Notes on Kite Aerial Photography: Photo Gallery
Views
of the densely-packed housing that lines the flanks of Mt. Davidson. These are
attached, single-family town homes that are organized around an interior light
court (Canon 24-mm, June 1999)
The topography of San
Francisco peninsula includes a ridgeline that develops at the north end of the
city and extends southward to separate the Pacific Ocean from the calm waters of
San Francisco Bay. Mt. Davidson is the tallest hill in San Francisco at 938 feet
above sea level. Topping the hill is a 103- foot-high cross, dedicated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1934, has been a
magnet for controversy in the past decade.
The
Mt. Davidson cross in silhouette with the Pacific Ocean in the distance (Canon 24-mm, June
1999)
Arguments regarding the cross have stemmed from
disagreement among groups who believe it should be preserved as a landmark and those who see it as a clear violation of laws that guarantee a separation of
church and state. The 1996 appeals court ruling was made after the American Civil Liberties
Union and the American Jewish Congress brought a successful lawsuit charging that The City should not be displaying a religious icon on public property.
Three years ago the cross was sold to an Armenian council with a side agreement saying
that the cross could be illuminated no more than two days a year and that no other religious structures would be built on the property.
Another
view of the Mt. Davidson cross as fog closes in (Canon 24-mm, June 1999)
Photographs of actual protesting atheists are
available at the American
Atheist WWW Site. Some in San Francisco supported their arguments that the
cross was a historic landmark by pointing to its use in Clint Eastwood's movie
Dirty Harry.
Neighborhood
views taken when the kite was flying from the top of the hill. My next flying
site was to be the baseball field visible in the lefthand image (Canon 24-mm, June
1999).
While flying from the top of the hill I
remember being approached by a very animated woman who complained bitterly that
my kite, three hundred feet aloft, had frightened her (illegally) unleashed dog
into the bushes. It made me wonder whether there was an anti-anxiety drug that
could be used by both species.
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All rights reserved. Revised: Saturday, June 26, 2010
URL: http://kap.ced.berkeley.edu/gallery/gal153.html
