The Magic Hour at Cal
In which the sun slips through the center of the Golden Gate
Twice a year, the sun, when viewed from the Campanile, sets in the Golden Gate. This brings an extra special touch to the sunsets around Halloween and a little after Ground Hog Day. The past few days had been cloudy, so we were have not been treated to gorgeous sunsets. When I saw that it was not cloudy yesterday, I left my apartment at 4pm to go watch the sunset.
They call the hour before the sun sets "The Magic Hour" because of the soft golden light of the sun's rays at that time. This light bathes the campus and highlights the beauty of the beux arts style buildings. I brought along my camera to go on a photographer's sunlight safari. My journey began at sproul plaza, where students were busy rushing home or to campus meetings. From the Plaza, I meandered to Sather Tower (the Campanile) -- the centerpiece of campus. While meandering, I overheard two students chatting to one another next to Sather Gate. As I stood on a bench to photograph Sather Gate with Sather Tower in the background, one of the sudents said "I'll give you this much; Your campus' tower is much more beautiful than ours."
When I reached the Campanile, there were still 45 minutes until sunset. I decided to meander further before returning to watch the sunset. I wandered over to the central campus glade, where students were much more relaxxed. Some were playfully tossing about a frisbee while others chatted, studdied, or quietly meditated. When I was a student, the glade was occupied by wooden barracks like structures called the T (for temporary) Buildings. Now that these were gone, I could watched students bask in final light of the sun. It's too bad that such an ugly building -- Evans Hall -- overlooks the glade, but somehow even the light of the magic hour was able to impart a little bit of beauty onto that monstrosity. I looked back at the Campanile, and noticed the just-past-first-quarter moon was above and to the right of the tower. My thoughts turned to how the almost Hunters moon would help light the evening for Trick-or-Treaters in a couple of days.
I returned to the campanile, surprised to see only three people sitting on its steps. One was studying, and never lifted her head to watch the setting sun. The second was relaxxing by taking gentle puffs on a cigarette. It didn't seem like she was there to watch the sunset; It could have been the middle of the day, and she could be there. The third, however, was clearly there to watch. He was sitting the center of the top step. When I sat down, he turned to me and asked "So, you're here to watch the sunset. You must know what day it is." "I know that it's at this time that the sun sets in the Golden Gate", I replied. "Today, it not only sets in the Golden Gate", he said, "It sets in the center of the span of the bridge." He then went on to describe how he tries to come to the campanile this time every year just to watch the setting sun. He compared it to the Druids going to Stonehenge for sunrise on the Summer Solstice. As we were talking, another student walked up and stood behind us. Sure enough, the sun set right in the center of the bridge. This prompted the student behind us to say "I'd like to see Stanfurd students tell me that they could top this."