When I did my post on the Maxfield Parrish mural in New York City's King Cole Bar, I was alerted to another Parrish mural located inside the San Francisco Palace Hotel. Needless to say, on my most recent trip to SF, it went to the top of my "must see" list.
The place was pretty empty for lunch, so I grabbed a seat at the bar, front and center.
Yup...Maxfield Parrish!
His use of light is positively amazing; the painting just glows as if rays of sunshine were beaming down into the bar.
FYI: The burger at the Pied Piper lived up to the hype.
After I dined, I wandered around the hotel. The Garden Court area pretty much took my breath away.
More Palace Hotel photos at my main website.
Holy smokes... that is beautiful! I will make it a "must see" next time too. Thanks Dave!
ReplyDeleteAlways your pal,
Amazon Belle
The Garden Court at The Palace was my fav place to go for Sunday brunch in the late 40s and 50s when I was a kid. I've not been there now probably since the early 70s to have brunch, but I bet it's still wonderful, but maybe not filled with the hundreds of super rich foods it used to have - somehow, eggs benedict or florentine or oscar, roast beef, ham, scalloped potatoes, a zillion great salads, lox & bagels and ALWAYS 2 helpings of the rum trifle never seemed to poof out my waist back then! I used to always think about how the Garden Court was where the horse carriages pulled into at one time so passengers could unload - that and how amazing it was, the hotel came through the 1906 earthquake. You need to brunch there sometime when you are back up in the city.
ReplyDeleteDave, excellent pics of this work of art. It's a grand old bar and hotel. The Palace is a regular stop for our family.
ReplyDeleteAs noted, the Garden Court brunch was brilliant, with a live jazz orchestra etc., we have heard it was being discontinued. Makes no sense, but anything is believable any more in SF.
As I mentioned on the New York post, the new management of the Palace Hotel had planned to remove the Pied Piper painting and sell it to finance remodeling of the bar into a hipster place. The community rose up in protest and the plan was shelved. The bar so far remains in it's more-or-less historic state.
The Palace Hotel bar that became the Pied Piper bar is a stand-out spot in the history of cocktails as well. The famous barman William Boothby presided here for many years. He is the author of a noted early manual of cocktails and inventor of the Boothby cocktail, which is a must-order when visiting the Pied Piper. The drink is basically a Manhattan cocktail topped up with champagne, quite refreshing.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_%22Cocktail%22_Boothby
http://www.chowhound.com/recipes/boothby-cocktail-30241
Thanks Dave, we plan to visit the New York St. Regis next year and will make sure to tip a drink to you, Maxfield Parrish and William Boothby.
Best regards.
JG
JG - Thanks for the initial intelligence on this mural! I sure hope they keep it there. What a great place.
ReplyDeleteDave, my daughter the graphic designer deserves the credit for telling us about it. We frequented the hotel while she was in school in SF. Haven't been back for a long time.
ReplyDeleteJG