Richmond District – Fire Station #4

This is one of my favorite fire stations in the city.  There is something about its size, the fact that it is brick, and the position between two streets that just charms me.

The Phoenix is by artist Lenda Anders Barth, and was installed in 1997.  The inscription reads:

This relief sculpture, inset into a brick wall in front of the station, depicts the legendary Phoenix – the mythical bird reborn from its own ashes whose image is also on the City’s seal. This beautiful teal bird is set against terra cotta bricks that alternately read “ashes” and “life.”

In case you were wondering, here is the long winded definition of the city seal.  The current seal was adopted in 1859 by the Board of Supervisors, and superseded a similar seal that had been adopted seven years earlier. The shield shows Golden Gate and the hills on each side as it looked in 1859, and a paddlewheel steamship entering San Francisco Bay.Above the shield is a crest with a phoenix, the legendary Greek bird rising from the ashes. The shield is flanked by two supporters, a miner, holding a shovel, in dexter; and a sailor, holding a sextant, in sinister, both in 1850s period clothing. At the feet of the supporters are a plow and anchor, emblems of commerce and navigation. Below the shield is a motto that reads “Oro en paz, en guerra fierro,” which is Spanish for “Gold in peace, iron in war.”.

I assumed that the Phoenix “rising from the ashes” was part of the 1906 earthquake, as you can see it predates that.

The poppy is the California state flower.

One of the sadder things about researching the lives of artists, is reading about them in their obituary.  Here is a small clip about Lenda’s life:

Lenda Anders Barth –  There are limits to anyone’s strength and courage and Lenda finally yielded to the debilitating and degenerative effects of ataxia on Thursday, February 7, 2008. She will be deeply missed by her family and friends. Lenda was born in Milwaukee, WI, on April 8, 1946. She received her BS in education and BFA from the University of Wisconsin and moved to San Francisco in 1974 with her husband Bob. From the mid 1970s until her untimely death, she was a critically acclaimed member of the San Francisco art community. A prolific ceramic sculptor and encaustic painter, her public art works add beauty and aesthetic meaning to public buildings in the City and elsewhere in the Bay Area.