America's 'Third Most-Loved Building' Is A San Francisco Icon That's Free To Explore Under One Condition

San Francisco is arguably among the most photogenic cities in America. The famous steep streets rise and fall across its iconic hills, rewarding pedestrians with sweeping ocean and wildlife views of the city and the wider Bay Area. Dramatic topography and diverse architectural beauty makes San Francisco a haven for photographers, sightseers, and hikers off the 400-mile Bay Area Ridge Trail. 

One of the best vantage points is Coit Tower, an elegant Art Deco structure atop Pioneer Park in the city's Telegraph Hill neighborhood. Built in 1933, Coit Tower was funded by a bequest from Lillie Hitchcock Coit, a wealthy socialite and firefighting patron who wished to beautify the city she loved. Pedestrians can reach the base of Coit Tower via the Filbert Street Steps. You may feel a burn up its 385 steps, but you should be sufficiently distracted by the charming homes, pretty gardens, and famous wild parrots, which swoop past in flashes of green and red. The views here are great and only improve as you ascend.

Tickets to the Coit Tower's 360-degree viewing platform cost $10, but as long as you stick to the ground floor, you can still enjoy art, a gift shop, and top-notch views for free. Adorning the walls are evocative murals created in 1934 as part of the Work Progress Administration during the Great Depression. These frescoes depict agriculture, industry, and general urban scenes, offering a stylized yet grounded snapshot of the era's social and economic concerns. With natural beauty, historical significance, and artistic flair, it is little wonder that Coit Tower came in third place on Buildworld's list of the most-loved buildings in the United States.

In establishing America's most beloved buildings, Buildworld researched famous buildings across the nation and compiled a list of the leading candidates. Then, researchers ran the structures through X (formerly known as Twitter) with numerous keywords to gather public perception. Finally, the team employed the AI platform HuggingFace to analyze user opinion and create a positivity percentage for each building. For Coit Tower, 58.3% of posts were positive, just below the Empire State Building (63%) and Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater (65.1%) in Mill Run, Pennsylvania.

Coit Tower's charm lies not only in its leafy surroundings and stunning views but also in its intricate architectural details. Urban legend says that architect Arthur Brown, Jr., designed the 210-foot tower to resemble the nozzle of a firefighter's hose, reflecting the passion of Lillie Hitchcock Coit, who was an honorary member of the Knickerbocker Company No. 5. However, the venerable California architect denied this intention numerous times. The striking resemblance explains how this myth persists and adds an interesting, personal motif to the tower's proud Art Deco stature.

After exploring the tower and Pioneer Park, visitors can relax and recharge in the nearby North Beach neighborhood, known for Italian eateries such as Tony's Coal Fired Pizza just off Washington Square and the cozy 15 Romolo cocktail bar further south near Columbus Avenue. Alternatively, if you've got a flight out of San Francisco International, get ready for one of the best airports for food in America.