Palace of Fine Arts - San Francisco, CA
Posted by: 
ucdvicky
N 37° 48.178 W 122° 26.900
10S E 548564 N 4184096
Famous building in the Marina district of San Francisco.
Waymark Code: WM2Q1V
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 12/04/2007
Views: 50
"It was designed by Bernard Maybeck, who took his inspiration from Roman and Greek architecture.[1] The sculptured frieze and allegorical figures representing Contemplation, Wonderment and Meditation were created by Ulric Ellerhusen.[2] It was one of only two buildings from the exposition not to be demolished (the other being the Japanese Tea House.[3]), and in the 1960s it was entirely rebuilt to ensure its longevity.[4] The exhibition hall, which originally housed Impressionist paintings during the exposition, is now home to the Exploratorium, a state of the art interactive science museum. There is also a replica of the Palace of Fine Arts in Disney's California Adventure in Anaheim.[5]
A single dome remains from the eight identical structures that were originally constructed. Towering colonnaded walkways linked the buildings on the site, but only a few remain intact.
The Palace of Fine Arts has been a favorite wedding location for brides and grooms throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. In recent years the Palace of Fine Arts has fallen into ill repair, and a fundraising effort was launched.
The lagoon was intended to echo those found in classical settings in Europe, where the expanse of water provides a mirror surface to reflect the grand buildings and an undisturbed vista to appreciate them from a distance. In many places the edges are subsiding into the water, forming uneven and dangerous surfaces that are fenced off from the public and used by turtles to sun themselves. Australian eucalyptus trees fringe the eastern shores. Many forms of wildlife have made their home there including swans, ducks (particularly migrating fowl), geese, turtles, and frogs.
Other cities with buildings called "The Palace of Fine Arts" include Chicago (built for the 1893 Worlds Fair & today the home of the Museum of Science & Industry), and Mexico City.
The dome of the Palace of Fine Arts just outside the Exploratorium and the adjacent lagoon have often been used as backdrops for movies, such as Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo. One of the more recent sequences takes place in The Rock, where FBI agent Stanley Goodspeed (Nicolas Cage) finally catches up with John Mason (Sean Connery) and So I Married an Axe Murderer, where Charlie MacKenzie (Mike Myers) goes on his first date with Harriet (Nancy Travis)."
County / Borough / Parish: San Francisco
Year listed: 2005
Historic (Areas of) Significance: Event
Periods of significance: 1950-1974, 1975-2000
Historic function: Rec and culture
Current function: Rec and culture
Primary Web Site: [Web Link]
Street address: Not listed
Privately owned?: Not Listed
Season start / Season finish: Not listed
Hours of operation: Not listed
Secondary Website 1: Not listed
Secondary Website 2: Not listed
National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed
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Visit Instructions:
Please give the date and brief account of your visit. Include any additional observations or information that you may have, particularly about the current condition of the site. Additional photos are highly encouraged, but not mandatory.