The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the one-mile-wide (1.6 km) strait connecting San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean. It links the city of San Francisco, California, at the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula, to Marin County, carrying both U.S. Route 101 and California State Route 1 across the strait
Palace of Fine Arts
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Description
The Palace of Fine Arts is a monumental structure located in the Marina District of San Francisco, California. It was originally built for the 1915 Panama–Pacific International Exposition to exhibit works of art. Constructed from concrete and steel, the building was claimed to be fireproof.
Construction and Renovation
The Palace was reconstructed between 1964 and 1967 under the supervision of B.F. Modglin, with columniated pylons added in 1973 and 1974. It is the only structure from the exposition that survives on site. The most prominent building in the complex is a 162-foot-high (49-meter) open rotunda, enclosed by a lagoon on one side and connected to a large, curved exhibition center on the other.
Design and Inspiration
The Palace of Fine Arts was designed by Bernard Maybeck, who aimed to create a building that would serve as a quiet zone for exhibition attendees. Maybeck's design was inspired by Roman and Ancient Greek architecture, specifically Piranesi's etching of the remnants of the so-called Temple of Minerva Medica in Rome, and Böcklin's symbolism painting Isle of the Dead.
Historical Uses
After the exposition, the Palace housed a continuous art exhibit and during the Great Depression, W.P.A. artists replaced the decayed Robert Reid murals on the ceiling of the rotunda. During World War II, the building was used by the military for storage. Post-war, it served various purposes including a Park Department warehouse, a telephone book distribution center, and temporary Fire Department headquarters.
Rebuilding Efforts
Originally intended to stand only for the duration of the exposition, the Palace's structure was not durable. By the 1950s, it had become a crumbling ruin. In 1964, the original Palace was demolished and reconstructed using light-weight, poured-in-place concrete and steel I-beams. The new building was completed in 1974, with all decorations and sculptures constructed anew.
Modern Era
In 1969, the former Exhibit Hall became home to the Exploratorium interactive museum and, in 1970, the 966-seat Palace of Fine Arts Theater. A public-private partnership was formed in 2003 to restore the Palace, and by 2010, work was completed to restore and seismically retrofit the dome, rotunda, colonnades, and lagoon. In 2013, the Exploratorium moved to the Embarcadero.
Recent Developments
In April 2020, during the coronavirus pandemic, there were plans to convert the Palace into a temporary shelter for 162 homeless people. However, following protests by local residents and concerns about lodging conditions, the decision was reversed.
Architectural Features
The Palace of Fine Arts is built around a small artificial lagoon, with a wide pergola around a central rotunda by the water. The lagoon provides a mirror surface to reflect the grand buildings. Ornamentation includes Bruno Zimm's panels around the entablature of the rotunda, symbolizing Greek culture, and Ulric Ellerhusen's weeping women atop the colonnade and allegorical figures representing Contemplation, Wonderment, and Meditation.
Artistic Elements
The underside of the Palace rotunda's dome features eight large insets, which originally contained murals by Robert Reid. These murals depicted the conception and birth of Art, its commitment to the Earth, its progress and acceptance by the human intellect, and the four "golds" of California: poppies, citrus fruits, metallic gold, and wheat.
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