The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

For the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exhibition (world's fair) in San Francisco, the Victor Talking Machine Co. constructed a unique domed building to house exhibits and demonstration halls. Despite promotional pictures that implied it was a stand-alone building, in reality it was built inside the massive Liberal Arts Building (see photo below).

At the close of the fair, the pavilion was sold (along with many other buildings and architectural features). The Victor building was loaded onto a ferry and moved to San Rafael, north of the Golden Gate. There it served for decades as a community center. I had been there several times and never knew it was the Victor building until much later.

About 20 years ago it was sold to a private company. The building was in very decrepit condition by then, and the new owners were spending a fortune restoring it. Bob Baumbach and I were able to visit and have a detailed tour in 2004, and Bob wrote about the history of it for the June 2004 issue of The Sound Box. At that time there were plans to replace the missing large Nipper & Gramophone statue on the top of the dome, but evidently that never happened.

I hadn't been back that way in years. This morning I decided to take one of my early cameras, a 1904 Folding Pocket Kodak, and shoot some pictures of it. The restoration has been completed, aside from replacing the statues, but unfortunately it is securely locked up behind gates, and surrounded by very high hedges. It made it hard to get good pictures. Looking through the gates it is easy to see the various design details that appear in contemporary photos. I don't know if it's under the same ownership as 20 years ago, or if it has changed hands since. But it is still something of a well-kept secret -- there's no signage to indicate its unique history.

Thanks for the interesting history lesson as well as current history and photos. I'm glad it survived.

Jerry B.

Thanks for sharing! Very nice!

I'm amazed that the pavilion, originally intended for a completely sheltered location inside a larger building, is now living out-of-doors! Obviously, a proper roof had to be installed, as we now see on the dome with its metal (standing seam) covering . I assume that wood comprises the rest of the visible external structure (columns, pediments, walls, et al.), and as such will need ongoing regular maintenance (scraping, patching, painting, etc.). To make such a shell habitable it also needed proper HVAC installed, which it almost surely did not have in its original location. All of this and everything else needed to bring the structure up to code must have all cost a small fortune! Considering the effort and cost involved to preserve this unique structure, it would be appropriate for the owner(s) to make themselves known and receive the credit that they deserve!

It is on the National Register of Historic Places, but I have no idea what that specifically means as far as preservation goes in San Rafael. https://npgallery.nps.gov/AssetDetail/NRIS/84000907

Very interesting! Thanks for sharing.