The State - News from Feb. 17, 1989

The Duquette Pavilion of St. Francis was badly damaged in a five-alarm fire that burned out of control for more than two hours, San Francisco fire officials said. The art collection suffered extensive damage in the blaze, said Fire Chief Fred Postel. The adjacent old Peoples Temple, operated during the 70s by the Rev. Jim Jones, suffered extensive water damage but was not burned in the blaze. Postel said the roof of the pavilion, owned by San Francisco artist Tony Duquette, collapsed about 20 minutes after the department received the first reports of the fire. That nearly assured the destruction of its extensive collection of tapestries, sculptures, stained glass, paintings, objets d’art and an ornate, decorative ceiling. There were no reports of injuries.