7. Palace Hotel

The Palace Hotel, completed in 1875 and located downtown on Market Street, was one of San Francisco’s grandest hotels both in size and in luxury appointment. Bailey sketched its great public space, the Palm Court, which was an interior courtyard with natural light provided through a 7-story high skylight. Originally a courtyard for carriages, about 1900 it was converted to a lounge.

When the earthquake struck, the Palace Hotel remained standing, but subsequently was destroyed by fire.  The photo above, showing the Palace Hotel on fire, was taken by Arthur C. Pillsbury, who had founded his picture company in Oakland only a month earlier.

Building at right is Palace Hotel. Photo by Department of War. via Wikimedia Commons

The Palace Hotel was replaced by a new Palace Hotel completed in 1909.  The new hotel still exists, though it underwent a major seismic retrofit after the 1989 Earthquake. On the site of the old Palm Court, there is a prestigious restaurant with glass dome ceiling called the Garden Court.