The Palace of Fine Arts showcased artworks during the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition, which celebrated the opening of the Panama Canal. San Francisco fought hard to host the exposition to announce the city's rebirth after the devastating 1906 earthquake and fire.
Just across from the Palace of Fine Arts is the Letterman Digital Arts Center in the Presidio. When the Presidio was converted to civilian use in 1994, the 23-acre Digital Arts Center was born, 17 acres of which are an inviting public park designed by landscape artist Lawrence Halprin. The combined home of Industrial Light & Magic, LucasArts and Lucasfilm, the center is much beloved not only because of the friendly park but also because its brick and stucco buildings gently blend in with the historic Presidio.
Palace of Fine Arts
Designed by famed architect Bernard Maybeck, the palace is the only structure from the 1915 exposition still at its original site. Although other buildings were razed when the exposition ended, the palace was so popular that a Palace Preservation League, spearheaded by Phoebe Apperson Hearst, acted to save it.Because the palace was built to be temporary, it had to be largely demolished in 1964 and rebuilt with permanent, lightweight materials. In 2003, the palace closed for further renovation - a seismic retrofit, new landscaping, paths and benches. A radiant, restored palace reopened in 2009.
Housed at the palace are the Exploratorium, an interactive science museum much loved by children and a 1,000-seat theater.
Before you enter, walk along Baker Street to enjoy the sumptuous Marina homes. Once inside the palace, circle the sparkling freshwater lagoon, home to swans, turtles, frogs, coots, black-crowned night herons and ruddy ducks. The lagoon is on the Pacific flyway, providing a rest stop for migrating birds. Informational signs around the lagoon offer history and background about the structure. Memorial benches provide rest.
Walk under the rotunda of the mammoth 1,100-foot pergola, which is supported by rows of Corinthian columns. The statues of the weeping women atop the colonnade were the work of artist Ulric Ellerhusen. You may have to tiptoe around a bride in full regalia, as this one of San Francisco's favorite wedding locations.
Digital Arts Center
Cross Lyon Street (Gorgas Avenue) at the Francisco Street traffic light and walk south on Lyon, entering the Presidio at the pedestrian-only Chestnut Street gate. You are at the Digital Arts Center park, with its scenic lagoon and flowing creek. Sit on a bench and enjoy the palm trees, fountain and view of the Golden Gate Bridge. The area is well patrolled (too well patrolled for children who long to scamper on the rocks).Walk around to your right and uphill. Directly in front of the Starbucks is an imposing statue of Eadweard Muybridge, known for his locomotion studies, a precursor of modern motion pictures. If you wonder about the unusual spelling of his first name, know that he picked it himself. His original name was the more prosaic Edward Muggeridge. A splendid view of the Palace of Fine Arts is directly in front of you.
Continue uphill to Building B at 1 Letterman Drive to find a statue of Yoda atop a fountain. During weekdays, the building lobby is open to the public. Inside are an impressive Darth Vader and Boba Fett, a statue of Willis O'Brien with his creation, King Kong, and lots of Lucasfilm memorabilia.
Many trails lead out from the Digital Arts Center through the Presidio. If you are a history buff, follow the small trail that leads across Letterman Drive. Walk to the second set of benches (you will be almost at Lombard Street). In front of the benches, embedded in the ground are bricks inscribed with the names of the people who worked at Letterman Hospital and the years they worked there. You will find General of the Army Douglas MacArthur, as well as many unknown workers.
Getting there
By bus, catch the Muni No. 30 at Market and Third streets. Get off at Broderick and Bay streets. Walk west on Bay, jog right at Baker, then left again at Bay, which merges into Lyon Street and the Palace of Fine Arts. Other Muni routes serving the area include Nos. 28 and 43.By car, from downtown San Francisco, head north on Franklin Street or Van Ness Avenue to Lombard Street. Turn left on Lombard, which merges to the right into Richardson Avenue. Turn right on Lyon Street, then left into the Palace of Fine Arts.
Parking is limited at the palace because of Doyle Drive/Presidio Parkway construction. To find additional free parking, from Marina Parkway turn into Yacht Road and follow the signs for Palace of Fine Arts parking. The lot is next to the St. Francis Yacht Club.
Urban Outings are presented by Greenbelt Alliance, the Bay Area's advocate for protecting open spaces and creating vibrant places. To suggest an Urban Outing, contact Gail Todd, tour leader for S.F. City Guides and author of "Lunchtime Walks in Downtown San Francisco." To find out more about Greenbelt Alliance's work, go to www.greenbelt.org.
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/01/04/NSIM1MIC5O.DTL#ixzz1ljltmWZY
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