looking up dead center of the Emporium Dome with the larger than life wreath with cascading lights coming down. Brief HIstory: The Emporium Building was called “The Grandest Mercantile Building in the World.” Featuring a bandstand and restaurant under the dome, it was a popular destination for shopping, concerts, dancing, and dinner. From 1886 to 1906, the building was also the home of the California Supreme Court. It is thought the court was located at what later became the Emporium men’s shoe department. The building and dome survived the 1906 Earthquake, but were destroyed in the subsequent firestorm downtown. The 500,000-pound dome was lifted to a perch by a custom hydraulic system. It sat on a supporting tower for almost a year while the new structure was built underneath it.

 In Xanadu did Kublai Khan a pleasuredome erect