The Portals of the Past monument in Golden Gate Park.

Phase one of the monument’s restoration has been completed, seismically stabilizing the structure by expanding the footing and adding additional rear support. Phase two, scheduled for mid 2007, will address the missing column and surface cleaning.

Standing silently on the north shore of Lloyd Lake in Golden Gate Park, Portals of the Past consists of the remains of the Towne mansion, a once-lavish example of Colonial Revivalism designed by the architect Arthur Page Brown for Alban Nelson Towne, then Vice President of Southern Pacific.

The mansion, which stood at 1101 California Street (now the site of the Masonic Auditorium), was destroyed in the earthquake and fire of 1906. The structure’s marble-columned portico, however, was left standing, inspiring Arnold Genthe’s iconic photograph in which the form, silhouetted by moonlight, rises from the surrounding ruin.

In 1909 the portico was donated to the city of San Francisco by Mrs. Caroline Towne in memory of her husband. That same year it was presented by Mayor James Phelan to Park Superintendent John McLaren who placed it in its current location. A full century later, Portals of the Past remains both a powerful reminder of San Francisco’s great tragedy and a testament to the city’s continuing spirit of resilience and renewal.