Palace of Fine Arts
The Peristyle Walk by Night

Of all the wonderful night effects of the Exposition grounds none are so
full of haunting beauty as the vistas afforded by the Palace of Fine
Arts and its surroundings. By the indirect system of illumination, an
effect as of strong moonlight is produced and from concealed sources,
under cornices or behind columns, a soft reflected radiance pervades
peristyle and rotunda. The trees, shrubs and columns cast long, intense
shadows. Through the columns may be seen the long line of the Roman wall
across the laguna, its great, half-domes suffused with a mellow, golden
light and in the everchanging waters between, it gleams again.

From the other side of the laguna, the rotunda and the long crescent of
the colonnade are seen reflected as in a mirror, and when flooded with
the white radiance of the searchlights, their majestic beauty is
indescribable.



Palace of Fine Arts
A Fountain in the Laguna

Beautiful as the Palace of Fine Arts is from any viewpoint, its
simplicity and noble strength are at their best when seen with a
foreground of trees and water. The landscape, in its simple naturalness,
is in feeling an intimate part of the building itself and so perfectly
do they blend that they seem to have grown together through quiet,
serene centuries.