Sutro Tower
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Sutro.jpg
Sutro Tower is a three-pronged antenna tower on Mount Sutro in the western part of San Francisco, California. It is a dominant part of the city skyline, but is relatively unknown to tourists as it is less picturesque than other landmarks and is considerably west of the main downtown tourist area.
Construction began in 1971, was completed in 1972, and on July 4, 1973 Sutro Tower began transmitting. Named after Adolph Sutro, a businessman and former mayor of San Francisco, the tower stands 977 feet tall from the ground, making it the tallest structure in the city, surpassing the Transamerica Pyramid by more than 100 feet (30 m). In addition, it is built on one of the highest peaks in the city, the old site of the Sutro Mansion owned by Adolph's descendents (Adolph's original Mansion was in the North West corner of the city near the Sutro Baths and the Cliff House). The facility is surrounded by a fence and the site offers no panoramic viewpoints of San Francisco. Good views, however, can be found at the adjacent Twin Peaks (San Francisco).
About 15 million pounds of concrete were used to make the foundation of the tower, and the tower weighs 3.7 million pounds. It is used to transmit 10 TV stations and 4 FM radio stations to the San Francisco Bay area. The tower is owned by Sutro Tower, Inc., and usage is leased out to TV and radio stations.
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