Coit Tower

Vibe: Historic Art Deco | Heroic & Panoramic | Literary Hilltop Hub

Coit Tower stands as a 210-foot monument on Telegraph Hill, completed in 1933 using funds bequeathed by Lillie Hitchcock Coit to beautify the city she loved. Lillie was a legendary figure in San Francisco, known for her lifelong devotion to the city’s volunteer firefighters, and the tower’s Art Deco design is often said to resemble a fire hose nozzle in her honor. Beyond its striking silhouette, the tower’s base is home to a series of vibrant frescoes painted in 1934 as part of the Public Works of Art Project. These murals, created by 27 different artists, provide a fascinating and sometimes controversial window into the social and political life of Depression-era California.

The Coit Tower Poetry Club meets on the first Friday of every month, serving as the final stop of the vibrant North Beach First Friday Poetry Crawl. This gathering is a raw, community-focused tribute to San Francisco’s deep literary roots, specifically honoring “SF poetry legends” in an open-air setting.

Coit Tower hosts this monthly ritual on its back lawn, offering a unique “punk poetry” atmosphere that feels like a trip back in time.

• The Schedule: The reading typically begins at 9:00 PM and lasts until around 11:00 PM, concluding a night of literary events that start earlier in the evening at City Lights Bookstore.

• The Experience: Participants often read under the glow of flashlights or scattershot building lights; the vibe is described as “poetry for the sake of poetry,” featuring everything from readings from bullet journals to memory.

• Featured Work: Each month usually centers on a specific legendary poet—past readings have celebrated figures like Rosemary Manno, Jack Micheline, Lew Welch, and Aimé Césaire.

• Accessibility: The event is free and open to the public, with an open mic segment often following the featured readings. Attendees are encouraged to bring their “whole preposterous self” and perhaps a blanket for the lawn.