Bay Curious The Towering Cross in the Middle of San Francisco
Mar 30, 2026
Jackie Proctor, Mount Davidson’s resident historian and longtime local, offers eyewitness history of the hill and cross. Suzy Racho, field reporter, brings on-site reporting and interviews. They trace the cross’s 1920s origins, its 1930s concrete construction and presidential lighting, legal battles over church-state issues, the 1990s controversy and eventual sale, and ongoing lighting traditions.
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How One Hike Started The Sunrise Service
- James Decatur climbed Mount Davidson in 1923 and was overwhelmed by the view and solitude above the city.
- He wrote an essay about the experience and proposed building a cross there to host Easter sunrise services, sparking the original tradition.
Sunrise Services Linked Nature Spirituality And Development
- Easter sunrise services in the 1920s tied spirituality to nature and civic life, making a hilltop cross both fashionable and community-building.
- Developer A.S. Baldwin funded the first wooden cross and promoted the service to attract residents to new neighborhoods.
Vandalism Led To Building A Permanent Monument
- Early temporary wooden crosses were repeatedly destroyed by fire or vandalism, but each time organizers replaced them and the Sunrise Service grew.
- By 1932 supporters laid a cornerstone for a permanent concrete cross, finished after two years at a cost of about $20,000.