The Styrous® Viewfinder: Vittorio Colbertaldo

June 27, 2020

Last week the iconic 2 ton statue of Christopher Columbus by sculptor Vittorio Colbertaldo was removed from the pedestal where it has stood in front of Coit Tower at the top of Telegraph Hill in San Francisco.

photos by Styrous®

When I was a kid I was absolutely positive, no question at all, it was a statue of my hero, Superman (link below).

Over the years the statue had been vandalized many times but in the week previous to its removal it had been defaced, no pun intended, three times.

According to protestors, it was doused in red paint, symbolizing spilt blood, as an act of protest against the glorification of a man responsible for ushering in an era of exploitation and slaughter of Indigenous peoples by European colonizers.

The restoration cost about $70,000.

There was a flyer circulating on social media that encouraged people to march to Coit Tower to take it down and throw it into the bay, so, the city decided to remove it for the public's safety. It is one of many statues around the country to be removed or destroyed due to racial issues (links below).

Goodbye, Columbus!

Viewfinder link:

Coit Tower @ 80 & Superman

Net links:

CNN News ~ Statues of Christopher Columbus are being dismounted

LA Times ~ Christopher Columbus statue removed in San Francisco

SF Chronicle ~ San Francisco knocks Columbus off his pedestal
SF Examiner ~ Columbus statue removed from Coit Tower site

YouTube links:

ABC NEWS ~ Call to remove controversial statue in San Francisco

Associated Press ~ Columbus statue vandalized in San Francisco
BBC News ~ Confederate and Columbus statues toppled by US protesters

CBS News ~ Christopher Columbus statue vandalized in San Francisco
Euronews ~ SF Columbus statue vandalised on namesake US holiday

KPIX ~ Coit Tower Columbus Statue Defaced During Italian Heritage Parade
NY Times ~ Reconsidering the Past, One Statue at a Time
Misc. news links ~ Columbus around the country

Styrous® ~ Saturday, June 27, 2020

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October 8, 2013

Coit Tower @ 80

photo by Styrous®

Coit Tower turned 80 today

When I was a little kid my father used to take me to Pioneer Park atop Telegraph Hill in San Francisco to see Coit Tower. There is a statue of Columbus by Vittorio Colbertaldo in front but nothing my father could say would convince me that it was NOT a statue of Superman (well, it does have a cape). Back then it was my favorite part of visiting the building.

statue of Columbus by Vittorio Colbertaldo
photos by Styrous®

Lillie Hitchcock was the reason behind the extraordinary building; she left money to San Francisco for beautification of the city. As she was notorious as a fire chaser and loved firemen, it was decided to build a memorial for the city's firefighters. She was quite a character, apparently, she smoked cigars and dressed like a man so she could get into the casinos where only men were allowed.

The tower was built in 1933; it was designed by architects Arthur Brown, Jr., who also designed Sproul Hall and the Bancroft Library in Berkeley, and Henry Howard. The lobby is filled with beautiful frescos executed under the auspices of the Public Works of Art Project. The artists were mainly faculty and students of the California School of Fine Arts (CSFA), including Maxine Albro, Victor Arnautoff, Ray Bertrand, Rinaldo Cuneo, Mallette Harold Dean, Clifford Wight, Edith Hamlin, George Harris, Otis Oldfield, Suzanne Scheuer, Hebe Daum and Frede Vidar. The frescos are the gems of the building and reflect the socialist ideals of the era.

photos by Styrous®