The Tower of Jewels was the one thing everyone remembered. It stood on the main Scott Street axis over the arch between the South Gardens and the Court of the Universe, 'the tallest object anywhere about' (Todd), overtopping every other building by 230 ft or more. From Marin it rose above the ridgeline of San Francisco's northern hills. Thomas Hastings built it in seven diminishing stages above a massive cubical base: colonnades of green columns at several levels, eagles on high galleries, braziers at the corners, and at the top a column on which crouching atlantes held up an armillary sphere 20 ft across.
Its hanging glass jewels gave it its name. Todd says 102,000 'Novagems,' cut and polished in Bohemia, from 21 to 47 millimeters across, faceted like diamonds, backed with small mirrors and hung on brass hooks so they swung and trembled in the breeze. The last consignment of 5,000 nearly got caught in Austria by the war. By day they threw ruby, emerald, sapphire, topaz and aquamarine sparks across the grounds. At night 54 searchlights lit them. On special occasions the tower was 'burned': ruby lights and red fire behind its colonnades made it look like 'a pyramid of incandescent metal.'
Through the base ran a coffered barrel vault 75 ft wide and 119 ft high, lined with William de Leftwich Dodge's murals of the Canal: Balboa's discovery, the purchase from France, American labor, and the locks swinging open as the 'Gateway of Nations.' Inscriptions on the south front traced the history of Panama from 1501 to 1915; those facing the court traced California from Cabrillo in 1542 to statehood in 1850. The wing colonnades each enclosed a small court with a mural fountain: Youth to the east, El Dorado to the west.
Structurally it was a steel skeleton wearing a wood-and-plaster costume. Six steel frames, four of them battered, carried the load. Below 152 ft they were two-hinged arches on twelve cast-steel spherical bases, on concrete-capped clusters from 600 piles. Timber brackets bolted to the steel carried the stacked decks above. A fire watchman was stationed in the little gallery at the top throughout the season.
The official Opening Day ceremonies were held on a grandstand built against its south face, overlooking the Fountain of Energy.
Then it loomed through the mist a legendary and incredible thing, brought back from the world of Titans; the work of spirits instead of men.
Todd, The Story of the Exposition, vol. 2 (1921), ch. LV
At a glance
- Total cost about $413,000, of which $100,000 was plastering and about $137,000 the erected steel frame (Todd vol. 5).
- Steel frame: 1,460 tons, detailed, fabricated and erected in 220 days by Dyer Brothers; the general contractor was the Commary-Peterson Co. (Todd vol. 2).
- Novagem count: 102,000 (Todd, twice); 135,000 (Official Guide; Barry, who adds they were 'made in Austria'); 'over 100,000' (Condensed Facts). Todd's is the post-construction official figure.
- Searchlights: 54 (Todd); the Official Guide, written before opening, says 200 concealed searchlights.
- Flanagan's four figures stood four to a side, sixteen in all; Tonetti's Armored Horseman was also repeated sixteen times (Todd vol. 2, ch. LXI).
- In 1916 it sold as it stood for $9,000; the wrecker spent about $40,000 and eight months taking it down, and said he about broke even (Todd vol. 5).
- Before demolition the Novagems were removed; boxed with a small brass medallion certifying they had hung on the tower, they sold for $1 each (Wikipedia).
Afterward
Sold in 1916 for $9,000 and demolished over about eight months (Todd vol. 5). Only the souvenir Novagems survive. The site is now residential Marina District.
The site today
Present-day photographs and video of this spot are being made for the film; each frame below is a slot for one of them.
Scott St near Capra Way (about here; other accounts say nearer Chestnut). Shoot from the sidewalk or the crosswalk, looking north down Scott toward the Bay
Have a photo of this spot? Email it to hello@288days.com with code S12 and up to 50 characters of credit. It appears here and in the film.
Launch from Scott St (city street) between Chestnut and Marina Blvd; fly the axis at 200–350 ft
Aerial placeholder. Drone footage is flown under permit by the production; not accepting submissions.
North edge of Alta Plaza Park at Jackson and Scott, looking north down Scott St
Have a photo of this spot? Email it to hello@288days.com with code S43 and up to 50 characters of credit. It appears here and in the film.
Sources
- Todd, The Story of the Exposition, vol. 2, ch. V (structure), ch. L, ch. LV, ch. LXI, ch. LXIII (Novagems, lighting)
- Todd, The Story of the Exposition, vol. 5, ch. XXXVII (cost and salvage)
- Official Guide of the PPIE (1915), Illumination; Exposition Sculpture
- Condensed Facts concerning the PPIE (1915), Main Tower, or Tower of Jewels
- Barry, The City of Domes (1915), Tower of Jewels notes
- Wikipedia: Tower of Jewels (PPIE), souvenir Novagems