Built in 1933, Coit Tower quickly became not only the major landmark of Telegraph Hill, but one of the city’s most enduring symbols, and one of the buildings most likely to be oohed and ahhed over as ferries approach the city’s waterfront. Ascending the 210-foot column yields some of the best panoramic views of San Francisco. The interior features striking murals of California life by a couple dozen artists, many of whom taught or studied at the nearby California School of Fine Arts (later the San Francisco Art Institute). These were commissioned by the Public Works of Art Project, designed to give artists work as part of the New Deal during the depths of the Great Depression.