ONE OF SAN FRANCISCO'S MOST BELOVED LANDMARKS REOPENED TO THE PUBLIC FRIDAY AFTER A SEVEN YEAR, $21 MILLION RENOVATION. THE EXTENSIVE OVERHAUL OF THE PALACE OF FINE ARTS INCLUDED SEISMIC UPGRADES, THE ADDITION OF NEW ENTRANCES AND PATHWAYS, AND THE REPLACEMENT OF THE ROTUNDA FLOOR AND THE ROOF OF ITS DOME. THE 95 YEAR OLD SITE IS THE ONLY ORIGINAL STRUCTURE LEFT FROM THE 1915 PANAMA PACIFIC INTERNATIONAL EXPOSITION. WITH ITS 30 CORINTHIAN COLUMNS FRAMING THE PALACE WALKWAY AND 1,100 FOOT WIDE ROTUNDA, IT WAS DESIGNED TO RESEMBLE A ROMAN RUIN REFLECTED IN A LAKE. FOR ITS REOPENING, CITY LEADERS AND RESIDENTS PRAISED THE PALACE WHILE PASSERBY PUSHED STROLLERS OR WALKED DOGS ALONG THE PATHS SURROUNDING THE NEWLY RESTORED LAGOON, STOPPING TO ADMIRE ITS FAMOUS WHITE SWANS. THE PROJECT WAS A PUBLIC/PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN SAN FRANCISCO AND THE NONPROFIT MAYBECK FOUNDATION, NAMED AFTER THE PALACE'S ARCHITECT, BERNARD MAYBECK. IT WAS FUNDED BY A COMBINATION OF CITY AND STATE FUNDS AND CONTRIBUTIONS FROM OVER 1,200 DONORS. IT WAS REBUILT IN THE 1930s AND AGAIN IN THE 1960s BEFORE THE LATEST RENOVATIONS BEGAN IN 2003. A WEBSITE CREATED BY THE MAYBECK FOUNDATION, LoveThePalace.org, INCLUDES A 'MEMORY BOOK' WHERE SAN FRANCISCANS CAN SHARE THEIR PERSONAL CONNECTIONS TO THE SITE. IN AN ENTRY BY LT GOV GAVIN NEWSOM, THE CITY'S FORMER MAYOR RECALLED FISHING IN THE LAGOON, AND OCCASIONALLY JUMPING IN, AS A YOUNG BOY. 'NOW, I SEE THE PALACE AS PART OF SAN FRANCISCO'S SOUL, A BEAUTIFUL LINK TO OUR PAST AND A GATEWAY TO THE FUTURE', HE WROTE.
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