recreation commission at the time that said no, we need to do something more substancive, more significant and they decided to reach out got a that built the city hall and the opera house in that great beaux-arts style. for those of you visiting, come down 8:30 to 5:30 monday through friday to city hall and enjoy one of the most remarkable civic institutions anywhere in the united states. it was done by arthur brown. designed by arthur brown, who came up with this concept. people thought for years that this, and i kid you not, and i know the chief will talk a bit more about some of the legacy and the hysterics and a lot of the rumors about what this was purported to be designed on behalf but i ll leave that and no, it s not what you were thinking. that is shameful, really. just not right. but the fact was there were a lot of rumors about this, including the rumors that it was filled, i kid you not, this is a true story, and if san francisco, all of you that love those san f
and busy world. i never tire of treking up here with family and friends. but there is not doctor an extra attraction today preferred parking. a first for this coit and i m a native. the coit family owes its presence in san francisco to two tall, distinguished yankees. first came my great-great uncle howard coit, an enterprising man in the still young state of california. a member of the san francisco stock exchange in the 18 70 s and 1880 s, he met and married lily hitchcock, that lovely lady. a century after howard coiment married lily hitchcock, my father moved here with huts wife, barbara wheeler, from dallas to san francisco. like his great-uncle, my father also was drown bit promise of business opportunity here. my parents nurtured the family s links to this great landmark, becoming mascots of sorts to the telegraph hill dwellers, attending the coit 50th anniversary in 1983 and the rededication of pioneer park in 2001. my father would be here talking to you today but h
through friday to city hall and enjoy one of the most remarkable civic institutions anywhere in the united states. it was done by arthur brown. designed by arthur brown, who came up with this concept. people thought for years that this, and i kid you not, and i know the chief will talk a bit more about some of the legacy and the hysterics and a lot of the rumors about what this was purported to be designed on behalf but i ll leave that and no, it s not what you were thinking. that is shameful, really. just not right. but the fact was there were a lot of rumors about this, including the rumors that it was filled, i kid you not, this is a true story, and if san francisco, all of you that love those san francisco stories will probably believe it, they thought it was filled with tomato sauce. it was a big part of the rumor and folklore around coit tower and that it had secret pipes this is a true story secret pipes that would be pumped into all the restaurants in the north
i d like to welcome everybody here today, october 25, for the commemoration of the 75th anniversary of coit tower. [applause] to begin our production today, the san francisco fire department is going to perform an official ladder-raising ceremony. to explain specifically what the activities are is retired captain jack mccloskey. thank you very much. this ladder s been in use in the san francisco fire department for many years, predating area ladders. this particular one is built in 1925 by our central shops and they do a fantastic job out there. the foreman of this ladder crew is larry mcdonald with the american flag on his back. as the ladder goes up it weighs 550 pounds, takes 10 people with the ropes and can reach a height of six stories the to sing the national anthem we are very honored to have andrew bidlock, an adler fellow from the san francisco opera. orgse say can you see by the dawn s early light what so proudly we hailed at the twilight s last gleaming
including the rumors that it was filled, i kid you not, this is a true story, and if san francisco, all of you that love those san francisco stories will probably believe it, they thought it was filled with tomato sauce. it was a big part of the rumor and folklore around coit tower and that it had secret pipes this is a true story secret pipes that would be pumped into all the restaurants in the north beach area. that s not true? that s not true. see, the italian speak ve of the house is speaker of the house is shocked to hear that may not be true. but it s again part of that narrative of this great city that makes us very proud to be members of the community and it s in that spirtd, the spirit of lily coit, the spirit in which she contributed so much of her life s work to give us this remarkable symbol of the passion and the love she had for our city that makes our city so special and so great. happy 75th anniversary and thank you all very much for being out here