The Panama–Pacific International Exposition was a

world's fair A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition or an expo, is a large international exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specif ...

held in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

, California, United States, from February 20 to December 4, 1915. Its stated purpose was to celebrate the completion of the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a condui ...

, but it was widely seen in the city as an opportunity to showcase its recovery from the 1906 earthquake. The fair was constructed on a site along the northern shore, between the

Presidio A presidio ( en, jail, fortification) was a fortified base established by the Spanish Empire around between 16th and 18th centuries in areas in condition of their control or influence. The presidios of Spanish Philippines in particular, were cen ...

and

Fort Mason Fort Mason, in San Francisco, California originated as a coastal defense site during the American Civil War. The nucleus of the property was owned by John C. Frémont and disputes over compensation by the United States continued into 1968. In 188 ...

, now known as the Marina District.

Exhibits and themes

Department of the Interior Bureau of Mines exhibit, Panama-Pacific International Exposition, San Francisco, 1915

Among the exhibits at the Exposition was the '' C. P. Huntington'', the first steam locomotive purchased by Southern Pacific Railroad; the locomotive is now on static display at the California State Railroad Museum in

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

. A

telephone A telephone is a telecommunications device that permits two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most efficiently the human voice, into e ...

line was also established to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

so people across the continent could hear the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contin ...

. The Liberty Bell traveled by train on a nationwide tour from

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, to attend the exposition. The

1915 American Grand Prize The 1915 American Grand Prize was the first race of the 1915 Grand Prix season and was held February 27, 1915, at the Panama–Pacific International Exposition, sometimes mistakenly referred to as the San Francisco World's Fair. Unlike the previous ...

and

Vanderbilt Cup The Vanderbilt Cup was the first major trophy in American auto racing. History An international event, it was founded by William Kissam Vanderbilt II in 1904 and first held on October 8 on a course set out in Nassau County on Long Island, ...

auto races were held February 27 and March 6 on a circuit set up around the Exposition grounds. The

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

also had an exhibition at the Exposition.

Indigenous representation

Native American culture was a topic of interest during the nine-month-long exposition with multiple attractions dedicated to Native American life. The most popular attraction at the exposition that depicted Native American life is James Earle Fraser's statue '' The End of the Trail''. Fraser's statue, which showed a Native American man slumped over on a horse, reflected the American idea at the time, that the Native American race was doomed for extinction. The exposition not only celebrated the completion of the Panama Canal, but also advances made by the American people, part of which were the conquests of indigenous people by Americans as well as Europeans. These celebrations over the Native community, can be seen through artworks such as ''The End of the Trail'' and '' The Pioneer'' or tributes to Francisco Pizarro and Hernán Cortés. In comparison to previous world fairs, the Panama–Pacific International Exposition showcased Native Americans more as nobles rather than savage people, but who were still inevitably destined to become extinct. These ideas were presented in plays, known as pageants, where Native Americans played small roles such as in “Catalonian dragoons, muleteers, and a tribe of Carmel Indians.” While the demise of Native American people was a rhetoric created by fair organizers, scholars have argued that in reality, the Native persona was very present and did not reflect the idea that it was a disappearing civilization. Indians were in fact part of the fair, but also attended as visitors, performers, and workers. More recently, scholars have focused on Native representation in San Francisco's 1915 rival world fair, San Diego's 1915 Panama-California Exposition, that showed Native American life in a more anthropological light versus this American ideal.

Women and gender roles

During the Panama–Pacific International Exposition women were in charge of their own board, known as the Woman's Board of San Francisco's Panama–Pacific International Exposition. The board, also called the Board of Lady Managers, allowed women to take part in organizing different aspects of the fair and more importantly gave them the opportunity to have a campaigning platform for discussing women's rights and social issues. It was commonly argued that the fair celebrated male dominance over women by not providing a building for women. Also, men and women were depicted differently in artworks advertising the exposition. White women, specifically, were presented as caretakers while men as strong and powerful saviors, such as in the poster “13th Labor of Hercules.” Blue Book Panama-Pacific Expo p

At the time, there was an idea of a “New Woman” who was more progressive and advanced intellectually and sexually. This idea of a “New Woman” related to the overarching themes of the fair: modernity, and progress. In efforts to promote the fair, organizers used the “New Woman” as an advertising tactic and proof that San Francisco was an evolving and safe environment for tourists. During the fair, women could be seen posing with agriculture from around the state in celebration of California's produce. All the women were young, beautiful white women who were often the highlight of newspaper articles and events. This use of women presented the idea that they were useful only for their beauty but failed to appreciate their intellectual capacity and physical abilities. One of the most memorable achievements of the Women's Board was the installation of statues that celebrated women, specifically mothers, known as the ''Pioneer Mother.''

Architecture

The centerpiece was the Tower of Jewels, which rose to and was covered with over 100,000 cut glass Novagems. The colored "gems" sparkled in sunlight throughout the day and were illuminated by over 50 powerful electrical searchlights at night. South of the Tower, the Fountain of Energy flowed at the center of the South Gardens, flanked by the Palace of Horticulture on the west and the Festival Hall to the east. The arch of the Tower served as the gateway to the Court of the Universe, leading to the Court of the Four Seasons to the west and the Court of Abundance to the east. These courts formed the primary exhibit area for the fair, which included the Palaces of Food Products , Agriculture , Liberal Arts , and Education and Social Economy and surrounding the Court of the Four Seasons; and the Palaces of Transportation , Mines and Metallurgy , Varied Industries , and Manufacturers surrounding the Court of Abundance. The central court group was bookended on the east by the Palace of Machinery , the largest of all the halls built for the Exhibition, and on the west by the

Palace of Fine Arts The Palace of Fine Arts is a monumental structure located in the Marina District of San Francisco, California, originally constructed for the 1915 Panama–Pacific International Exposition to exhibit works of art. Completely rebuilt from 1964 to ...

, which survives onsite. Further west into the Presidio, down The Avenue of the Nations, were national and states' buildings, displaying customs and products unique to the area represented. The far western end of the Fair, past the states' pavilions, was reserved for live stock exhibits . At the opposite end of the Fair, near

was "The Zone", an avenue of popular amusements and concessions stands.

Construction

Constructed from temporary materials (primarily staff, a combination of plaster and burlap fiber), almost all the fair's various buildings and attractions were pulled down in late 1915. Intended to fall into pieces at the close of the fair (reportedly because the architect believed every great city needed ruins), the only presently-surviving building on the Exposition grounds,

Bernard Maybeck Bernard Ralph Maybeck (February 7, 1862 – October 3, 1957) was an American architect in the Arts and Crafts Movement of the early 20th century. He was an instructor at University of California, Berkeley. Most of his major buildings were in ...

's Palace of Fine Arts, remained in place, slowly falling into disrepair. The hall, used to display painting and sculpture during the Fair, was repurposed as a garage for jeeps during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. The Palace, including the colonnade with its signature weeping women and rotunda dome, was completely reconstructed in the 1960s and a seismic retrofit was completed in early 2009. The Exploratorium, an interactive science museum, occupied the northern 2/3 of the Palace from 1969 to 2013; the city-owned Palace of Fine Arts Theater, has occupied the southern 1/3 since 1970. Several other buildings were saved immediately following the Exposition, including the California, Missouri, and Philippine buildings, which were built on government land.

Other surviving buildings

Buildings from the Exposition that still stand today (other than the Palace of Fine Arts) include what is now called the

Bill Graham Civic Auditorium The Bill Graham Civic Auditorium (formerly San Francisco Civic Auditorium) is a multi-purpose arena in San Francisco, California, named after promoter Bill Graham. The arena holds 8,500 people. About the venue The auditorium was designed by re ...

at Civic Center Plaza and the Japanese Tea house, which was barged down the Bay to

Belmont, California Belmont is a city in San Mateo County in the U.S. state of California. It is in the San Francisco Bay Area, on the San Francisco Peninsula about halfway between San Francisco and San Jose. Known for its wooded hills, views of the San Franci ...

, and operated successively as a private residence, speakeasy, and restaurant. Also surviving are the one-third scale steam locomotives of the Overfair Railroad that operated at the Exposition. They are maintained in working order at the Swanton Pacific Railroad Society located on Cal Poly San Luis Obispo's Swanton Ranch just north of Santa Cruz. The

Legion of Honor Museum The Legion of Honor, formally known as the California Palace of the Legion of Honor, is an art museum in San Francisco, California. Located in Lincoln Park, the Legion of Honor is a component of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, which also ...

, in Lincoln Park, was the gift of

Alma de Bretteville Spreckels Alma de Bretteville Spreckels (March 24, 1881 – August 7, 1968) was a wealthy socialite and philanthropist in San Francisco, California. She was known both as "Big Alma" (she was tall) and "The Great Grandmother of San Francisco". Among her ma ...

, wife of the sugar magnate and

thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are ...

racehorse owner/breeder

Adolph B. Spreckels Adolph Bernard Spreckels (January 5, 1857 – June 28, 1924) was a California businessman who ran Spreckels Sugar Company and who donated the California Palace of the Legion of Honor art museum to the city of San Francisco in 1924. His wife Alm ...

. The building is a full-scale replica of the French Pavilion from the 1915 Panama Pacific International Exposition, which in turn was a three-quarter-scale version of the

Palais de la Légion d'Honneur The Palais de la Légion d'honneur (French for "Palace of the Legion of Honour") is a historic building on the Left Bank of the River Seine in Paris, France. It houses the Musée de la Légion d'honneur ("Museum of the Legion of Honour") and is ...

also known as the Hôtel de Salm in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

by George Applegarth and H. Guillaume. At the close of the exposition, the French government granted Spreckels permission to construct a permanent replica of the French Pavilion, but World War I delayed the groundbreaking until 1921. The warehouse for the exposition was moved to

Fort Hunter Liggett Fort Hunter Liggett is a United States Army fort in Jolon, California, in southern Monterey County, California. The fort, named in 1941 after General Hunter Liggett, is primarily used as a training facility, where activities such as field maneuve ...

in South Monterey County and the structure, nicknamed the "Tin Barn", has served as the base fire department for the last 30 years. After its move, it initially served as a horse barn, and since then, it has served as a gym, PX and a movie theater for the base.

Commemorations and legacy

File:The Jewel City SF CA 1915.tiff, Souvenir booklet, ''The Jewel City'' 1915 File:Panama Pacific International Exposition postcard 1915.jpg, Souvenir postcard File:1915-S $50 Panama-Pacific 50 Dollar Octagonal.jpg, $50 octagonal gold commemorative coin by Robert Aitken The

US Post Office The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U. ...

issued a set of four

postage stamps A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail), who then affix the stamp to the f ...

to commemorate the exposition, with designs depicting a profile of

Vasco Núñez de Balboa Vasco Núñez de Balboa (; c. 1475around January 12–21, 1519) was a Spanish explorer, governor, and conquistador. He is best known for having crossed the Isthmus of Panama to the Pacific Ocean in 1513, becoming the first European to lead an ...

(1¢), the Pedro Miguel Locks of the

(2¢), the

Golden Gate The Golden Gate is a strait on the west coast of North America that connects San Francisco Bay to the Pacific Ocean. It is defined by the headlands of the San Francisco Peninsula and the Marin Peninsula, and, since 1937, has been spanned by t ...

(5¢), and the discovery of San Francisco Bay (10¢). The stamps were first put on sale in 1913, to promote the coming event, and perforated 12, and then reissued in 1914 and 1915, perforated 10. Their prices today range widely; the 2¢ of 1913 is available for under a dollar in used condition, while an unused 10¢ of the scarcer orange-yellow variety in 1915 can be worth up to a thousand

United States dollar The United States dollar ( symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the officia ...

s. The

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

authorized the San Francisco Mint (also known as "The Granite Lady") to issue a series of five commemorative coins. Said coins were the 1915-S silver Panama-Pacific half dollar and four gold coins. The denominations of the gold coins were $1, $ (quarter eagle) and $50 (in two types: a round coin, and an unusual octagonal coin). The Panama-Pacific coins have the distinction of being the first commemorative coins to bear the motto "In God We Trust", and were also the first commemoratives to be struck at a branch mint. The two lower denomination gold coins are scarce, while the two $50 ones are extremely rare. The silver half dollar had a mintage of 27,134 and in modestly worn condition is available for several hundred dollars.

Numismatist A numismatist is a specialist in numismatics ("of coins"; from Late Latin ''numismatis'', genitive of ''numisma''). Numismatists include collectors, specialist dealers, and scholars who use coins and other currency in object-based research. Altho ...

Farran Zerbe Joseph Farran Zerbe (April 16, 1871 – December 25, 1949) was an American coin collector and dealer who was the president of the American Numismatic Association (ANA) in 1908 and 1909. He served as chief numismatist (person responsible for se ...

supervised the creation of a series of commemorative medals, an award medal, a souvenir medal, and diplomas.

Centennial

In 2015, the

California Historical Society The California Historical Society (CHS) is the official historical society of California. It was founded in 1871, by a group of prominent Californian intellectuals at Santa Clara University. It was officially designated as the Californian state ...

, the Maybeck Foundation, and Innovation Hangar partnered with the City and County of San Francisco to commemorate the centennial of the transformative 1915 Panama Pacific International Exposition. On June 20, 2015 a commemorative orchestra, chorus and band concert was held at the Palace of Fine Arts to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the fair. A feature film, ''

When the World Came to San Francisco When may refer to: * When?, one of the Five Ws, questions used in journalism * WHEN (AM), an Urban Adult Contemporary radio station in Syracuse, New York * WHEN-TV, the former call letters of TV station WTVH in Syracuse, New York Music * When (b ...

'', which tells the story of the fair, was made by writer and director R. Christian Anderson. It was part of the city's official centennial celebration sanctioned by the California Historical Society. The film had its world premiere at the de Young Fine Arts Museum in Golden Gate Park on October 30, 2015.When the World Came to San Francisco
ppie100.org

Gallery

File:Flickr - …trialsanderrors - Panama-Pacific International Exposition, San Francisco, aeroplane view, 1915.jpg, Aerial view of the Panama–Pacific International Exposition, directed southeast. The exposition buildings have been colored to distinguish them; the area, then known as Harbor View, is now the Marina District. File:Aerial view of San Francisco, California with the Palace of Fine Arts in the foreground (cropped).jpg, Modern view of PPIE grounds, directed east-southeast in 1980; cropped from a photograph by

Carol Highsmith Carol McKinney Highsmith (born Carol Louise McKinney on May 18, 1946) is an American photographer, author, and publisher who has photographed in all the states of the United States, as well as the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. She photo ...

. The

is prominent in the foreground. File:Overview of PanPac exhibit, 1915.tiff, View north-northeast; the Tower of Jewels is prominent in the center, and the domed Palace of Horticulture can be seen on the left.

Alcatraz Island Alcatraz Island () is a small island in San Francisco Bay, offshore from San Francisco, California, United States. The island was developed in the mid-19th century with facilities for a lighthouse, a military fortification, and a military pri ...

can be seen in the background. File:Palace horticulture tower jewels.jpg, General view of the South Gardens directed west, with the Palace of Horticulture (left) and Tower of Jewels (right) File:PostcardSanFranciscoCAPanPacificExpoFestivalHall1915.jpg, Festival Hall File:Tower jewels night.jpg, Tower of Jewels at night File:Palace horticulture 02.jpg, Palace of Horticulture File:Fire Fountain, San Francisco Exposition.jpg, San Francisco,

Autochrome Lumière The Autochrome Lumière was an early color photography process patented in 1903 by the Lumière brothers in France and first marketed in 1907. Autochrome was an additive color "mosaic screen plate" process. It was the principal color photogr ...

(1915) File:Fountain energy.jpg, Fountain of Energy File:PostcardSanFransiscoCAPanPacExpoCalifBldg1915.jpg, California Building File:Panama Canal hb096nb0z7-FID657.jpg, The model of the

File:Colin Campbell Cooper - Palace of Fine Arts, San Francisco.jpg, ''Palace of Fine Arts'', by Exposition exhibitor

Colin Campbell Cooper Colin Campbell Cooper, Jr. (March 8, 1856 – November 6, 1937) was an American Impressionist painter, perhaps most renowned for his architectural paintings, especially of skyscrapers in New York City, Philadelphia, and Chicago. An avid traveler, ...

File:The State of Wisconsin Pavilion at the Panama-Pacific Exhibition (6186276613).jpg, The State of Wisconsin Pavilion File:India Block at the Panama Pacific International Exposition.jpg, The "India Block" at the Exposition. File:Panama-Pacific International Exposition - Project Gutenberg eText 17625.png, Floodlit pavilion at the Panama–Pacific International Exposition. The Tower of Jewels on the left, and the Italian Tower on the right File:Palace horticulture court palms.jpg, The Court of Palms, with the Palace of Horticulture at background File:PalaceofFineArts.jpeg, Modern picture of the

, the only building surviving today (reconstructed) still on the exposition grounds

References

External links

Official website of the BIE
* ttp://www.jbmonaco.com/pan_pacific/100.html JB Monaco Panama Pacific International Exposition Photo Gallerybr>''The Panama-Pacific International Exposition at San Francisco, 1915''
(1915). From

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

.
Panama-Pacific International Exposition, San Francisco, 1915 (1914)
From

Catalogue de luxe of the Department of Fine Arts, Panama-Pacific International Exposition
From

Panama-Pacific International Exposition AND mediatype:movies
From

.
The Panama Pacific International Exposition
from ''San Francisco Memories''

from the

Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco Virtual may refer to: * Virtual (horse), a thoroughbred racehorse * Virtual channel, a channel designation which differs from that of the actual radio channel (or range of frequencies) on which the signal travels * Virtual function, a programming ...

Virtual Tour of the Panama Pacific International Exposition
from the History Center at the

San Francisco Public Library The San Francisco Public Library is the public library system of the city and county of San Francisco. The Main Library is located at Civic Center, at 100 Larkin Street. The library system has won several awards, such as '' Library Journals ...

Panama-Pacific International Exposition photographic collections
via Calisphere *

California Digital Library The California Digital Library (CDL) was founded by the University of California in 1997. Under the leadership of then UC President Richard C. Atkinson, the CDL's original mission was to forge a better system for scholarly information management a ...

br>Guide to the Panama Pacific International Exposition Records
at

The Bancroft Library The Bancroft Library in the center of the campus of the University of California, Berkeley, is the university's primary special-collections library. It was acquired from its founder, Hubert Howe Bancroft, in 1905, with the proviso that it retai ...

Books about the Exposition
at

Project Gutenberg Project Gutenberg (PG) is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, as well as to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks." It was founded in 1971 by American writer Michael S. Hart and is the oldest digital libr ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Panama-Pacific International Exposition History of the West Coast of the United States 1915 in California 1910s in San Francisco