San Francisco Relocation Guide - Antevia

History
Adolph Sutro purchased the land in 1881. Under his ownership, what was then called
"Blue Mountain" was renamed "Mount Davidson," for George Davidson, a charter
member of the Sierra Club. Sutro then sold this land, along with much of the land
immediately north and south of Mt Davidson, to his appraiser, A. S. Baldwin.
The first cross was erected in 1923 for a service led by Dean J. Wilmer Gresham of Grace
Cathedral. Several more were built and destroyed until 1933 (the land was purchased by
the City in 1929), when Mayor Angelo Rossi, former Mayor "Sonny Jim" James Rolph,
the Easter Sunrise Service Committee, and the Native Sons and Daughters of the Golden
West pledged to construct a permanent cross to commemorate the early California
pioneers. The cross was completed the next year with President Franklin D. Roosevelt
lighting the cross via telegraph on March 25, 1934- one week before Easter.
The cross itself has been the subject of much discussion among the residents of San
Francisco. Specifically, trying to balance the cross' obvious religious stature and its
position as a secular, historic landmark. As a result, the City auctioned 0.38 acres of land,
including the cross, to the highest bidder in 1997. The cross was sold to the Council of
Armenian-American Organizations of Northern California, and has since served as a
memorial of the 1915 Armenian genocide.
See also
Armenian Genocide
Satellite image from Google
History of Mount Davidson
Nob Hill, San Francisco, California
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Nob Hill refers to a small district in San Francisco, California adjacent to the intersection
of California and Powell streets (and the respective cable car lines).