The State - News from April 1, 1985

A designer has offered to give Coit Tower, one of San Francisco’s most famous landmarks, a free paint job. Foster Meagher, who lived in San Francisco during the 1970s but now lives in Los Angeles, made the offer to city officials. But Jane Winslow, president of the Telegraph Hill Dwellers, said the tower should stay the same gray it has always been. “We were surprised and a little appalled that anyone would even think of changing the color of Coit Tower,” Winslow said. “Some things are proper for a landmark and some are not. How would we like the Golden Gate Bridge if it was blue? Some things don’t need to be changed.” Meagher believes the venerable tower should be painted with a “soft palette” of grays, mauves, eucalyptus green and possibly a splash of raspberry trim in the arches at the top. It would cost about $60,000 and a painting manufacturers’ association Meagher represents has offered to foot the bill.