SAN FRANCISCO — To really see The City, there is one place where you can get a true visual feel for San Francisco — the slender 210-foot Coit Tower.

Its observation deck offers a 360-degree view of The City from its vantage point atop Telegraph Hill.

The vastness and variety of the view is unmatched. Upper floors of Financial District skyscrapers are limited.

The views are almost as impressive from the base. 

Access to the ground floor where most of the murals are located is free.

But the cost to access the top is $10 for adults, $7 for those 62 and older, $7 for youth 12 to 17, $3 for kids 5 to 11, and free those under 4.

There is an elevator — if it is working. If not, it is 13 floors of stairs with 247 steps.

It’s a good way to work up an appetite or work off a North Beach Italian meal — or lunch at any restaurant you can find in San Francisco’s famous Italian neighborhood near the base of the hill where Coit Tower stands.

Even if you have to hoof it, the view panorama you can take in at one time at the top is worth it.

From the observation deck you can take in the Golden Gate and Bay Bridges, Fisherman’s Wharf, the changing skyline, and get a great feel for the entire city. 

You can’t beat it for a view of the “crookedest street on the world” — Lombard Street.

 That said, the small Plexiglass windows on the observation deck atop the art deco tower employing unpainted re-enforced concrete can be challenging especially for smartphones. 

I’ve seen great pictures taken from the top and I’ve seen so-and-so. 

That said, the vantage point from the observation deck and your ability to take in a 360-degree view without a lot of movement is a tad more inspiring.  

To be honest, what grabs my attention the most being a California history buff of sorts is not the views as much as the murals inside the base of Coit Tower. 

Twenty-seven muralists plus assistants were commissioned by the Public Works of Arts Project — the forerunner to the Works Progress Administration (WPA) — when the tower was built in 1933 at the height of the Great Depression. 

The murals reflect California life and strive at the time.

While you can meander around for the most part on your own at no charge, the $10 guided tour of the entire tower including all the murals is well worth it. 

The one I took about eight years ago was led by a guide well versed not just in the tower and its history but the story behind each mural and what they depict as well as the history of the 27 artists. 

Expect to spend about 40 minutes on the tour. 

The tours are available for groups of four people but not more than six. 

There is a $5 fee per person for a tour of only the second floor, which is the only way you can view those unless you take the $10 tour.

Tickets can be bought at Coit Tower up to one hour before closing time.

For those faint of heart that are politically correct the statue of Christopher Columbus at the tower’s base was removed in 2020 after repeated vandalism and protests.

The placement of the monument made sense, given it was overlooking The City’s famous Italian neighborhood — North Beach. 

It was also appropriate in a way that Columbus was overlooking the bay with a clear shot of Alcatraz. The rocky island that was once home to one of the nation’s most notorious federal prisons was once occupied by Native American Indians in a protest against government policies. 

It is a wonder The City hasn’t changed the name of Columbus Avenue.

Political correctness aside, it’s tough to separate the two — North Beach and visiting Coit Tower. 

That’s because it gives you the perfect excuse to try the varied dining options that include some of the best Mom and Pop Italian restaurants I’ve ever enjoyed.

Unless you catch San Francisco Muni Bus 39 to ride from Fisherman’s Wharf to Coit Tower, you are going to have a long wait to reach the top if you’re driving.

That is  due to a small parking lot and the fact street parking on the narrow and fairly steep streets leading up to the tower are restricted to residents only with aggressive — and expensive — enforcement by the San Francisco Police Department.

 I prefer walking to the top.

You can climb Telegraph Hill’s eastern slope via the Filbert Street stairs, which pass through the Grace Marchant Garden, or the Greenwich Street stairs.

 From Washington Square, where you can find 2-hour parking meters, it’s about a 20 minute hike via the Filbert Street steps. 

The views are a good excuse to take frequent breaks. Along the way you may take in the sound of — or even see — one of the many wild parrots that sometimes populate the hill. 

You can also take the steeper and longer Greenwich stairs with its 400 steps.

I’d be remiss not to point out this is San Francisco, so finding a parking space may be challenging in North Beach, but not nearly as challenging as at the tower’s base.

The art deco design will remind you of the Golden Gate Bridge that was built in the same era.

The simple fluted Coit Tower was created from a large bequest by Lillie Hitchcock Coit left upon her death in 1929 to add “beauty to the city” that she loved. 

The money was used to build the tower as well as erect a monument to the volunteer firefighters she admired greatly at nearby Washington Square.

Despite the public’s perception, the architects that designed the tower —Arthur Brown Jr. and Henry Howard — did not set out to make Coit Tower look like a fire hydrant.

They always firmly denied that it was the case.

Coit Tower is open May through October from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and from November through April from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Just a few steps away from Coit Tower is the Coit Tower Café. It offers hot and cold drinks, pastries, pannis, pizza by the slice and frozen yogurt. Food and drinks are not allowed in Coit Tower.

Telegraph , where you will find Coit Tower, takes its name from a semaphore telegraph erected on its summit in 1850 to alert residents to the arrival of ships. 

Pioneer Park, which surrounds Coit Tower, was established in 1876 on the former site of the telegraph station.

San Francisco — given that you are afforded a chance to visit it often given we live in the 209 — is best savored in small bites. 

Coit Tower combined with North Beach restaurants — all that hiking works up an appetite — and exploring the neighborhood is a savory morsel of The City.

You can also tie it into Fisherman’s Wharf or The City’s ultimate tourist trap — Pier 39.

Go to the San Francisco Parks and Recreation webpage at sfrecpark.org/facilities/facility/details/Coit-Tower-290 for more information.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com