tall. It sounds like you had a great time and I’m glad you were bad girl and got a picture of Roseanne. I like that tower and it was famous for a scene in Dirty Harry with Clint Eastwood.
ReplyDeleteYes! I have to remember to include those movie references. I keep forgetting!
DeleteA huge building, your drawing is beautiful, and very close to the reality. Thanks for sharing your personal photos, and not from internet ;)
ReplyDeleteQuilting Patchwork & Appliqué
Thanks Frederique. I am having a great time exploring the city.
DeleteI think it would definitely be worth booking to see inside and from the top of that tower. Always interesting to hear about places etc from a personal viewpoint/experience. Hope you're enjoying the Easter weekend.
ReplyDeleteThanks Wendy. A little more work but definitely worth it for me!
DeleteWhen we returned to SF for a visit in 2009, we walked up the hill to Coit Tower, and then went up all the stairs in the tower to the observation deck. My legs were soooo tired after all that. Beautiful view, though, so it was worth it.
ReplyDeleteI thought they had an elevator to get to the top? Definitely a workout there. I'm going to have to try and get there again to see the murals.
DeleteOh, you sneaky girl (the only kind for me - lol), Janet, snapping forbidden photos in Cobbs'
ReplyDeleteIf you haven’t already, I invite you to check out my Looney Tunes Cecil Turtle Art Sketch. Happy A2Zing, my friend!
You know Cathy, I'm not always a rule breaker but really, all I want is a little picture or two for my scrapbook!
DeleteNeat!
ReplyDeleteIt was fun!
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