The Burning of Spire, Presidio, San Francisco

Andy Goldsworthy's Spire has stood on a hill near Inspiration Point in the Presidio of San Francisco since 2006. On June 23, 2020, someone set fire to it. An investigation is ongoing, but so far nothing is known publicly about who did it or why. 

I wrote about Spire in March of last year. It was the first of four sculptures in the Presidio by the world-renowned artist. Standing ninety feet tall, it was made of a collection of trunks from Monterey Cypress trees planted by the U. S. Army in the 1880s. 

Most of Spire still stands. It is being evaluated for structural integrity. No decision has been made about whether it will have to be removed.

Informed about the vandalism, the artist had this to say: "The burning of Spire goes too deep for my own words. Besides, Spire has always spoken for itself and will perhaps now speak with an even greater eloquence after what has happened. If anything, its epitaph will be better written in the memories, thoughts and words of those who have lived with it over the past twelve years....What I do know is that art doesn’t give up. It is resilient and fights back. It is part of our collective and personal hard-won immunity."