The Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, California, US has reopened following a seven-year, US$21m (£13.1m) renovation.

The move was marked by an event held by the San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department and the non-profit Maybeck Foundation, a private group which partnered with the city on the project. Funding was a combination of city and state funds, plus contributions from more than 1,200 donors. The monument, the only structure remaining from the Panama-Pacific International Exposition of 1915 and designed to resemble a Roman ruin reflected in a lake, has needed renovation work in the past. It was rebuilt in the 1930s and 1960s and in 1990 a campaign was mounted to add exterior lighting.

Among other work undertaken as part of this latest scheme, repairs were carried out to the palace's dome, the nearby lagoon was restored and landscaped, the whole site was seismically upgraded and new entrances and pathways have been added. The Palace was scheduled for demolition at the end of the 1915 Exposition, but was saved by the Palace Preservation League.

Image: Kevin Cole