For the opera house in Mexico City, see Palacio de Bellas Artes, and for the Palace of Fine Arts that was part of Chicago's White City fairgrounds for the World's Columbian Exposition (1893), see Museum of Science and Industry.

The Palace of Fine Arts in the Marina District of San Francisco, California is a building originally constructed for the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition.

Contents 1 History 2 Photos 3 In Fiction and Film 4 See also 5 References 6 External links

[edit] History

It was designed by Bernard Maybeck, who took his inspiration from Roman and Greek architecture.^[1] The sculptured frieze and allegorical figures representing Contemplation, Wonderment and Meditation were created by Ulric Ellerhusen.^[2] It was one of only three buildings from the exposition not to be demolished (the others being the Japanese Tea House,^[3] not to be confused with the Japanese Tea House that remains in Golden Gate Park, which dates from an 1894 fair, the other is what is now known as the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium ). In the 1960s it was entirely refurbished to ensure its longevity.^[4] The exhibition hall, which originally housed Impressionist paintings during the exposition, is now home to the Exploratorium, a state of the art interactive science museum. There is also a replica of the Palace of Fine Arts in Disney's California Adventure in Anaheim, as part of the exterior of the former Golden Dreams attraction and will be incorporated in the replacement attraction, The Little Mermaid, Ariel's Undersea Adventure.^[5]

The Palace of Fine Arts has been a favorite wedding location for couples throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. A renovation restoring the interior of the dome, the walkways around the Palace and a seismic retrofit was completed in early 2009. The lagoon was intended to echo those found in classical settings in Europe, where the expanse of water provides a mirror surface to reflect the grand buildings and an undisturbed vista to appreciate them from a distance. Australian eucalyptus trees fringe the eastern shores. Many forms of wildlife have made their home there including swans, ducks (particularly migrating fowl), geese, turtles, frogs, and raccoons.

[edit] Photos

The Palace of Fine Arts: 1915	The Palace of Fine Arts: 2006	Colonnades	A view from inside

[edit] In Fiction and Film

The dome of the Palace of Fine Arts just outside the Exploratorium and the adjacent lagoon have often been used as backdrops for movies, such as Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo. One of the more recent sequences takes place in The Rock, where FBI agent Stanley Goodspeed (Nicolas Cage) finally catches up with John Mason (Sean Connery).

Film

• The Bachelor - With a helpful priest (James Cromwell) by his side, reluctant groom Jimmy Shannon (Chris O'Donnell) has an epiphany while sitting in a canoe on the palace's lake.
• Time After Time (1979) - Several scenes including one between (Malcolm McDowell) and (Mary Steenburgen) as well as the climax stand off with (David Warner).
• Kuffs (1992) - Christian Slater begrudgingly leaves a taxi in the city's Marina neighborhood, a prominent shot of the Palace of Fine Arts behind him.
• The Rock (1996) - Goodspeed goes to confront Mason during daylight, who is speaking with his estranged daughter (Claire Forlani) in the dome.
• So I Married an Axe Murderer (1993) - Mike Myers and Nancy Travis take a scenic walk on their first date, where they encounter Russian sailors at the Palace of Fine Arts.
• Twisted - Police officer Ashley Judd finds herself being stalked in a foggy scene throughout the dome.
• Jagged Edge - Briefly seen in a scenic view out a window in a home.
• The Room - (2003) Shots of the Palace of Fine Arts are used in the film's opening and as transitions between scenes. This location is otherwise not featured in the film and is seemingly unrelated to the plot but for a brief scene in which Johnny (Tommy Wiseau) is seen to walk past it while sporting some sweet shades.

Television

• The Streets of San Francisco - In the episode, The Set-Up, a hit-man leads a blind bar owner through the grounds at night as Stone and Keller trail behind.
• Monk - In the episode Mr. Monk Goes to the Ballgame, Adrian Monk and his trusty assistant Sharona take a casual walk through the Palace of Fine Arts.
• Nash Bridges - The landscape and its surrounding neighborhood was occasionally featured in episodes of the Don Johnson cop series.
• Journeyman (TV series) -- In the episode Game Three, Dan Vasser winds up at the Palace of Fine Arts many times when he travels back in time to the day of the Loma Prieta earthquake

Video Games

• Sim City 2000, Sim City 3000 Unlimited, and Sim City 4 feature this building as an optional landmark.

Fiction

• In S.M. Stirling's alternate history book, Conquistador, the Gate Control Commission headquarters contains an exact replica of the rotunda of the Palace of Fine Arts--but constructed in stone, or at least faced in stone.

[edit] See also

• 49-Mile Scenic Drive
• J. P. McMeekin, landscape artist who exhibited paintings in the 1916 Post Expo Exhibition at the San Francisco Palace of Fine Arts.
• List of San Francisco Designated Landmarks

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Palace of Fine Arts

• History of the Palace of Fine Arts
• Historical Photography of the Panama Pacific International Exposition

Coordinates: 37°48′11″N 122°26′53″W / 37.803°N 122.448°W / 37.803; -122.448

• QTVR virtual tour (requires quicktime)

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