An excellent test of the quality of all such temporary structures is the
satisfaction with which one thinks of them as permanent buildings. No
other of the palaces would wear so well in its beauty if it were set up
for the joy of future generations. It would be a glorious thing for San
Francisco if the Fine Arts Palace could be made permanent in Golden Gate
Park. To duplicate it in lasting materials would cost much, but it would
be worth while. San Francisco owes it to itself and its love for art to
see that this greatest of Western works of art does not pass away. As it
stands on the Exposition grounds, it is more enduring than any of the
other palaces. To induce the loan of its priceless contents, the
building had to be fireproof. But the construction is not permanent. The
splendid colonnade, a thing of exquisite and manifold beauty, is only
plaster, and can last but a season or two. Even were the building solid
enough to endure, its location is impossible after the Exposition
closes.

It should be duplicated in permanent form. No doubt a proper site, with
a setting of water and trees, can best be found in Golden Gate Park. The
steel frame and roof of the main gallery could easily be transferred
there and set up again. While it would cost too much to duplicate in
real marble the pillars of the colonnade and dome, yet these can be
reproduced in artificial stone as successfully as they have here been
imitated in plaster. In the Pennsylvania Railroad station in New York
travertine has been counterfeited so well that no one can tell where the
real ends and the imitation begins.

Every other considerable city in the civilized world has its art
gallery. San Francisco has already the full-sized model of surely the
most beautiful one in the world. Made permanent in the Park, this Palace
of Art would not only honor San Francisco, but would be "a joy forever"