Coit Tower is a landmark that sits atop Telegraph Hill in the north-east corner of San Francisco. I'd always been curious about visiting it, but like many people I never got around to exploring much of what was in my own backyard; well, if you consider your backyard to be the major city within 100km. I drove down to S.F. one afternoon to meet up with my step-dad for dinner. I parked near the restaurant, got out, and saw Coit Tower. Lucky for me I had an extra hour and my camera bag in the trunk.
Coit Tower, day and night...
Also on Telegraph Hill is a monument to Christopher Columbus, you know, that guy who "discovered" America. In the second photo he's looking past the American flag at Angel Island... with bird crap on his head.
I wanted to talk with Christopher Columbus about the Zuiderdam cruiseship leaving port. But I'm sure he would have said that he'd already discovered and claimed the ship when it came in. Just look at all those people on the top deck...
Up inside the tower you can enjoy the full panoramic view. Through the windows (which are nice because it is very windy) is the S.F. Financial District, with the Transamerica Pyramid center. Notice the coins littering the windowframe--WTF? What country's people like to go to the top of towers and try to drop coins? Oh wait, dropping things out the windows of tall structures was big fun when I was a kid. Heck, David Letterman still does it.
Coit Tower might not be a good place to visit on a rainy day.
Looking across to Russian Hill, with Fisherman's Wharf (tourist trap) to the right. In the distance is the Golden Gate Bridge connecting over to the Marin Headlands.
Looking in a little closer on Russian Hill, on the left is the over-touristed crooked section of Lombard Street, and one block over to the right is my step-father's office in one of those tall buildings on Chestnut Street. The visible area behind that is the Marina District.
If you look past the Embarcadero you'll see the western span of the Bay Bridge connecting through Yerba Buena Island.
Did you notice the container ship next to Yerba Buena Island in the last photo? It's the Hanjin Philadelphia going to the Port of Oakland. Looks half empty. Guess they're here to collect a bunch of booty to bring back to Asia.
While my friends in Korea were sitting around and "enjoying" songpyeon this past Chuseok holiday, I was at Joe Dimaggio's Italian Chophouse just off the bottom left corner here of Washington Square in North Beach. I enjoyed traditional American specialties like carpaccio, a tiger prawn cocktail, and a ribeye steak big enough to feed an extended Korean family (or me for more than two meals).
To the north of Washington Square is the Saints Peter and Paul Church. While Joe DiMaggio had his funeral at this church in 1999, the restaurant bearing his name is less than a year old. Cheers to post-mortem success!
The shots of the Tower at night and the coins on the window ledge are prize winners - totally excellent. You do good, Maxwell.
Great Photos..I love the pic of Washington Square. Keep up the good work. T
Wow, I really like the second photo (the Tower at night).
The tower at night was one of my favorites too, although it's not the sharpest picture since I was using a mini-tripod setup on the trunk of somebody's big 70's American car. And I'd split a bottle of wine at dinner.
My personal favorite is the sky shot from inside the tower.