You’re standing at the top of Telegraph Hill, wind whipping off the Bay, and you've just climbed out of a car or finished the grueling stairs. Most people are looking at the view. And honestly, it’s a killer view. But the real drama isn't the Golden Gate Bridge or the Transamerica Pyramid. It’s inside the concrete base of that fluted column. The San Francisco Coit Tower murals are basically a giant, colorful, socialist-leaning middle finger to the status quo of 1934, and it is a miracle they weren't scrubbed off the walls decades ago.
Lillie Hitchcock Coit left the money to "beautify" the city. She was a character—chased fire engines, smoked cigars, gambled with the best of them. But I doubt she expected her legacy to include frescoes of angry workers, Karl Marx references, and a literal robbery in progress.
When you walk in, the colors hit you first. They are vibrant. Earthy. They don't look like they’re nearly a century old, thanks to a massive restoration effort back in 2014. These aren't just pretty pictures of California; they are a snapshot of a city on the edge of a nervous breakdown.
The Politics Behind the Paint
To understand why these murals matter, you have to remember what was happening outside the tower in 1934. The Great Depression was crushing everyone. Down at the docks, the Big Strike was brewing. Longshoremen were fighting for their lives. The artists who got the commission for the tower—about 25 of them, plus their assistants—were mostly left-leaning. Actually, "left-leaning" is an understatement. Many were card-carrying radicals.
They were part of the Public Works of Art Project (PWAP). This was the first federal program to support the arts, a sort of trial run for the WPA. They were paid about $25 to $45 a week. That sounds like peanuts, but in 1934, it kept you fed.
The artists didn't just paint "nice" things. They painted the truth. Or at least, their version of it. Take Bernard Zakheim’s Library mural. Look closely at the titles of the books on the shelves. You’ll see names like Marx and Hegel. There’s a guy reaching for a copy of Das Kapital. In the 1930s, this was basically like putting a giant neon sign that said "Revolution" in a public building.
The press lost their minds. The San Francisco Chronicle and other papers started calling the work "Red Propaganda." The tower was actually locked for months while the city argued over whether to destroy the art. They even whitewashed a hammer and sickle symbol out of one of the murals before the public was allowed in.
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A Walk Through the Scenes
If you spend more than five minutes looking at the walls, you start to notice the weird, gritty details that make the San Francisco Coit Tower murals so much better than your average museum exhibit.
In City Life by Victor Arnautoff, there's a scene of a street corner. It looks normal at first. But then you see a man being robbed at gunpoint in the bottom left. Nobody in the mural is helping him. People are just walking by, staring at their feet. It’s a cynical, honest look at urban apathy that feels surprisingly modern.
Then there's the Banking and Law section. The lawyers look stiff and cold. The bankers are counting money while the rest of the world struggles. It’s not subtle. It wasn't meant to be.
Why Fresco?
The artists used the buon fresco technique. This isn't just slapping paint on a wall. You apply pigments directly onto wet plaster. As the plaster dries, a chemical reaction occurs, and the paint becomes part of the wall itself. It’s permanent.
This is why the colors have that specific depth. You can't just scrape it off. If the city wanted to get rid of the "commie art," they had to destroy the walls. Thankfully, they didn't.
The Second Floor Mystery
Most people only see the ground floor. If you want to see the rest, you usually have to book a specific tour. The stairs and the second floor are covered in more murals, focusing on things like outdoor life and sports. They are a bit lighter in tone but no less impressive.
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The mural Home Life by Jane Berlandina is different. She used egg tempera instead of fresco. It’s softer, more intimate. It shows people playing bridge and listening to the radio. It reminds you that despite the strikes and the political turmoil, people were still just trying to live their lives.
What Most People Get Wrong About Coit Tower
There is a persistent myth that Coit Tower was designed to look like a fire hose nozzle because Lillie Coit loved the fire department.
It’s a great story. It’s also totally fake.
The architects, Arthur Brown Jr. and Henry Howard, flatly denied it. The shape is just a classic fluted column. It’s Art Deco. But the myth persists because it fits the "Firebelle Lil" narrative so well.
Another misconception is that the murals were a unified project with a single message. In reality, it was a mess. You had two dozen artists with different styles and different levels of radicalism all shoved into one space. Some sections are incredibly detailed and social-realist, while others lean toward a more stylized, almost cartoonish look. The tension between the styles is what makes the interior feel so alive.
How to Actually See the Murals
If you just show up, you’ll see the main lobby. It’s free. It’s great. But you’re missing half the story.
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- Book the Mural Tour: San Francisco Recreation and Parks offers guided tours. Do it. They take you into the back hallways and up the stairs where the public isn't usually allowed. You’ll see the "unseen" murals and get the gossip on which artists hated each other.
- Check the Light: The tower is concrete and the windows are small. Go on a sunny day if you can, though the internal LED lighting has improved things significantly since the 2014 renovation.
- Look for the "Easter Eggs": Look for the newspapers the people are reading in the murals. The headlines are real. They refer to the actual events of 1934, including the destruction of Diego Rivera’s mural in New York, which was a huge deal for these artists.
The Lasting Legacy of the San Francisco Coit Tower Murals
The San Francisco Coit Tower murals survived the "Red Scare" of the 30s, the neglect of the 70s, and the earthquakes. They stand as one of the most significant collections of Depression-era art in the United States.
They aren't just decorations. They are a loud, messy, controversial conversation about what America was and what it could be. They represent a moment when the government decided that artists were workers and that their perspective on society—no matter how uncomfortable—was worth preserving in stone and plaster.
When you leave, walk down the Filbert Steps. You’ll pass through the "jungle" of Telegraph Hill, past the wild parrots and the hidden gardens. You’ll realize that the grit you saw on the walls inside is exactly what built the city outside.
To get the most out of your visit, start by checking the official SF Rec and Parks website for tour times, as they change seasonally. Bring a pair of binoculars—some of the best details are high up near the ceiling or tucked away in the corners of the crowded street scenes. Finally, take the time to read the artist plaques. Many of these individuals, like Maxine Albro and Ray Bertrand, were titans of the California art scene who deserve more than a passing glance.
Actionable Insights for Your Visit:
- Arrive Early: The tower gets crowded by 11:00 AM. If you want to photograph the murals without twenty other tourists in your shot, be there when the doors open.
- Public Transit is Your Friend: Parking at the top of Telegraph Hill is a nightmare. Take the 39 Coit bus from Washington Square Park. It saves you the stress and the ticket.
- Combine with a Hike: Don't just take the elevator up and leave. Walk the Greenwich or Filbert Steps. It gives you the physical context of how isolated and prominent this hill was back in the 30s.
- Support the Preservation: The murals require constant climate control and monitoring. Small donations at the gift shop actually go toward the upkeep of the fresco surfaces.