The Palace of Fine Arts
The beautiful Palace of Fine Arts is one of San Francisco’s most prominent pieces of architecture. Designed by the noted Bay Area architect Bernard R Maybeck,this landmark structure is composed of a central rotunda on the edge of a landscaped lagoon,flanked by an openair peristyle of intricately detailed Corinthian columns.Intended as a melancholic evocation of vanquished grandeur,it was inspired by Piranesi’s Baroque etchings and by L’Isle des Morts, a painting by the well-known Swiss artist Arnold Bocklin.
Since it was of the 1915 Exposition,the Palace of Fine Arts was originally constructed of inexpensive wood and plaster,at a total cost of $700,000 .
After being spared demolition,the fabrice of the structure was left to crumble gracefully until 1962,when it was rebuilt using reinforced concrete.
Since it was of the 1915 Exposition,the Palace of Fine Arts was originally constructed of inexpensive wood and plaster,at a total cost of $700,000 .
After being spared demolition,the fabrice of the structure was left to crumble gracefully until 1962,when it was rebuilt using reinforced concrete.
