The Palace of Fine Arts Set for Makeover

 

The Palace of Fine Arts

San Francisco has a history of crumbling, the latest being the shores of the lagoon of the Palace of Fine Arts, a historic San Francisco Marina district landmark since 1915. Landscape architect Keith Kawamura recently described the damage to the San Francisco Chronicle. This, plus the scummy lagoon waters, chained off since 1998 for the public?EUR??,,????'???s safety, are indicative of the sad state of decline of the Palace, originally built of plaster, chicken wire and hemp as a temporary structure for the San Francisco Panama-Pacific Exposition. It is the only building of the exposition still standing, thanks to a renovation in the 1960s.

S.F. Mayor Gavin Newsom and civic leaders were on hand recently to help tear down the chain-link fence around the lagoon, a first step in restoring the lagoon, the landscaping and the Palace, a $21 million public-private venture by the city and the nonprofit Maybeck Foundation. So far the campaign has raised $12.5 million.Dredging the lagoon is the first order. Kawamura reports the lagoon will have a retaining wall constructed of metal sheet pilings capped with stone, a pedestrian walk and irrigation system?EUR??,,????'??+all to be done in about a year for a mere $4.9 million. Strengthening the Palace and domed rotunda will eat up the other monies.