Palace
by Laurie Search
Title
Palace
Artist
Laurie Search
Medium
Photograph - Digital Photography
Description
The Palace of Fine Arts, San Francisco, CA..........An interesting history, as told by Wikipedia: The Palace of Fine Arts was one of ten palaces at the heart of the Panama-Pacific Exhibition, which also included the exhibit palaces of Education, Liberal Arts, Manufactures, Varied Industries, Agriculture, Food Products, Transportation, Mines and Metallurgy and the Palace of Machinery. The Palace of Fine Arts was designed by Bernard Maybeck, who took his inspiration from Roman and Greek architecture in designing what was essentially a fictional ruin from another time..........While most of the exposition was demolished when the exposition ended, the Palace was so beloved that a Palace Preservation League, founded by Phoebe Apperson Hearst, was founded while the fair was still in progress..........For a time the Palace housed a continuous art exhibit, and during the Great Depression, W.P.A. artists were commissioned to replace the decayed Robert Reid murals on the ceiling of the rotunda. From 1934 to 1942 the exhibition hall was home to eighteen lighted tennis courts. During World War II it was requisitioned by the military for storage of trucks and jeeps. At the end of the war, when the United Nations was created in San Francisco, limousines used by the world's statesmen came from a motor pool there. From 1947 on the hall was put to various uses: as a city Park Department warehouse; as a telephone book distribution center; as a flag and tent storage depot; and even as temporary Fire Department headquarters..........While the Palace had been saved from demolition, its structure was not stable. Originally intended to only stand for the duration of the Exhibition, the colonnade and rotunda were not built of durable materials, and thus framed in wood and then covered with staff, a mixture of plaster and burlap-type fiber. As a result of the construction and vandalism, by the 1950s the simulated ruin was in fact a crumbling ruin..........In 1964, the original Palace was completely demolished, with only the steel structure of the exhibit hall left standing. The buildings were then reconstructed in permanent, light-weight, poured-in-place concrete, and steel I-beams were hoisted into place for the dome of the rotunda. All the decorations and sculpture were constructed anew. The only changes were the absence of the murals in the dome, two end pylons of the colonnade, and the original ornamentation of the exhibit hall..........In 1969, the former Exhibit Hall became home to the Exploratorium interactive museum, and, in 1970, also became the home of the 966-seat Palace of Fine Arts Theater. In 2003, the City of San Francisco along with the Maybeck Foundation created a public-private partnership to restore the Palace and by 2010 work was done to restore and seismically retrofit the dome, rotunda, colonnades and lagoon. In January 2013, the Exploratorium closed in preparation for its permanent move to the Embarcadero..........Today, Australian eucalyptus trees fringe the eastern shore of the lagoon. Many forms of wildlife have made their home there including swans, ducks (particularly migrating fowl), geese, turtles, frogs, and raccoons.
Uploaded
May 29th, 2014
Statistics
Viewed 1,414 Times - Last Visitor from New York, NY on 03/27/2024 at 7:11 AM
Embed
Share
Sales Sheet
Comments (33)
Annie Adkins
Lovely pic, and I enjoyed reading the history. Thank you!
Laurie Search replied:
Aw, you're so welcome, and thank you very, very much!! I truly appreciate it!! :)))
Michael Mrozik
laurie what a great picture this is it is going in my favs folder and you sure do get my vote :)
Sandra Sengstock-Miller
A great capture of the palace of Fine Arts. I saw this as we went past on a tour. How I would have loved to have spent some time there. No lots of time there. Maybe I will be able to return one day. I loved read the history in your notes. Very well done......sandy
Laurie Search replied:
Isn't it an amazing place? I hope you can return there one day to explore a little more!! Thank you very much for your kind words, Sandy! :)))
Sandi OReilly
Fabulous capture and presentation of the Palace of Fine Arts, Laurie, excellent presentation, F/L
DJ MacIsaac
Wow! An excellent capture of this magnificent structure and beautiful place Laurie ! Well done!! 😊fl
Ellis Morley Photography
Lovely! I saw this from the top of Russian Hill and from the Sausalito ferry but never got this close - next time. :-) This is a lovely portrayal of the iconic structure. :-)
Laurie Search replied:
Yes, next time you'll have to go explore this place a little bit, up close! :) Thank you so so much, Ellis!! I truly appreciate it!! :)))
GP Images
It looks like a place from fairytale! I love it! l/f
Laurie Search replied:
I'm so happy you love it!! Thank you so so much, GP!!! I really appreciate that!! :)))
Kate Brown
One of my favorite places, love your treatment! L/F
Laurie Search replied:
Thank you sooo much for the kind words and support, Kate!!!! I truly appreciate it!! :)))
Joe Bledsoe
amazing image the architecture is superb f/v
Laurie Search replied:
Isn't the architecture gorgeous, Joe?! Thank you so very much for your support!! I appreciate it!!: )))