RON HENGGELER

August 22, 2008
The Fulton St. tower in the front yard

My tower in the front yard has recently gotten a lot of attention. I’ve worked on it for a couple hours or more nearly every day for the past two months. It’s now the best it’s ever looked and sounded. I’ve trimmed back the jasmine and tied down all the old vines to the metal frame. There are now twice as many bells and chimes as was before with more still to come. I’ve added seven more feet on the top of the tower giving it a total height of over forty-five feet. For twenty five years I’ve had a globe from an old street lamp in the Mission District. At the end of July, I mounted this globe on a metal frame, rigged a flood light inside, and installed it on the top of the tower just below the San Francisco flag. At night, when the globe is lit, it softly illuminates the flag beautifully. In the darkness of night, the tower stands as a curious tall beacon. Throughout the day, large tour busses going up Fulton Street on their way to Alamo Square slow down or stop in front so that riders can gawk and take photos. When the wind is blowing the tower is a symphony of soothing sounds. At the beginning of last month, a mother Blue jay hatched a single baby chick in the nest she’d built in the center beam of the tower. I had to stop work on the tower for nearly two weeks until the chick finally left the nest. I’ve saved the small blue egg shell that remained in the empty nest. I’ve planted clinging fig vine around all the legs of the tower. Eventually the fig vine will cover the metal frame and help to complete the topiary appearance. At this time of the year, when the sun is setting in the west, its brilliant gold light hits the many broken Muni bus side-mirrors that dot the tower’s face. The tower looks best in the morning fog.

 

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