The expanse of marble in the Grand Hall greets the visitor with dramatic impact. The Hall was intended as a spacious area where guests could be received formally, even ceremoniously. It flows 140 feet into a spectacular bow-windowed belvedere overlooking a panoramic vista of the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, the San Francisco Bay and the Marin County hills beyond. The floors and adjoining stairs are of "Rosato" Vicenza marble and the pink border is Verona marble, both from Italy. The walls are of imitation Caen stone broken by Ionic pilasters and cartouches of molded plaster in the over-doors. Midway down the Hall, great bronze doors open to the Cortile, or Italian courtyard.
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