Palace of Fine Arts

This time Sean and I are at San Francisco's Palace of Fine Arts on a brisk December morning and loving it. The Palace was one of the crowning jewels of the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition celebrating Magellan's discovery of the Pacific Ocean 500 years earlier and also the completion of the Panama Canal. Many people saw it as San Francisco's triumphal return after the devastating San Francisco Earthquake of 1906.

The Palace of Fine Arts was designed by a well-known California architect, Bernard Ralph Maybeck and the decorative elements were designed by William Merchant, a young member of his office. The Palace blended Roman architecture with Greek ornamentation and many people saw it as the most beautiful building at the fair.

Made of a cheap building material called "staff" (a mixture of plaster and burlap) and only meant to last two years, the people of San Francisco could not tear down the Palace when they dismantled the rest of the fair. They kept the building up as long as they could but the wind, the weather, and the years took their effect and in the late 1940's the building was condemned. Left to rot, In 1964, the original building was finally torn down. But thanks to the efforts of San Francisco's Board of Supervisors and civic organizations such as the Fine Arts League, funds were raised to completely rebuild the Palace with poured concrete and steel -- so that it could last forever.




Walking among its colonnades, underneath its rotunda, and along the lagoon is a magical experience. It's part Greek, part Roman, part old time Hollywood religious movie, part new-age astral plane, and all time incredible. Sean and I highly recommend that you add this enchanted spot to your travel itinerary.

The blend of ragtime, American march, and surreal musical score is thanks to Scott Joplin (The Chrysanthemum), John Phillip Sousa (El Capitan), and Satie, Gymnopedia #1. My apologies to all three of those guys for my piano playing!

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• Palace
• of
• Fine
• Arts
• San
• Francisco
• Bernard
• Maybeck
• 1915
• Panama
• Pacific
• International
• Exposition
• Magellan
• Oc

[1skunkus]

At 2:41 is that Satie playing? Where can I find that piano piece?

[showtunestarpower]

@1skunkus Yes! It's Gymnopedie #1. You can get it for free by subscribing to 8notes.com. There are probably other places on the web where you can get it. I bought mine many years ago. It's a great piece of music, isn't it?

I love your video of driving past the Palace. You get a much different idea of it than our video gives you. Together they are good companions. I bet it was cool sleeping out in front of the Palace.

[1skunkus]

I am glad I'm not the only one who knows that the rest of the Marina looked like this. I have posted my recent visit last week. I used to sleep here sometimes on the grass. I lived in SF for 10 years. I still go back to be at this place in awe.