It was too much fun venturing around to all the San Francisco hot spots on this gorgeously sunny but aggressively windy day with Stephanie + Drew. These two are beautiful inside and out, and I cannot wait to shoot their wedding in Sonoma!! It’s so fun to play the 6 degrees of separation game, and I’m so lucky to know these two thanks to Lauren Bell who is best friends with Stephanie and also the sister to my cousin-in-law and great friend Leah {now} Debes! Needless to say, we had the best time gallivanting from Palace of Fine Arts to Sutro Baths to Baker Beach.
A huge part of what I love about my job is visiting new locations and exploring legendary areas. I’m also a HUGE history geek and thought about majoring in art history or architecture, so of course I had to look up everything along the way. Just in case you were wondering too, I’ll give you some background of these iconic spots.
The original Palace of the Fine Arts was constructed back in 1915 when they opened the Panama Pacific International Exposition (PPIE). At the time, the leaders of San Francisco wanted to create something so grand that it would inspire the world and show what the future could hold in international trade and beauty. The architect, Bernard Maybeck, designed the Palace with the Roman ruins in mind. It was actually meant to evoke quiet sadness and solemnity because that was the feeling of the world and the economy at this time. This theme is evident from the reflection pool and weeping willows that line the park. All the other buildings were torn down after the PPIE but the citizens of San Francisco couldn’t destroy the Palace because it was just too majestic, so it lived out its fate and began wasting away until it was ruins. In 1959, it was decided to restore the palace back to its original beauty, which is why we are lucky enough to enjoy it now.
Unfortunately, the same restoration did not happen for Sutro Baths, which was once the largest indoor swimming establishment in the world! There were actually 7 saltwater pools fed by the ocean thanks to Mr. Sutro himself, a wealthy resident and former mayor of SF. It’s wild to think that Sutro kept the fees low so most city residents could afford to come: 5 cents for the train and 25 cents to swim (including a swimsuit and towel to use). Can you imagine? The Sutro Baths closed in 1966, and burned down in June of the same year, some say under suspicious circumstances. Luckily Park Services claimed them so we can still enjoy the romantic ruins and remember the glamorous living style at that time.
Now back to the Stephanie + Drew. After we finished shooting at Baker Beach and were driving back to grab drinks in the city, I spotted a crazy gorgeous look out of the Golden Gate Bridge, so of course we had to pull the car over, play a bit of Frogger while crossing the street and get that last shot! And it was totally worth it! Congrats y’all!! Let the countdown to October 2017 begin!
leave a comment