In the early 1960s, a wealthy philanthropist donated money to save the decaying ruins by recasting them in more enduring concrete. San Franciscans couldn’t bear to tear down their glorious tribute to the arts, but since it was built to be temporary, made from plaster, wood and burlap, the structure slowly crumbled. When the grand affair ended, all structures except the Palace were destroyed. The Palace’s domed rotunda, filled with more than 12,000 works of art, was one of dozens of monuments, temples and pavilions constructed for the nine-month-long expo. Maybeck for the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition, a world fair that celebrated the opening of the Panama Canal and gave San Francisco a chance to shine after its devastating 1906 earthquake. The Romanesque structure was designed by architect Bernard R. It’s one of San Francisco’s most popular spots for wedding photos and has appeared in countless fashion shoots and Instagram shots. The Palace of Fine Arts is an extravagant neoclassical icon - a faux palace surrounded by an idyllic pond, its reflective surface graced by snow-white swans.