Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All the United States California San Francisco Portals of the Past

Portals of the Past

The remains of a ruined mansion memorialize the 1906 earthquake.

San Francisco, California

Added By
Annetta Black
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
CAPTION
  SEANETTA / Atlas Obscura User
  SEANETTA / Atlas Obscura User
  SEANETTA / Atlas Obscura User
  SEANETTA / Atlas Obscura User
  breaingram / Atlas Obscura User
  SEANETTA / Atlas Obscura User
  SEANETTA / Atlas Obscura User
  knoxium / Atlas Obscura User
  elsa brante / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

The 1906 earthquake rocked San Francisco and the all-consuming fire that followed destroyed an estimated 25,000 buildings, including many of the gilded era mansions of San Francisco's wealthy.

This small columned memorial sits on the edge of Lloyd Lake in Golden Gate Park as a reminder of all that was lost.

The portals began their life at the front entry to the 1891 Nob Hill mansion of railroad tycoon Alban Towne on California Street, which ended up being one of the many structural casualties in the fire and mayhem following the great earthquake. The photographer Arnold Genthe caught an iconic image of the smoldering ruins of San Francisco framed between these columns.

Genthe spent the hours and days after the quake walking the streets and taking photos of the devastation. While he documented the damage elsewhere, his own studio was destroyed, taking with it all of his possessions and all of his earlier photography, with the exception of a few negatives he had stored elsewhere. 

Later Genthe's photograph was recreated as a painting for the historic Bohemian Club in San Francisco. The image became an emblem of the loss of an era in the city, before the rebuilding began.

The portals were placed on the edge of the diminutive Lloyd Lake in Golden Gate Park in 1909 as a remembrance when the original location was cleared of rubble.

In 2008 the San Francisco Arts Commission completed a restoration of the monument, cleaning and making repairs to damaged pillars and doing seismic retrofits. With their loving makeover, the portals resemble even more closely what they symbolize, opportunity and optimism rising out of the rubble of tragedy.

Related Tags

1906 Earthquake Disasters Earthquakes Ruins

Know Before You Go

The portals are visible on the far side of Lloyd Lake along John F Kennedy Dr. in the west end of Golden Gate Park.

Community Contributors

Added By

Annetta Black

Edited By

SEANETTA, elsa brante, knoxium, breaingram

  • SEANETTA
  • elsa brante
  • knoxium
  • breaingram

Published

April 18, 2013

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco
  • http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist12/portalsofthepast.html
  • Arnold Genthe
  • http://www.sfmuseum.org/1906.2/genthe.html
  • San Francisco Arts Commission Restoration Project
  • http://www.sfartscommission.org/pubartcollection/pubart-press-releases/2008/08/04/arts-commission-awarded-for-restoration-of-golden-gate-park%e2%80%99s-portals-of-the-past/
  • http://mountainviewpeople.blogspot.com/2009_05_01_archive.html
Portals of the Past
Lloyd Lake
Golden Gate Park
San Francisco, California, 94122
United States
37.77077, -122.48249
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Site of 1906 Earthquake Refugee Camps

San Francisco, California

miles away

Site of the Golden Gate Speed Road

San Francisco, California

miles away

Prayer Book Cross

San Francisco, California

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of San Francisco

San Francisco

California

Places 217
Stories 50

Nearby Places

Site of 1906 Earthquake Refugee Camps

San Francisco, California

miles away

Site of the Golden Gate Speed Road

San Francisco, California

miles away

Prayer Book Cross

San Francisco, California

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of San Francisco

San Francisco

California

Places 217
Stories 50

Related Stories and Lists

In the Footsteps of the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake

By Annetta Black

City Guide: 1906 Earthquake

essential guide

By Sarah Brumble

Related Places

  • Some ruins of Portage.

    Whittier, Alaska

    Portage Ghost Town

    The ruins of a town wiped out by the second-largest earthquake in recorded history.

  • Haunting and overgrown.

    Concepción, Chile

    Enrique Molina Theater

    The ruins of a grand theater destroyed during the most powerful seismic catastrophe ever recorded.

  • San Francisco, California

    Site of 1906 Earthquake Refugee Camps

    Approximately 250,000 people left homeless by the great earthquake and fires found shelter in Golden Gate Park.

  • Earthquake Fence

    Olema, California

    1906 Earthquake Fence

    'Cause the fence start shaking, the earth was quaking.

  • Lisbon, Portugal

    Carmo Convent Ruins

    Legacy of the earthquake that nearly wiped Lisbon off the face of the Earth.

  • The Cardboard Cathedral in 2013

    Christchurch, New Zealand

    Cardboard Cathedral

    This semi-permanent cathedral was built of cardboard, wood, and steel after Christchurch's 2011 earthquake.

  • Chigasaki, Japan

    Sagami River Bridge Ruins

    These medieval wooden bridge pillars appeared out of nowhere in the aftermath of a huge earthquake.

  • Natatio (pool) and peristyl einside Villa San Marco.

    Castellammare di Stabia, Italy

    Villa San Marco

    For centuries, this large Roman villa remained hidden thanks to the eruption that buried nearby Pompeii and Herculaneum.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.