Palace of Fine Arts lagoon viewpoints

The Palace of Fine Arts' semicircular colonnade and lagoon create framed, reflective perspectives of the rotunda that many visitors miss. Originally built for the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition and rebuilt in the 1960s, the site offers quieter vantage points behind the rotunda and along the lagoon's north bank. These spots are frequently used by photographers seeking less-crowded, symmetrical compositions of the dome and its reflections.