Palace of Fine Arts

What you need to know

The Palace of Fine Arts is the surviving structure from the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition, the fair that marked San Francisco’s recovery from the 1906 earthquake. Architect Bernard Maybeck designed it in temporary materials meant to last only the fair, and the city kept it standing.

The Building

The original deteriorated for decades; a reconstruction from 1965 to 1974 replaced the temporary plaster with reinforced concrete, recreating the rotunda and colonnade from Maybeck’s drawings, and a seismic retrofit completed in 2009. The design draws on Roman and Greek classical sources, with the rotunda dome rising about 162 feet over the reflecting lagoon. The grounds are open daily and free, the lagoon attracts ducks and geese, and the lawns are open for picnics. The Palace of Fine Arts Theatre, behind the main structure, hosts concerts, lectures, and performances.

Getting There

The Palace sits in the Marina near Baker and Beach. Street parking fills on weekends, and the 30 Stockton stops nearby. Walking from the Presidio or Crissy Field takes about 15 minutes.

Filmed here

All San Francisco films →

20 productions filmed at or beside Palace of Fine Arts.

1958Vertigo1979Time After Time1984The Woman In Red1994Forrest Gump1995Jade1996The Rock1999The Other Sister1999Edtv2012CSI: NY- episode 9032014Murder in the First, Season 12014Big EyesAmericana20152015Americana2016Chance- Season 1 ep1042017Chance Season 22018A Taiwanese Tale of Two Cities2019Always Be My Maybe+4more on recordEvery film shot in San Francisco →

Upcoming Events

All events →

Oct 14

Georgian National Ballet Sukhishvili

Pro tips

The last surviving structure from the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition. Walk around the lagoon for the classic reflection shot. Swans often nest here. Pair with a walk to Crissy Field or the Marina Green.