Garden Court at The Sheraton-Palace, San Francisco

Vintage postcard,  chrome era, circa 1950's


The historic Palace Hotel, the Sheraton Years - Present


Palace circa 1910:    Palace circa 1930:    



The iconic Palace Hotel has remained the landmark hotel in San Francisco with such timeless creations as The Garden Court's stained glass dome with Austrian crystal chandeliers. The ceiling contains more than 70,000 pieces of iridescent glass, making it one of the largest expanses of colored glass in the world.
Under that beautiful ceiling was found an atmosphere redolent of a European garden restaurant. Tables were turquoise blue. Ferns, bamboos, vines, and other potted plants joined its historic palms. Walls and the antique glass ceiling had a color scheme of coral and blue. Three decades prior, the Garden Court had served as a carriage entry space for dignitaries and elite guests, but was now thoroughly continental in its smartness reminiscent of Paris. 
 
A new era of frugality 
The Palace was sold to Sheraton Hotels in 1954 and became the Sheraton-Palace Hotel. Major restructuring would follow.
Sheraton-Palace management declared that “it is no longer possible to maintain all the costly traditions that sentiment once dictated [...] our predecessors had been more intent on maintaining the traditions of the past than the vitality of the profit and loss statement.” 
 
In an effort to shave funds from the operating budget, Oysters Kirkpatrick, a tradition on dinner menus, were “banished.” In their stead, lamb chops and string beans were added to the menu. Under Sheraton direction, Palace Hotel rooms were redecorated. Upon completion, every room, coast to coast in Sheraton hotels, was decorated identically. A few years later, Sheraton sold ownership of the Palace to a Japanese corporation, but retained management..
     
Help and hope from the neighbors
In 1969, the Garden Court was designated a landmark by San Francisco Landmarks Preservation Advisory Board, and in the 1980's the landmark status was extended to include the entire hotel. This action was taken in response to plans by the owners to build a 26-story tower addition, which historically minded San Franciscans worried would overshadow the stained-glass domed roof of the landmark Garden Court dining room.
 Benchgate
Benches for bellmen were been removed from the Palace lobby in April 1976 because management felt it would look bad if arriving guests did not see bellmen standing alertly and ready to carry luggage to the guest rooms. This decision required bellmen to stand for 7 hours per day. This changed in 1978, but not before the state Division of Labor Standards and the District Attorney’s office threatened to file criminal charges against the Palace. Benches were returned and bellmen were allowed to sit.

  
Closure, restoration and grand re-opening 
On January 9th 1989  the great Renaissance-Baroque Palace closed for the first and only time since its opening in December 1909. Sheraton-Palace placed much of its past up for auction to sell off most of the old furniture, fixtures and finery that had made the Palace a landmark of style and gracious living for more than 100 years. Hundreds were present for the three-day sale. Buyers from all over the West bought paintings, library tables, chairs, and other furniture. Approximately 250 items were saved for “historical reasons.” Among those saved were the great crystal chandeliers that hung in The Garden Court.

The Palace Hotel reopened for business after a $150 million two-year restoration. The Kyo-ya Corp. employed specialists in historic restoration to transform the Palace into an up-to-date facility while returning it to a semblance of its original splendor.
 Visitors longing for opulence of the past were regaled by vistas of shining chandeliers, marble floor mosaics, stained-glass skylights, and ornate gold-trimmed plaster facades of cherubs, violins, and flowers. The restored Garden Court shone from floor to ceiling, brighter than ever under its oblong dome of amber and silvery glass.
Each of its 692 geometric panels was taken down, cleaned, mended where necessary, and replaced in a rebuilt armature under a handsome new outer skylight.

If you visit, make a reservation for Saturday afternoon tea, or Sunday brunch! www.sfpalace.com/brunch-in-san…


#oldpostcard #postcardstock #deltiology #vintagestock #postcards
Vintage item from my post card and ephemera collections, free stock for yours.
Use however you like. Enjoy!
My Gallery yesterdays-paper.deviantart.co…