Palace Of Fine Arts, San Francisco

I woke up in San Francisco this morning to another beautifully sunny (but cold and windy) day.  My first stop was the Palace of Fine Arts in the Marina District, originally built as part of the Panama-Pacific International Exhibition in 1915. Built to last only one year, it was so loved by the people of San Francisco that it was not destroyed along with the other buildings at the end of the Exhibition.

Over the years the exhibition hall housed art exhibits, tennis courts, and a storage for military trucks and jeeps during World War 2. Later it became a warehouse, a telephone book distribution centre and a temporary fire department.

By the 1950s it was in ruins and in 1964 it was almost completely demolished and rebuilt.  The exhibition hall became an interactive museum and also a theatre. Between 2003 and 2010 it was restored again and made earthquake-proof.

Today it is a popular site for tourists and locals and a venue for wedding photographs.

When I was done exploring the Palace I walked along Crissy Field towards the Golden Gate Bridge.  Crissy Field was the original airfield for San Francisco, mostly military, but it was closed down in 1974.  It had become a dumping ground for hazardous materials but was taken over by the National Park Service in 1994, cleaned up, and opened to the public in 2001. Today it is part of the urban National Park, a popular place for both locals and tourists, for dog-walking and bike riding, with beautiful views of the city, Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge.

At the western edge of Crissy Field is the Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary Visitor Center, which used to be the US Coast Guard's Fort Point Life Saving Station (see Extra photo).

I ended up back at the Warming Hut for lunch, as I had a few days ago when I toured the Golden Gate Bridge and Fort Point.  Although cold and breezy, it was sunny enough to enjoy my lunch outside with a view of the bridge. Another fun San Francisco outing before flying back to London this evening!