100th Anniversary 1906 earthquake and fire, Coit Tower

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 April 18th 2006 marked the 100th anniversary of the Great San Francisco Earthquake and Fire. On the eve of the anniversary and early on the morning at the moment that the earthquake had struck at 100 years before the movie was projected onto the face of the 210 foot Coit Tower. This project was a collaboration with David Mark, San Francisco Department of Recreation and Parks, and the Telegraph Hill Dwellers Association and the MIT Council for the Arts. Video recording was made available by the San Francisco Fire Department and the Boston Fire Academy. Map Images were provided by Schein and Schein Antique Maps.

At dusk on Monday April 17th until 5:30am on April 17th and again on the evening on April 18th (and July 4th 2006) movies were projected onto two sides of the tower. Large video projectors were positioned on rooftops to the south and west of the tower, providing 270 degrees of view around the towers perimeter for the movie which was visible from North Beach on Columbus Ave and from Pioneer Park.

Two 15 minute video sequences, look at contemporary drill responses in firefighting, juxtaposing images of historic and contemporary San Francisco onto Coit Tower, a monument dedicated to the firemen that fought to save San Francisco from being destroyed. Enacting the fire that devasted the city, the tower is alight with fire as firefighters scale the tower on ladders and cranes to combat the fire.