Sutro Tower, the city’s preferred tower, had to put up with a lot before being beloved by so many. (Like San Francisco’s very own ying-yang symbol, today it’s the muse for countless tattoos.) It took many a local to get used to the three-pronged TV/radio antenna went up in 1973.
"I keep waiting for it to stalk down the hill and attack the Golden Gate Bridge,” Herb Caen once penned.
But now the tower is as cherished as a symbol of San Francisco, rivaling the Golden Gate Bridge and the Transamerica Pyramid at the signifier of Baghdad by the Bay. And during last week’s brief thunder and lightning tempest, one area resident snapped this footage of our Sutro Tower taking a few bolts on the chin.
Behold.
Video of four of the many #SutroTower lightning strikes last night. Only a few hundred feet away. #cawx #CAStorm #BayAreaStorm @NWSBayArea pic.twitter.com/M7Q5O2aqP4
— Jesse (@sfjes) January 20, 2017
Here are some screen shots of the electrical jolts.
Lots of lightning strikes on #SutroTower seen this AM from my window! At least 7-8 strikes, captured 4 of them. #cawx @NWSBayArea pic.twitter.com/duzSLD3Sfl
— Jesse (@sfjes) January 20, 2017
Per SFist, lightning strikes “Sutro Tower at least four times, as seen from just a few hundred feet away.”
Glorious.
- Video: Lightning Striking Sutro Tower Over And Over [SFist]
- Sutro Tower [Curbed SF]