The style of architecture is Classic, freely treated. The rotunda is
Roman. The peristyle is more Greek in feeling, in the simplicity of
general form, with splendidly modeled capitals, full strong columns, and
dignified cornice. The curved facade of the main building, facing the
rotunda and peristyle, is very original in its arrangement of classic
architectural motives and masses of foliage, with a Pompeian pergola on
top.
The color scheme of the whole building is worthy of study. And although
the structure when seen by day deserves all the praise that has been
bestowed upon it, by night its beauty is beyond description. One should
sit long at the edge of the lagoon opposite the rotunda, and watch the
illuminated building itself and its reflection in the waters below, to
feel the full spell of it. No one should miss, either, the walk between
the peristyle and the main building on one of those nights when there
is soft local illumination, for nowhere else on the grounds has the
poetry of lighting been so perfectly realized.
The architect of the Fine Arts Palace was Bernard R. Maybeck, a
Californian.