Palace of Fine Arts facts for kids
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Palace of Fine Arts
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The Palace of Fine Arts, 2020
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 Location in San Francisco
Location in California
Location in the United States
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| Location | 3301 Lyon St., San Francisco, California |
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| Area | 17 acres (6.9 ha) |
| Architect | William Gladstone Merchant; Bernard Maybeck |
| Architectural style | Beaux-Arts |
| Website | https://palaceoffinearts.com/ |
| NRHP reference No. | 04000659 |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
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| Added to NRHP | December 5, 2005 |
The Palace of Fine Arts is a famous building in the Marina District of San Francisco, California. It was first built for a big event called the Panama–Pacific International Exposition in 1915. Its main purpose was to show off beautiful art.
The building was made from concrete and steel, so it was thought to be fireproof. A large, round building called a rotunda is the most noticeable part. It's about 162 feet (49 meters) tall. This rotunda is surrounded by a calm lagoon on one side. On the other side, there's a huge exhibition hall.
The Palace of Fine Arts was designed to look like an old, crumbling ruin from ancient Rome. Today, it's one of San Francisco's most famous sights. In 2009, the lagoons and walkways were fixed up. The building also got stronger to handle earthquakes. The exhibition hall is now used for events like weddings and trade shows.
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A Look Back: History of the Palace
The Palace of Fine Arts was one of ten main palaces at the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exhibition. Other palaces showed things like agriculture, food, and machinery.
The architect, Bernard Maybeck, designed the Palace of Fine Arts. He wanted to create a peaceful place for visitors. People could relax here after exploring the busy fairgrounds. Then, they could see the paintings and sculptures inside. Maybeck wanted the building to look like an old, fictional ruin. He got ideas from Roman and Ancient Greek architecture. He also looked at famous etchings and paintings.
Most of the buildings from the exposition were torn down after the event ended. But people loved the Palace so much that they wanted to save it. A group called the Palace Preservation League was formed to protect it.
For a while, the Palace showed art all the time. During the Great Depression, artists were hired to repaint murals inside the rotunda. From 1934 to 1942, the exhibition hall even had tennis courts!
During World War II, the military used the hall to store trucks and jeeps. After the war, when the United Nations was created in San Francisco, cars for world leaders were kept there. Later, the hall was used for many different things. It was a city warehouse, a place to store phone books, and even a temporary fire station.
Rebuilding the Palace
Even though the Palace was saved, it wasn't very strong. It was only meant to last for the exposition. The columns and rotunda were made of wood frames covered with "staff." This was a mix of plaster and a fabric-like material. Because of this, by the 1950s, the building that looked like a ruin was actually falling apart.
In 1964, the original Palace was completely taken down. Only the steel frame of the exhibition hall remained. The buildings were then rebuilt from 1964 to 1974. They used strong, lightweight concrete and steel. All the decorations and sculptures were made new. The only small changes were that some murals and parts of the original hall's decorations were not put back.
In 1969, the exhibition hall became home to the Exploratorium. This is an interactive science museum. In 1970, a theater was also added. From 2003 to 2010, the city worked to restore the Palace. They made the dome, rotunda, columns, and lagoon stronger against earthquakes. The Exploratorium moved to a new location in 2013.
The popular TV game show Wheel of Fortune even filmed episodes at the Palace in 1992 and 1996.
How the Palace Was Designed
The Palace of Fine Arts is built around a small, man-made lagoon. It has a long, curved walkway called a pergola that is about 1,100 feet (0.34 km) long. This walkway wraps around the central rotunda by the water. The lagoon was designed to look like the calm waters in old European settings. The water acts like a mirror, reflecting the grand buildings. It also gives people a clear view from a distance.
The Palace has many beautiful decorations. Around the rotunda, there are three repeating panels by Bruno Zimm. They show "The Struggle for the Beautiful," which represents Greek culture. Ulric Ellerhusen created the sculptures of weeping women on top of the columns. He also made the carved designs and figures that represent Contemplation, Wonderment, and Meditation.
The inside of the rotunda's dome has eight large spaces. These originally held murals by Robert Reid. Four of the murals showed how art was created and grew. The other four showed the "golds" of California, like poppies, citrus fruits, gold metal, and wheat.
Gallery
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View of the rotunda from the northeast
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Colonnade of the palace
See also
In Spanish: Palacio de Bellas Artes (San Francisco) para niños
