Mount Davidson, San Francisco, California

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The cross atop Mt. Davidson

Mount Davidson is the highest natural point in San Francisco, California, with an elevation of 925 feet.^[1] It is located near the center of the city, south of Twin Peaks and Portola Boulevard and to the west of Diamond Heights and Glen Park. It dominates the southeastern view from most of major artery Portola Blvd.

Mt. Davidson's most notable feature, aside from its height, is the 103-foot concrete cross situated at the peak of the hill. It is the site of a yearly prayer service, performed on Easter, when the cross is illuminated.

Mount Davidson Park tops the hill, located between Myra Way to the east, Dalewood Way to the southwest and Juanita Way to the north. Public transportation to the park is provided by the 36 Teresita Muni line, which stops at the Dalewood Way & Myra Way entrance to the park.

The neighborhoods around Mount Davidson Park may also be called Mount Davidson, although they are also known as Miraloma Park, to the east, and Sherwood Forest, to the southwest. City College of San Francisco and Archbishop Riordan High School are located just south of the peak.

1 History
2 See also
3 References
4 External links

[edit] History

Adolph Sutro purchased the land in 1881. Under his ownership, what was then called "Blue Mountain" was renamed "Mount Davidson," for George Davidson, a charter member of the Sierra Club. In 1911, Sutro's heirs sold this land, along with much of the land immediately north and south of Mt Davidson, to his appraiser, A. S. Baldwin. Baldwin begins plans for development of Forest Hills, St. Francis Wood, Westwood Park, Balboa Terrace, and Monterey Heights.

The first temporary cross was 40 feet high, and erected in 1923 for a service led by Dean J. Wilmer Gresham of Grace Cathedral. A second 87-foot high cross was built in 1924 and burned down in 1925. In 1929 a 75-foot high wood and stucco cross with lighting was built. This same year 20 acres at the top of Mt. Davidson was purchased by the city of San Francisco for use as a park with funds donated by the Mt. Davidson Conservation Committee. The third cross was burnt down by arsonists in 1931. In 1933 Mayor Angelo Rossi, former Mayor "Sunny Jim" James Rolph, the Easter Sunrise Service Committee, and the Native Sons and Daughters of the Golden West pledged to construct a permanent cross to commemorate the early California pioneers. The 103-foot high concrete and steel cross was completed the next year with President Franklin D. Roosevelt lighting the cross via telegraph on March 25, 1934 — one week before Easter. Sunrise services are held at the cross every Easter and were broadcast nation-wide by CBS from 1940s through the 1970s.

The cross itself has been the subject of much debate among the residents of San Francisco as they have tried to weigh its obvious religious status against its position as a historic landmark. In 1991 the American Civil Liberties Union, American Jewish Congress, and Americans United for Separation of Church and State sued the city over its ownership of the cross. After a long legal battle, the City auctioned 0.38 acres of land, including the cross, to the highest bidder in 1997. The cross was sold to the Council of Armenian-American Organizations of Northern California, and has since served as a memorial of the 1915 Armenian genocide.