AN FRANCISCO CHRONICLEAND SFGATE February15,2015 … · in January 1911, San Francisco guaranteed a...

The charming Palace of FineArts is all that is left on theoriginal Panama-PacificInternational Expositionfairgrounds.

Seligman Family Foundation

A fair toremember

1915 Expo

HowSan Francisco came of ageduring the Panama-PacificInternational Exposition

SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE AND SFGATE.COM .|. February 15, 2015

P2 1915 Expo | San Francisco Chronicle and SFGate.com | Sunday, February 15, 2015

If you crossedSanFranciscoBayonwinter’s day a century ago, youwould see ahuge sign in capital letters: CALIFORNIAINVITESTHEWORLD.

Itwas as eye-catching as the forest ofconstruction cranes on the city’s skyline isnow.Thebig sign and the craneswere themarkof the same thing: SanFranciscowasreinventing itself.

Ahundredyears ago, itwas thePana-ma-Pacific InternationalExposition, amagic city of palaces and towers that glit-tered like amirage inwhat is now theMarinadistrict for ninemonths, startingonFeb. 20, 1915.

Itwas a coming-out party, a fantasticextravaganza of light, color and showbusiness designed to showoffCalifornia,to let theworld see that theGoldenState“had comeof age,” in thewords of histori-anKevinStarr.

Why shouldwe remember the 1915 fair?Because itwas the showpiece of anewSan

Francisco, a city un-dergoing a transforma-tion just as profoundas itis nowwith thedigitalage. Insteadof a SuperBowl, or thedreamof anOlympics, SanFranciscothrewahuge celebration

of itself and called it aworld’s fair.Onlynineyearsbefore,most of San

Franciscowasa smoking ruin, shakenbyagiant earthquakeandwreckedby fires thatburned for fourdays.Therewasa line inthe little ditty thatSanFranciscans liked toquote after the 1906disaster: “FromtheFerry toVanNess/You’re agodforsakenmess.”

But in a fewyears, not onlydidSanFrancisco stage aworld’s fair, but it alsobuilt a grandCityHall, developed abrand-newMunicipalRailway and stocked itwith themostmodern equipment in thecountry, startedworkon theHetchHetchywater andpower system, andbuilt a newGeneralHospital—all at prettymuch thesame time. Itwas “an extraordinary explo-sion of civic patriotism,” Starr said.

All that is left on the original fair-grounds is themagnificentPalace of FineArts, restored to its 1915 splendor, likesomeancient ruin. There is also theMari-naGreen at SanFrancisco’s northerndoorstep, andartifacts here and there: thestatue of thePioneerMother inGolden

S.F. took global bowwith 1915 fairBy Carl Nolte

California Historical Society

The 1915 S.F.expositionfeatured agleamingTower ofJewels.

OVERVIEW

Sunday, February 15, 2015 | San Francisco Chronicle and SFGate.com | 1915 Expo P3

GatePark, the two faux stone elephants,JumboandPeewee,whoguardViñadelMarPark inSausalito.

The fairwas greatwhile it lasted: “atemporaryByzantium ... a vision ofwhatSanFranciscowanted to bebut couldn’tbe,”wroteGrayBrechin, the author of“Imperial SanFrancisco.” “You couldn’tdecree an imperial city.”

Thebackers of the fair certainly tried.Over all of this presidedMayor JamesRolph Jr., amillionaire from theMissionDistrictwhowore cowboyboots, stripedpants anda carnation inhis lapel.HewascalledSunny Jimandwouldbe sure totell visitors that thenewCityHall domewashigher than the one on theCapitol inWashington and that SanFranciscowasthebest city in theworld

The fairwas ahugehit— the atten-dancewas 18,876,438, amazing in adaywhenSanFranciscohad fewer than420,000people, about half thepresentpopulation, and fewer than 3.5millionpeople lived inCalifornia.

Of course,manyof the fair-goers camemore thanonce, but expositionmanagersclaimed thatmore than 500,000peoplecame to the fair fromoutsideNorthernCalifornia. “And thiswas in a timewhenfilmwas in its infancy, therewasno ra-

dio, no Internet and it took aweek to getacross the country,” saidLauraAckley,whowrote “SanFrancisco’s JewelCity,” achronicle of the life and times of the fair.

What visitors sawwhen they got tothe fairwas 635 acres coveredwith build-ings in pastel colors, to represent theMediterranean look ofCalifornia. Therewere pavilions from21 foreign countriesand 28 of theUnited States.

The fair had everything—palaces,artwork, airplanes, an assembly line thatproduced 18 newFord cars a day. It hadracing cars, cowboys, Indians, statues,fountains,music, fireworks, carnivalsideshows, 11,000paintings and 1,500statues.

Everybodywhowas anybody came tothe fair.

ThomasEdison, inventor of the in-candescent lightbulb, andHenryFord,whoperfected the assembly line, shareda stage. TheymetwithLutherBurbank,the plantwizard. Edison took a spin

around the citywithHarveyFirestone,the tiremogul.

BuffaloBill Cody came to the fair, andsodidTeddyRoosevelt, Charlie Chaplin,FattyArbuckle,HelenKeller, the educa-torMariaMontessori, bandleader JohnPhilip Sousa, andCamille Saint-Saëns,the famous composer.

Don’t forgetWilliam JenningsBryan,the noted orator;Hiram Johnson, thegovernor ofCalifornia; andThomasRileyMarshall, vice president of the

United States.TherewasBarneyOldfield, the race

car driver, andEddieRickenbacker, latera flying ace.HarryHoudini, themagi-cian,was chained in a lockedboxweight-eddownwith 500pounds of iron anddropped into the bay.He escaped.

Houdiniwasn’t the onlywonder at thefair— therewas alsoCaptain Sigsbee,theEducatedHorse,who could add,subtract, andplay “SuwanneeRiver” onthe chimes. Thehorse got tired of per-formingdaily, so he alternatedwithMadameEllis,who could readminds.

But the real starswere in the skies—daring aviators, including someof themost famous fliers of the day.Aero-planeswere as newas tomorrow in 1915— the fair opened less than adozen yearsafter the first powered flight.

The first starwasLincolnBeachey, anative SanFranciscanwhowasbilled as“the king of the skies.”Hewas said to bethe firstAmerican to fly the loop theloop, but the stunt led to his deathwhenthewing of an experimental plane failedandhe crashed into the bay.

Hewas followedbyArt Smith, “theboy aviator,”who flew loops byday, andstunts bynight, his plane trailing fire-

Overview continues on P4

Published by Robert A. Reid 1915 / California Historical Society

Left: The L.A. Thompson Scenic Railway,with its eye-catching elephants.

Published by PPIE Co.

Above: “The Thirteenth Labor of Hercules”touts the 1915 exposition in San Francisco.


A Panama-Pacific InternationalExposition Medal of Award.

On the coverThe charming Palace of Fine Arts on theoriginal Panama-Pacific InternationalExposition fairgrounds.

OVERVIEW

works, like a comet.Ordinary citizens could fly them-

selves. For $10 they could flywith theLougheadbrothers,who later changedtheir name toLockheed.Aplanewouldtake passengers over the fair, over thebay andback again. From the skies theycould see it all.

The fair extended fromChestnutStreet to the bay and from thePresidio toFortMason. The fairwas crownedby theTower of Jewels, as tall as a 43-storybuilding, anddecoratedwith 102,000brightly colored cut glass “Novogems”thatmoved in thewind. “A searchlight isdirected on the tower at night,”wroteLaura IngallsWilder, “and it iswonder-ful.”

TheTower of Jewels hadno real func-tion. Itwas a one-of-a-kindbuilding,part Byzantine, part Italianwith touch ofAztec. Besides the glass “jewels,” therewere statues on the tower.As architec-ture, “itwas a bit of amess,”Ackleythinks. But itwas bold and impressive,andno onewho saw it ever forgot it.

The 1915 fair began as an idea byReu-benHale,who startedHaleBros., a localdepartment store chain.Hewrote theMerchantsAssociation— later called theChamber ofCommerce—suggesting aninternationalworld’s fair to celebrate theopening of thePanamaCanal and anewrole for SanFrancisco as amajor playerin thePacific.

The idea sat on the backburner, butafter the citywasnearly destroyed in the1906 earthquake and fire, the civicman-tra of those days became simple: SanFranciscowould be rebuilt, bigger andbetter than ever.

Andwhat betterway to show it offthan aworld’s fair?Thatwas the aimofthe city’smercantile elite, “an oligarchyof businesspeople,” Starr called them, “acoalition of the city’s Protestant, Catholicand Jewish leading citizens. TheywereProgressiveswith a capital P.”

The city staged a five-day-longPortolaFestival, in 1909, a kind of dress rehears-al,with parades, a big flotilla of ships

from foreignnations, even aChinesedragon thatwas so big it took 120men tocarry it in a paradeupMarket Street. Thefestival attractedmore than400,000visitors, and itwas clear that SanFran-cisco knewhow to throwabig party.

“Therewas ahuge sense that the citywas reborn,” said Starr.

Next, the city needed to comeupwithaplan and convince the country that aworld’s fairwas just the ticket. Themaincompetition inCaliforniawas SanDiego,which ran its ownPanamaCaliforniafair in 1915, andNewOrleans,which alsowanted to hold an international exposi-tion.

SanFrancisco had akey ally inPresi-dentWilliamHowardTaft,whowasfondof the city by the bay. “SanFrancis-co is the city that knowshow,” he said.TheHouse ofRepresentatives voted 180to 159 for SanFrancisco overNewOrle-ans—and the fairwas on.

Groundwasbroken in 1911.An area onthenorthern edge of the city calledHar-borViewwas selected; about 400houseswere removed, part of the baywas filledin, andworkbegan on thePalace of FineArts in the summer of 1914.

“Itwas also ahuge redevelopmentproject,” Starr said. In a sense, the timearound the fair’s runnot only rebuilt thecity but also reimagined it.

The fair opened onFeb. 20; it hadrained thenight before, but the sun cameout on openingday; a quarter of amillionpeoplewent through the gates.Admis-sionwas 50 cents, half price for children.

“Youknow,” authorLauraAckleysaid, “Iwould like to get into a timema-chine andgoback to the fair, because theworld is so completely different now.”Shewould like to go for amonth, but notlonger.

“Iwould like to go to thePalace ofHorticulture to see the displays, Iwouldlike to hear JohnPhilip Sousa at his lastperformance at aworld’s fair. Itwould becool to hear himwithSaint-Saëns andthe 80-member exposition orchestra anda 300-voice choir.”

She said shewouldhave some candyfloss, “a new invention,” she said, “likecotton candy.”

She thought shemight be able to talkto pioneers, “real 49ers,” she calledthem,whohad crossed the plains incoveredwagons andwerenowoldmen

andwomenwho came to thePanama-Pacific Exposition like venerated relicsof another time.Among themwerePattyReed, one of the last survivors of the 1846DonnerParty disaster.

In fact, Starr, the historian, says, thefairwas a bit of a farewell to the city’spast aswell as showof the future,mixedtogether. “One city gone and anotherborn,” he said. ThePalace of FineArts,in particular, he said, represented “amourning for a lost city.’’

On the fair’s final day,Dec. 4, 1915,more than450,000people cameone lasttime. Towardmidnight, itwas said that ahush fell over the crowd.ExpositionpresidentCharlesC.Moore offered afarewell thought. “Friends,” he said,“this is the endof a perfect day, and thebeginning of anunforgettablememory.”

The lightswent out, one by one, abugler played taps, and, as SamuelDick-son,whowas there, remembered: Thecrowd turned and left slowly,without asound, leaving the fair and “slowlyclimbing thehills, back to reality.”

CarlNolte is a SanFrancisco Chronicle staffwriter. E-mail: [email protected]

City comesof agewith1915 fairOverview from page P3

Cardinell-Vincent Co. / California Historical Society

What goes up must come down: The deconstruction of the Italian Tower is captured for posterity, circa 1916.



One supposed charm ofthe 1915 Panama-Pacific In-ternational Exposition is thatit represents a lost age ofcivic unity, when San Fran-ciscans and their leadersmade things happen withefficient grace as they sum-moned a fantastical vision tolife.

This was, after all, theevent in local history thatstirred William Howard Taftto crown San Francisco withthe title the City That KnowsHow — praise bestowed dur-ing his visit here for thegroundbreaking on Oct. 14,1911.

But there’s a problem withthis yearning for an era be-fore factions and special-interest strife: The 27th presi-dent drove his shovel’s silverblade into the soil of GoldenGate Park. The city’s powerbrokers couldn’t rally behinda single site as the time toshow physical progress drewnear. Instead, exposition lead-ers put their bets on an ex-travaganza stretched acrossthe northern half of the cityfrom the Embarcadero to theocean, a plan quietly aban-doned after the presidentialhoopla faded away.

“It was a grand exhibitionof popular ignorance, cock-sureness, and impatience,”Frank Morton Todd wrotewith bemused hindsight inhis official history of theexposition. “Thousands mightconcede that they did notknow how to build an exposi-tion but no one would con-cede that he did not knowwhere to build it.”

Common sense wouldsuggest that something asbasic as location would belocked down before the citywas selected by the federalgovernment to hold an in-ternational exposition, but no.The competition between San

Francisco and rival New Or-leans during 1910 turned onissues of boosterism andregional pride.

The deciding factor mayhave been that then, as now,the Bay Area was wellstocked with wealthy resi-dents eager to make theirchosen home shine. WhenNew Orleans’ exposition com-mittee announced in early1910 that it had pledges of$200,000 to make a fair hap-pen, San Francisco’s boostersresponded with a gala at theMerchants Exchange where

$4 million was pledged.By the time the House of

Representatives prepared tochoose between the two citiesin January 1911, San Franciscoguaranteed a world’s fairwith $17.5 million in civic andstate funds to get thingsstarted. New Orleans couldn’tcome close to matching thisamount. With Taft’s blessing,San Francisco was awardedthe right to hold the 1915exposition.

The day after the vote inWashington, a headline in theSan Francisco Call pro-

claimed, “City Ready to BeginBuilding of Great Fair.” Read-ers also were informed uphigh that “first of all, the sitemust be decided upon.”

Which was no easy task.In retrospect the choice for

what then was dubbed Har-bor View was obvious, giventhe visual splendor surround-ing the 635 acres boundedroughly by Van Ness Avenue,Lombard Street, Crissy Fieldand the bay. But this was atime when much of the city’sland was undeveloped, whichmeant an abundance of blank

slates waiting to be filled.Land south of Islais Creek

near Hunters Point, for ex-ample, was the top vote get-ter in a Call “election” wherereaders cast more than 25,000ballots. Among the attributeswas that the land was “prac-tically fogless.”

This case couldn’t be madefor another much-hyped lo-cale: Lake Merced and itssurroundings, then framed bya weave of forested hills. Butsupporters (including nation-ally famous planner Daniel

S.F. hadmoney but no location

Chronicle file photo

President William Howard Taft passes the old Chronicle building during a parade in San Francisco in 1911. He was in town forgroundbreaking ceremonies for the Panama-Pacific International Exposition.

By John King

Location continues on P6

PLANNING

The 1915 expo ticketswere like IDs and werevalidated by theadmissions department.

Breakinggroundon expo

Burnham) shrugged offweather conditions, insteadarguing that the topographyoffered “a splendid opportuni-ty for unusual waterfeatures.”

Downtown power brokershad their own favored desti-nation, the working water-front along the Embarcadero.The idea was a range of at-tractions in a band from Tele-graph Hill to Rincon Hill,with two-story wharf build-ings where each upper floorwould hold exhibition spaceconnected by an elevatedboulevard.

There were other geo-graphic hats tossed into thering. The Call ballot includedVisitacion Valley, Yerba BuenaIsland and the Tanforan areaof San Bruno. Arthur Math-ews, “among the best knownof San Francisco artists,”received publicity for a pro-posed exposition ground atopNob Hill.

“Had the San Franciscansbeen able to unite in meekagreement on a site for theExposition they would nothave been the hardy breedthey are,” Todd wrote later.

And then as well as now,some cynical residents pre-ferred that nothing happen atall — especially if it meant, inthe words of one letter writer,“misappropriating the publicfunds to fill in mudholes anda part of the bay to makeland valuable for a few Mil-lionaires who spend theirmoney in New York City.”

As the committee organiz-ing the exposition was eagernot to offend the city’s topnames — several of which infact were on the committee —two sites emerged asfront-runners.

Harbor View was one, itsselling points including therelatively low costs to fill andgrade the mudflats, and thefact that the military washappy to include Fort Masonand the northwest corner ofthe Presidio in the mix. Theother was the western half ofGolden Gate Park; not onlywas it city property, but itspotential was trumpeted on anear-daily basis by TheChronicle, whose publishershad instigated the 1894 Cali-fornia Midwinter Interna-tional Exposition.

The committee appointed asubcommittee, then threemore, then a fifth. The lattercame back on July 25 with itssolution: a super-size celebra-tion that would take in boththe Harbor View and GoldenGate Park sites, as well asvestiges of the downtownwaterfront scheme.

Committee members ralliedbehind a solution that onenewspaper promptly labeled“more beautiful, more novel,more appropriate in spiritand more appealing to theimagination than any otherexposition the world hashad.”

That scenario explainsPresident Taft’s presence inGolden Gate Park, where,among other attractions, therewas talk of connecting theChain of Lakes via a Panama-like canal. He also could havechosen Telegraph Hill, where,said the groundbreaking pro-gram, “it is proposed to in-stall the largest wireless tele-graph station in the world.”Or Lincoln Park above thePacific Ocean, where “a giantcommemorative statue ... willcommand the entrance to theharbor.”

The groundbreaking, inshort, was accompanied byrhetoric as starry-eyed andinsupportably grand as everymuch-touted makeover un-

veiled hereabouts ever since,up to and including the 2013America’s Cup and the recentfailed Olympic bid.

And as often has been thecase in the decades since,what came to pass in 1915bore only a partial resem-blance to what boosters firstproclaimed.

During the same monththat Taft was feted by civicleaders, the fair’s architecturalcommittee buckled down towork. “It became at onceapparent that a compositeplan was impossible from atechnical and financial stand-point,” the exposition’s Divi-sion of Works noted in alengthy 1915 report. The costsof stringing together a con-stellation of attractions wouldmake it difficult to build any-where close to the number ofexhibit halls that wereneeded. Not only did HarborView pencil out the best, thearchitects “believed that ithad tremendous scenicpossibilities.”

On Dec. 15, 1911, all thealternate schemes and dreamswent into the dustbin of his-tory. Fortunately for us, thearchitects knew their stuff.

John King is The San FranciscoChronicle’s urban design critic.E-mail: [email protected]: @johnkingsfchron

Location from page P5



5 events not to missThe Panama-Pacific International Exposi-

tion opened Feb. 20, 1915, as overnight rainsgave way to sunshine that sparkled off102,000 cut-glass gems suspended from theTower of Jewels, 435 feet up in the sky.

We cannot expect anything that dramaticfor the fair’s centennial, but we can expect tosee the Palace of Fine Arts in spotlit colorsexactly as it was the day the fair opened 100years ago. As the weekend and the year unfold,there will be 100th anniversary symposiums,lectures, a bike tour and art shows from here toFresno dedicated to remembering and cele-brating the Jewel City that stood for 287 days.

Here are five you won’t want to miss. In-formation comes from the PPIE100 Centenni-al Guidebook, created and published by theCalifornia Historical Society. A complete list-ing is at www.ppie100.org.

Lighting of thePalace of FineArts The 100thanniversary ofthe fair’s openingwill be celebrat-ed by re-creatingthe historic 1915lighting of thePalace of FineArts. View a filmand light in-stallation byOptic Flare in thePalace of FineArts Theatrelobby. Friday,Feb. 20, 9 to10:00 p.m. 3301Lyon St., SanFrancisco.

Community Day at the Palaceof Fine Arts Opening ceremo-nies for the centennial begin atnoon Saturday, Feb. 21, withcivic dignitaries and fair re-enactors portraying CharlieChaplin, Buffalo Bill Cody andHenry Ford. Music will contin-ue all afternoon highlighted bya Uke-A-Thon, which anyonewith a ukulele can join. Theremay be as many as 1,000ukuleles, at 3 p.m.

Come evening the groundswill again be spotlighted andOptic Flare will present a filmand light show in the Palace ofFine Arts Theatre lobby. 7 to 10p.m.

All Community Day andlight show events are free.

Lighting of theFerry BuildingThe Ferry Build-ing was a beaconthroughout thefair, and onMarch 3, it willbecome a bea-con again. Thetower will featureold-fashioned-looking bulbs tospell out “1915,”the way it wasdone in 1915. Thelights will thenstay on until Dec.4, the day the fairended. March 3,5:30 p.m., 1 FerryBuilding. Free.

“City Rising: SanFrancisco and the1915 World’s Fair”A major overviewof the fair put onby the CaliforniaHistorical Societyopens Saturday,Feb. 21, in Innova-tion Hangar, wherethe Exploratoriumused to be. A con-current exhibitionunder the samename opens atnoon Sunday, Feb.22, at CaliforniaHistorical Societyheadquarters, 678Mission St.

“Jewel City: ArtFrom the Panama-Pacific Internation-al Exposition” Anexhibition involving250 artworks, whichwere on display atthe Fine Arts Palace,French Pavilion andother sites duringthe fair, will openOct. 17 and runthrough Feb. 10 atthe de Young Muse-um, 50 HagiwaraTea Garden Drive.

—SamWhitingswhiting@

sfchronicle.comTwitter:

@samwhitingsf

N Sunday, February 15, 2015 • • Advertising Feature P7

BenAhn taps his flip-floprhythmically against thestool.His eyes are closed,

andhebelts out smooth lyrics.Onehandglides upanddownalong frets of theukulele,while theother picks at the four soft strings.His hand taps against thewood,giving the tuneamelodic, thump-ingbeat.It sounds like the soundtrack to

anyHawaiian vacation, but forAhn, these are the soundsof hisHawaiian homeland that hehasturned into amusical career.Sincemoving to theBayArea

in 2013,Ahnhas immersedhim-self in theukulele and localmusicscene.Hewill share his talents ashost, emceeandperformer at theUke-A-Thon, anopening-dayevent at theCentennialCelebra-tionof the1915Panama-PacificInternational Exposition.ToAhn, it is fitting that the

ukulelebehonored.“Knowing itwas something

that tookplace100 years ago, Ithink itmakesperfect sense,” hesaid.As anativeHawaiian, partici-pating in aFeb. 21event in SanFrancisco “sounded like amatchmade in heaven.”Theoriginal Panama-Pacific

International Exposition in 1915 is

creditedwith introducing thesmall, four-stringed instrumentintomainstreammusic in theU.S.TheUke-A-Thonwill celebratethat heritagewithmusical perfor-mances, aswell as aneducationalportion,where the crowdswilllearn howPPIEhelpedmake theukulelegainpopularity.The idea for theUke-A-Thon

came fromJanBerckefeldt, Exec-utiveDirector of theMaybeckFoundation. Shedoesn’t playukulele, but she says theHawaiianpavilionbecameoneof themostpopular areas for people toenjoymusic and theukulele.“The craze today astounds

me,”Berckefeldt said, of theukulele’s newpopularity.Pronounced“oo-ku-lay-lay,”

theukulele has four strings andashort neck and is known for beinga friendly instrument that’s easy formost people topick upandplay.“Aside from it beingengraved

inmyveins, it’s apretty disarminginstrument,”Ahn said.Heonceheard theukulele

describedperfectly like this:“Whenyoubringaguitar to aparty, people expect you tobegood;when youbringaukulele,theyexpect you tobe fun.”Berckefeldt andHiramKaailau

Bell, amaster uke instructor andperformer,wantpeople to see just

how fun theukulele is toplay. Bellwill play at this event,whichhon-ors Polynesian andSanFranciscohistory and is important in theukuleleworld.“Becauseof theexposition,

just about everyone startedplay-ing,”Bell said. “It startedamove-ment in theukulele followingonthemainland.”Rather thanhave the focusof

theeventbe solely on star per-formers, Berckefeldt hopes thefocuswill beon community.“For us, this is away tobring

community together throughmusic,”Berckefeldt said. “Wewant tomake it aboutpeople,family, kids coming together andplayingmusic.”

Everyone is encouraged topack their ukuleles—whetherthey knowhow toplay themor not—andparticipate in an audience-wideplay-along.Bell, who teachesukulele,will give aminiworkshopbefore thegroupperformance toshowhow tohold aukulele andhow toplay a fewnotes.Onceeveryonegets thenotes

down, thegroupcanperformoneof his favoriteHawaiian songs. Thesolopart is easy, soBell is confi-dent everyonewill beable topickit upand strumasamassivegroup.

‘Calling all ukes’ — Celebration honors historic instrument

COURTESY OF DONNA EWALD HUGGINS

Ukulele players at the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition.

By Lauren Nelson

Uke-A-Thon

3-5 p.m. Feb. 21 at thePalace of Fine ArtsFor more information, visitwww.PPIE100.org, or followPPIE100 on Twitter andFacebook @PPIE100.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 20

SanFranciscoEthnicDanceFestival—Noon,CityHall. Theannual event launches its 2015Seasonunder the rotundaof SanFranciscoCityHall.

PalaceAfterDark—9-10p.m.,Palaceof theFineArts, 3301LyonAve. Thepublic is invited to strollthePalacegrounds—seewhat itlooked like in1915!Therewill bea filmand light

showbyOptic Flare in the theaterlobby.PalaceAfterDark ismade

possiblebyagrant fromTaubePhilanthropieswith additionalfunding fromTheFriendFamily.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 21

PPIE100CommunityDay—Palaceof FineArts,Noon-5p.m.PPIE100CommunityDaywill beafree, open to-the-public celebra-tionofmusic, arts, history andinnovation—all of the things thatmade the1915World’s Fair suchaspecialmoment a century ago.Theprogrammingandattractionswill beprovidedbynearly 30 com-munityorganizations and someofthe largestBayArea cultural in-stitutions, including theFineArtsMuseumsof SanFrancisco, Explo-ratorium,BayAreaDiscoveryMuseumandanewexhibit at theCaliforniaHistorical Society.CommunityDaywill serveas

the first public openingof In-novationHangar (iHangar), aunique social innovation spacethat facilitates connections, ideasand investments in away thatsimply cannot happen in the virtualworld. Thedaywill focusonen-gagingyoungpeople and familieswithhands-onactivities.

PalaceAfterDark—7-10p.m.,Palaceof theFineArts.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 22

CityRising: SanFranciscoandThe1915World’s Fair—Noon-5p.m.,CaliforniaHistorical Society,678MissionSt.OpeningofCityRising: SanFranciscoandThe

1915World’s Fair fromCHShead-quarters. It is a stunning jewel-boxshow,highlighting theFair’s his-tory, beauty, complexity, and im-pact. Includesposters, historicalartifacts and souvenirs of theFair.Formore information, visitwww.calhist.org.

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 23

CommonwealthClubpaneldiscussion—6:30-9p.m.Com-monwealthClub, 555Post Street.Adiscussionon thePanama-Pacific International Exposition,moderatedbyDr.AntheaHartig,withDr. KevinStarr andSanFran-cisco cultural leaders. For tickets,visitwww.commonwealthclub.org.

TUESDAY, MARCH 3

FerryBuilding lighting—6:15p.m. FerryBuilding. For thedura-tionof the1915Exposition, theFerryBuildingwas festoonedwithlights, abeaconproudlyproclaim-ing“1915” to theworld. Thislightingwill be recreated in a civicceremonybeginningat 5:30p.m.Lightswill be switchedonat 6:15p.m. and remainonuntilDec. 4,thenight theFair closed.All arewelcome.Madepossiblebyagrant fromTaubePhilanthropiesandother community supporters.That sameevening, in theFerryBuildingatBookPassage, LauraAckleywill be signingherbook“SanFrancisco’s JewelCity.”

Panama-Pacific International Exposition Centennial opening highlights

P8 Advertising Feature • • Sunday, February 15, 2015 Sunday, February 15, 2015 • • Advertising Feature P9

To our fellow park lovers, history buffs and visionaries:

We are thrilled that next Saturday, the Palace of Fine Arts will re-open to thepublic, with a day of free exhibits and activities to delight, educate and engagevisitors as part of the celebration of the Panama-Pacific International Expositioncentennial.Outside historic light displays on Friday and Saturday evenings salute the dra-

matic lights of the 1915 Fair. On Saturday, the building will be electrified withdisplays and projects from local and national institutions including Maker Media,the Smithsonian’s Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation, theSan Francisco Fine Arts Museums and the Exploratorium, many of which will con-tinue on through the year.This momentous celebration would not be possible without our partners: the

California Historical Society, Maybeck Foundation, and Innovation Hangar, each ofwhich brings a valuable perspective on our theme, “Then, Now and Tomorrow.”And none of this would be possible without the professional and dedicated

Recreation and Park Department staff who will offer artistic activities on Saturday,and who are always on hand tending to the grounds of the Palace for the enjoy-ment of all.We hope you will join us in celebrating the past 100 years and the next 100.Warmly,

Innovation Hangar in the Palace ofFine Arts opens to the public onSaturday, Feb. 21.Its featured partners offering

activities for all ages on CommunityDay include:

SPOTLIGHT ON INNOVATION HANGAR

Twoof themost stunningattractionsduring theopen-ingof the centennialwill be

thehistoric recreationsof lighting atboth thePalaceof FineArts andatSanFrancisco’s iconic FerryBuild-ing. ThePalaceCentennial lightinghasbeenmadepossiblewith leadgifts from theFriendFamily andfromTaubePhilanthropies.TadTaubeandTaubePhilan-

thropies alsomade the facilitatinggift for thepermanent installationof TheBay Lights, and theFriendandTaube families previouslyprovided leadgifts for theRestora-tionof thePalaceof FineArts. Theircommitment to the city andpartic-ularly thePalaceof FineArts isextraordinary. TaubePhilanthropiesalsoprovided the facilitatinggift fortheFerryBuilding relighting.

THE PALACE OF FINE ARTSPalaceAfterDarkbegins Friday,

Feb. 20, from9-10p.m. andcontin-uesonSaturday, Feb. 21, from7-10p.m. Thepublic is invited to strollthePalacegrounds, viewa filmandlight showandbeable to seeandfeelwhat itwas like to attend theFair in 1915!Usingmodern lighting tech-

nology, colored lightswill sweepacross the Lagoon, illuminating thewater and the flowof its naturalcurrents from the southend to thenorth endandout into thebay. Thefacadeof thePalaceof FineArtsExhibitionHall will alsoprovide asurface for recreating themagic ofthenightly light showsof thePPIE.Thedesigners of thePPIEhired

JulesGuerin todevelopa color

for over 18millionpeoplewhovisited the city to attend thePPIE.For thedurationof theExposition,its towerwas festoonedwith lights,a beaconproclaiming“1915” tovisitors onboth sidesof theBay.DonnaEwaldHugginspresent-

edMayor Edwin Leewith the ideaof "re-lighting" theFerryBuildingfor theCentennial, andhewasimmediately onboard. ThePort ofSanFrancisco, theFerryBuilding,formerMayorWillie L. BrownandChief of ProtocolCharlotte Shultzalso supported theeffort. JimPhelandesignedand installed thelights, replicating as closely aspossible the lightingof 1915.Those lightswill be turnedon

onceagainonMarch3, in apublicceremony thatwill feature civicdignitaries.Crowdswill gather at5:30p.m.with the actual relightingtakingplace at 6:15p.m.Don’tmiss themagicalmoment

when theFerryBuildingonceagaininvites theworld to1915!

palette for the fair usingaMediter-ranean inspired theme. ThePalaceof FineArtswasoriginally coloredaccording to this palate and thesehistoric colorswill be replicatedthrough lighting.PalaceAfterDark attendees are

then invited toenter thePalaceofFineArts Theater lobby to seea filmand light showcreated just for theCentennial by SanFrancisco light-ingdesignersOptic Flare andunderwrittenbyMauriceKanbar.

THE FERRY BUILDINGIn addition to commemorating

the completionof thePanamaCanal, theExposition celebratedSanFrancisco’s recovery from the1906earthquakeand its emer-genceas a center ofworld trade.Built in1898, theFerryBuilding

wasoneof the few structures that,amazingly,was not seriously dam-agedduring the1906earthquake.In 1915, this vital transportationhub servedas awelcoming center

Two illuminating experiences: Philanthropistslight up Ferry Building, Palace of Fine Arts

SELIGMAN FAMILY FOUNDATION

The Palace of Fine Arts lit up in 1915 for the exposition.

TheExploratorium—Help theExplora-toriumcelebrate both the legacy of thefair and theExploratorium’s ownhistory inthe Palaceof FineArts.Movies in theInnovationHangar Studio (formerly knownasMcBeanTheater) includeHistoric Filmswith theCinemaArtsDepartment at 12:30p.m, 1:30p.m. and3:30p.m. andBlastFrom thePast, TheExploratoriumat ThePalaceof FineArts at 2:30p.m. Fromnoonto 3p.m., staff will offer an activity: EarlyAnimation andColorMixingwith Explor-ables.Walking tourswill includeTheEx-ploratoriumRemains—Tours Inside thePalaceof FineArts at 1 p.m. and3p.m.andHistoricWalkAbout the ScienceofLight at 1:30p.m.All tourswillmeet out-side the InnovationHangar Studio.

Music in Schools Today— In the spirit ofboth the incredible array ofmusical of-ferings at the PPIE andMusic in SchoolsToday, artisanswill workwith guests tomake instruments out of “found” andrecycledmaterials, teaching thatmusiccanbe found in everything. Adrummakerwill showhowdrums aremade, and anInstrument “Petting Zoo”will allowat-tendees to try outmusical instruments.

SanFranciscoRecreation andParksDepartment -Twoart projects offeredbythe SanFranciscoRecreation andParksDepartmentwill create objects celebrat-ingCommunityDay’s themeof “Then,NowandTomorrow,” byputting amod-ern twist on important elements of theFair. In recognitionof the importanceofbadges, brooches andmedallions at theFair, attendees can create jewelrywith LEDlights and a selectionof foundmaterials.Staff will also help visitors create anAd

HocTower thatwill serve as a tribute to thefair’s tallest building: the 43-story Tower ofJewels, whichwas covered in “jewels”knownasNovagems. Visitors can choosefroma variety ofmaterials to add to theTower,whichwill be constructedover anilluminatedbase thatwill direct coloredbeamsof light up through the center.Comewatch theTower growaspeoplecontribute to the hands-on construction.

IHangar JuniorAviators—Spark!LabSmithsonian, in conjunctionwith theBayAreaDiscoveryMuseum, offers ahands-on invention experience.Devel-opedby the LemelsonCenter for theStudyof Invention and Innovation, thisexperience encourages childrenbetween

the ages of 6 to 12 to create, collaborate,test, experiment and invent. Visitorswillusematerials to create inventions to takehome. Spark!Lab reveals the stories be-hind inventors’ work andhelp kids learnthe history andprocess of invention.

Participating foodvendors:ThreeTwins,Alicia’s Tamales LosMayas,HongryKong,LeCafé Roule,GrilledCheezGuy, LittleGreenCyclo, Bowl’dAcai

Additional CommunityDaypartners:

1 Cameron+Company1 ChineseHistorical Society of America1 Friends of theExpositionOrgan1 HistoryPin1MarineMammalCenter1Mechanics’ Institute1OaklandMuseumofCalifornia1 Presidio Trust1 SanFranciscoHistoryAssociation1 SanFrancisco Lesbian/Gay FreedomBandand Lesbian/GayChorus of S.F.1 SanFranciscoRailwayMuseum1 ShapingSanFrancisco1 Society ofCalifornia Pioneers1 SwantonPacific RailroadSociety1WesternNeighborhoods Project1WorldArtsWest

History/MemorabiliaCourt(s)

1 BeachBabylon SanFranciscoHat1 CaliforniaHistorical Society/LauraAckley1 ExpositionOrgan1Guardians of theCity1 TheHandFanMuseum1 HugginsGallery (DisplayCases)

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 21

OpeningDay Dedication—Noon. Join to-gether under the Rotunda of the Palace of FineArts for the opening ceremony of the PPIE100Centennial, including a Native Californian Dance.

Uke-A-Thon— 3 p.m., Outside Rotunda, featur-ing Ben Ahn, Hana Hou 100, Hiram Kaailau Bell,Academy of Hawaiian Arts, and special guests.All are welcome. Lessons, dancing, fun!

OutsideRotundaStage:1 11:50 a.m.-Noon—Emeryville Taiko1 12:20-12:40p.m.—Emeryville Taiko1 1-1:30p.m.—NemenzoPolynesianDanceCompany1 1:45-2:15p.m.—SanFranciscoOperaAdler Fellows, joinedbyUkulelemusicians(HanaHou100) for final song, “SFOpenYourGates.”1 3p.m.—Uke-A-Thon1 4:30-5:00p.m.—HanaHou100UkuleleQuartet, Ukulele JamSession

InnovationHangarCommunity Stage:1 12:30-1:10p.m.—CostanoanRumsenCarmel Tribeof theOhlonePeople1 1:20-1:30p.m.—Nora&Ed’sMala Junta TangoGroup1 1:30-1:45p.m.—PanamaPacific International Exposition ThisDay in 19151 1:45-1:55p.m.—Nora&Ed’sMala Junta TangoGroup1 2:10-2:15p.m.—Chinese PerformingArts of America1 4:25-5p.m.—RisingRhythmCollaboration, Afro-Latinobandwith dancers perform-ing styles such as rumba, bomba, hip hopandother street dance styles.

CaliforniaHistorical Society— Join theCaliforniaHistorical Society for aHistoryforHalf Pints Family Program.Design yourown ribbons, pinwheels andother funembellishments that recall the activitiesandmemorabilia of the fair.

FineArtsMuseumsof SanFrancisco—TheFineArtsMuseumsof San Francisco—which comprises thedeYoungandLegionofHonormuseums—will havedeYoungArtists in Residence JoshuaMargo-

lis andStreetcolor leadinghands-on artmakingworkshops.TheMuseums’ area atCommunityDay

will also feature information about itsexhibit JewelCity: Art from thePanama-Pacific International Exposition at thedeYoung inGoldenGate Park. The exhibi-tion runs fromOct. 17 to Jan. 10, 2016,and includes 250paintings, sculptures,prints andphotographsby themajorAmerican andEuropean artswho captivat-ed audiences in 1915.

PPIE100 Community Day: Activities for allas Palace of Fine Arts reopens on Feb. 21

A celebration of history,innovation, art and music

SCHEDULE OF PERFORMANCES

HANDS-ON ACTIVITIES INSIDE THE PALACE OF FINE ARTS

PPIE100

More details about PPIE100can be found at www.PPIE100.org.Follow @PPIE100 on Twitter andFacebook.com/PPIE100.

Mark Buell,President, Recreation and ParkCommission

Phil Ginsburg,General Manager, Recreation andPark Department

For those fascinatedbyantique cars and fire appa-ratus, don’tmiss theseCommunityDaydisplays.

Model T’s and theFordMotorCompany:TheFordMotorCompany certainly hadoneof the singlemostpopular exhibits of theExposition.At Ford’s “booth,”transfixed fairgoerswatchedas 18Model T’s adaychuggedoff an assembly line, oneevery tenminutes!Two1915Model T touring cars, similar to those that

cameoff thePPIE assembly line,will beondisplay.Attendeeswill be able to takephotosof thesegemsandposewith their proudvintage-attiredowners. The

FordMotorCompanywill alsodisplay ahistory of thecompany completewithphotoopportunities.

TheGuardiansof theCity:TheGuardiansof theCityMuseumandSafety LearningCenter celebrates theSanFranciscoCity andCounty First Responders andpreservesprecious artifacts from thosedepartments.In 1914, theAmerican LaFrance companywon the

coveted contract toprovide fire equipment at thePPIE. Tenpiecesof apparatuswere leased to theEx-positionFireDepartment. Twoof the tenoriginal unitsusedwill be returning to their original “home”onCommunityDay.Also, a hose tender from theSanFranciscoFireMuseum thatwasoriginally intended fortheExpositionwill beondisplay.Members ofGuard-iansof theCitywill beonhandwith historicmemora-bilia&photographs and to answer all your questions.

A tale of fire enginesand Model T’s

P10 Advertising Feature • • Sunday, February 15, 2015


When the Panama-PacificInternational Exposition closedon Dec. 4, 1915, 459,000 peoplecame to bid farewell, and byDec. 5, it all had to go— every-thing inside the buildings, andthen the buildings themselves.

What was built of plasterandwire, whichwasmost of it,was leveled, with only the Pal-ace of Fine Arts saved.Whatwas on loanwas shipped back,andwhat wasn’t andwasworth saving was offered upfor sale in newspaper ads.Barges arrived.Whole build-ings floated away to newhomes, and some becamehomes in Oakland, Berkeleyand Belvedere.

Souvenirs and trinkets end-ed up inmuseums and privatecollections. Jewel City obses-sive Donna EwaldHuggins has3,000 pieces of Expo-iana ather home in San Rafael. Butshe has nothing in the way oforiginal statuary or artifacts.Since there were 11 major palac-es and 100 smaller pavilionsholding thousands ormillionsof items, the following questionarises:

Where did it all go?As just one example, “End of

the Trail,” themonumentalsculpture of an Indianwarrioron horseback, was dumpedinto theMarinamud after thefair. The city of Visalia, in Tu-lare County, eventually rescuedit and later sold it to the Nation-al Cowboy &WesternHeritageMuseum in Oklahoma City,where it is on display front andcenter.

For some reason, a lot ofstuff from the fair ended up inNewYork and Pennsylvania.For some reason, not a lot ofstuff ended up here in the BayArea.

What follows is what wefound locally, either out in theopen or accessible in amuse-um, church, school, club orroadside attraction.

San Francisco

Palace of FineArts: BernardMaybeck’s glorious palacerotunda is not original, strictlyspeaking, because it was torndown and rebuilt of sturdiermaterials in the 1960s.

What is original are the giantgreenwooden doors to thepalace. Behind those giantwooden doors are twin 14-footplaster angels that stand onpedestals near the doors. De-signed byMaybeck, these weresalvaged from the originalrotunda. Also original are thesteel truss framework to the

palace and four great stonefireplaces.

One aspect that predates thefair is the lagoon, though it wasnot in the graceful curvaceousdesign it now inhabits.

“PioneerMother” (GoldenGate Park):Along John F.Kennedy Drive, at the entranceto Stow Lake, stands a tallbronze statue of a womanwithtwo kids tugging on her. In basrelief at its base are variousforms of transit for movingwest.

“PioneerMother” was castin NewYork and shippedwestin tribute toMother’s Day,

created by Congress in 1914. Atthe fair it stood outside themain entrance to the Palace ofFine Arts. It went into storage,only to reappear at the sub-sequent Golden Gate Interna-tional Exposition on TreasureIsland in 1939. From there itcame to the park, a donation byNative Daughters of the GoldenWest.

Other than two paintings instorage, this is the only piece ofthe fair in the Civic Art Collec-tion overseen by the San Fran-cisco Arts Commission.

“Beethoven” (GoldenGatePark): In front of the Califor-

nia Academy of Sciences is abust of Ludwig von Beethoven,staring directly at the con-course band shell, as if tryingto hear a concert. The bust wasdonated to the city in 1915 bythe German-American Auxilia-ry to the Panama Pacific In-ternational Exposition.

Marble urn (GoldenGatePark): Inside the Conservato-ry of Flowers is a heavymarbleurnwith naked kids forming aring around its base. It is un-marked, as is the palm treenearby, transplanted from thefair.

Japanese TeaGarden gates

Where the expo artifacts areBy Sam Whiting

Santiago Mejia / The Chronicle

The “Pioneer Mother” statue now sits near Stow Lake in Golden Gate Park. It was displayed at fairs in 1915 and 1939.

LANDMARKS

(GoldenGate Park):A giftfrom the sister city of Osaka,Japan, the gates were actuallybuilt for the CaliforniaMid-winter Fair of 1894, and re-moved to theMarina for thefair. Theywere returned andwere restored in the 1980s.

DeYoungMuseum: Threepaintings exhibited at the fairare on permanent display in thegalleries. They are “Mother andChild” by JohnHenry Twacht-man, “Winter’s Festival” byWillardMetcalf and “SpringWinds” by Joseph Raphael.Also on permanent display is“California,” a bust by sculptorHiram Powers.

Legion ofHonor: “The Think-er,” by Auguste Rodin, was agreeter at the French pavilionand now does the same duty inthe entry court to the Legion.

University Club:Against a redbrick wall on the sidewalk, asCalifornia Street climbs to Pow-ell, is a bronze statue of theGreek godHermes, with wingsat his Achilleses’. Called “Rest-ing Hermes,” it belongs to theUniversity Club, which boughtit from the Italian delegation for$300 at fair’s end.

At first, Hermes was exhib-ited in the fourth-floor rotundaof the club on its own pedestal.Later it was removed to thegarden and eventually made itsway to the sidewalk. Stolenonce, it was recovered intact,and is now the easiest artifactto see without having to get outof the car.

NotreDame desVictoires:Inside the school auditorium,which is just a few steps upfrom Pine Street at StocktonStreet, sits what is certainlythe largest collection of fairartifacts still serving theirintended use: 150 foldingchairs.

Made of wood and still stur-dy and comfortable, the chairsare joined at the hip in sets oftwo, like the stadium seats atCandlestick Park.

The chairs were bought atfair’s end and stored for 10years until the school openedin 1924.

Trinity Episcopal Church:The bronze lectern in theshape of an angel came fromthe Tiffany exhibit at the fair.Standing 8 feet tall andweigh-ing hundreds of pounds, itwas purchased by the father ofa parishioner and donated tothe church at Gough and Bushstreets. Trinity is currentlyclosed for a seismic upgrade.

Bill GrahamCivic Audi-torium:An off-site structureof steel and stone, it was putup as a joint project betweenthe city and fair organizers.Originally called ExpositionAuditorium and later SanFrancisco Civic Auditorium, itopened amonth before the fairandwas used for conventionsand ancillary events. TheExposition Organ has beensitting in its basement foryears. Its pipes have beenrestored and it awaits its cen-tennial debut.

One Sansome Street:A. Stir-ling Calder, sculptor in chief forthe fair, made 90 “StarMaiden”statues to gaze out from theCourt of the Universe. Themaidens were not built to last,but themold was, and a singlereplica was commissioned byCiticorp in 1983. Called “TheStar Girl,” the bronze statuestands in the open atrium ofthe banking center at the cor-ner of Sansome andMarketstreets.

Herbst Theatre:Eight 27-footmurals, painted by FrankBrangwyn for the Court ofAbundance, hang in the audi-torium of the Herbst Theatre attheWarMemorial VeteransBuilding. The building isclosed for refurbishing, and themurals will next be seenwhenit reopens later in 2015.

Marin County

Viña delMar Park, Sausali-to: Standing along Bridgewayare twin elephant streetlightstandards with a circular foun-tain set back between them.The elephants, namedDumboand Peewee, stood as flagpolesoutside the Court of the Uni-verse at the fair, andwere de-signed by the famedNewYorkarchitectural firm ofMcKim,Mead andWhite. The fountain,whichwas outside the Palaceof Education, was designed byarchitectWilliam Faville ofSausalito.

After the fair, Faville andsubscribers purchased thefountain and elephants, whichwas barged to the Sausalitopier and slid along rollers intoplace. The elephants were used

as flagpole standards until1939, when the vibration start-ed to weigh on them and theywere repurposed as lightingfixtures. In 1976, they wererestored, and they look un-blemished by the 40 yearssince.

Mill Valley CityHall:Apainting from theMarin Coun-ty Exhibit in the CaliforniaBuilding hangs above the entryto the council chambers. Called“Mount Tamalpais Panorama,”it is by Ettore “Hector” Serba-roli.

Mission SanRafael:Anotherpainting from theMarin Coun-ty Exhibit is in themuseum giftshop at the historic mission.First displayed in the CliffHouse, following the fair, it waspurchased by a church patronfor $400 andmoved to themission in 1976. Painted in anirregular half-oval shape, itwas titled “Baptism of ChiefMarin,” but is now called “Mis-sion San Rafael.”

Downtown SanRafael: TheVictor Company Pavilion,forerunner to RCAVictor, wasdismantled and rafted toMar-in, where it hit land andwasreassembled into the San Ra-fael Improvement Club on FifthandH streets. It is now listedas belonging to RotaryManor.

Aldersly Retirement Com-munity (SanRafael): Thesign from outside the DenmarkPavilionmade its way to thedriveway of this retirementhome. The tombstone-likemarker reads “Denmark 7174miles,” to rub it in for lonelyseagoing Danes whowere thefirst residents at 326MissionAve.

East Bay

Chabot Space& ScienceCenter: Before the fair, ChabotObservatory in Oakland hadcontracted with the ClevelandfirmWarner & Swasey to builda 20-inch telescope for its newobservatory. A deal was cut towaive the shipping fee in ex-

Artifacts continues on P14

Santiago Mejia / The Chronicle

Honorio Perez passes the exposition’s elephant lightstandards, which are now at Viña del Mar park in Sausalito.

Gina Pandiani

A signpostfrom theDenmarkpavilion at theexpositionnow marks aretirementcommunity inSan Rafael.


It was a great big beautifultomorrow in 1915, and some-body at the Panama-PacificInternational Expositionwanted to sell it to you.

General Electric wanted tohook fairgoers on this won-derful thing called a toasterthat could, without an openflame of any kind, producetoast. Heinz wanted to en-thrall attendees with themiracle of canned peachesthat had no bits of solderinside.

The phone company want-ed to remind fairgoers thatits new transcontinental lineswere open for business andthat, for the equivalent of$500 in today’s funds, any-body could place a three-minute call to New York,assuming he had that muchto say.

And the mining industrydesired to show off a greatnew glowing, all-powerfulsubstance called radium, anddid. Tens of thousands offairgoers descended into afake mine and stared atspecks of radium throughmicroscopes.

Radium turned out to begood for nothing, except formaking your watch dial glowin the dark, and for causinganemia and cancer. But therewas so much to do at thefair that no one stuck aroundthe radium exhibit longenough to come down withanything.

Much of the marketingtook place in the commercialexhibits sponsored by giantcorporations. Perhaps themost aggressive was GeneralElectric, which built a model

house and stuffed it full ofmiracle appliances that hard-ly anyone in 1915 had heardof.

Some of the miracles, likethe toaster, are still in gener-al use. Other miracles, suchas the electric player piano,are still in general use inmuseums. Then there is theelectric fireplace, which nevercaught on because a fire isnot supposed to be electric,and — at other exhibits —the electric butter churn andthe electric cream separator,whose times have come andgone, and the electric cowmilker, which is useful ifyour home comes with a cow.

“Corporate marketing,” saidfair historian Laura Ackley,“was alive and well. The fairwas the university of theworld and the shop windowof civilization.”

World’s fairs and modernamusement parks have al-ways had corporate sponsorspresenting elaborate commer-cials in the form of entertain-ment. At more recent world’sfairs, exhibit halls were builtand named by their corporatesponsors and not held innondenominational “palaces”as they were in 1915.

Visitors to the 1964-65world’s fair, and later to Dis-neyland, remember the GECarousel of Progress — thetheater-in-the-round updateof General Electric’s 1915paean to toasters, as well ascountless rides and attrac-tions sponsored by big-nameconglomerates.

In 1915, the hottest newfan-gled technology was thatmiracle called the airplane,invented only 13 years earlier.The fair featured a handful

Companies hada chance to shine— and even glowBy Steve Rubensteinchange for first exhibiting the

telescope, nicknamed Rachel,in the Palace of Liberal Arts.After the fair, the deal washonored, and Rachel arrived onDec. 17, 1915, to be assembled. Ithas been there ever since and isopen for free viewings Fridayand Saturday evenings at theChabot Space & Science Center.

OaklandMuseumof Califor-nia: Two paintings from thePalace of Fine Arts are on per-manent view. They are “Cali-fornia” by ArthurMathewsand “WarmAfternoon” by GuyRose. Also on view is a dressworn by vaudeville dancer LaEstrellita, who starred in“Streets of Seville,” performedin the Joy Zone.

MartinezHistorical SocietyMuseum:Every county in thestate was invited to place anexhibit in the California Build-ing. Only Contra Costa Countyseems to have preserved itsexhibit intact. The exhibit con-sisted of two light boxes thatilluminated glass plate picturesof ByronHot Springs, as anenticement to the resort. Thelight boxes, featuring theiroriginal bulbs, are in workingorder, though ByronHotSprings is not. It folded, as dida hotel built specifically tohandle the crowds expected tocome to the hot springs directlyfrom the fair.

“The Football Players” (UCBerkeley):Abronze by Doug-las Lee Tilden arrived in 1900to become the first statue oncampus. Loaned to the fair,“The Football Players” wasreturned and stands on a ped-estal between StrawberryCreek and the Valley Life Sci-ences Building.

PhoebeA.HearstMuseumofAnthropology (UCBerke-ley):Dolls from the SwedishPavilion and themodel of aChinese temple are normallyon display in themuseum,which is closed for renovation.The costumes worn by theSwedish dolls reappear in adance performance at City Hallon Friday, Feb. 20.

London plane trees (UCBerkeley): Themanicuredgrove of 54 trees on the espla-nade at the base of Sather Tow-er were transplanted from thefair to the Campanile, whichopened three days before thefair closed.

Peninsula

Tea house from JapanesePavilion: Bought by one E.D.Swift, who fancied it a resi-dence for his daughters, it wasbarged down to Belmont. Threeyears later, it was loaded on awagon and brought bymule

train into the hills, above ElCamino Real. A speakeasycalled Elsie’s during Prohibi-tion, it has variously been abordello and a respectablesaloon, and is now the Van’sRestaurant, an American steakhouse.

The Van’s has been expand-ed over the years, but the en-trance andmain dining room,built of redwood, are original,as is the wallpaper.

Santa Cruz County

Overfair Railway: This smallrailroad, one-third scale, wastransported to the Santa CruzMountains, where it still chugsalong as an amusement calledSwanton Pacific, owned andoperated by Cal Poly San LuisObispo.

SamWhiting is a San FranciscoChronicle staff writer. E-mail:[email protected]:@samwhitingsf

In searchof expo’streasuresArtifacts from page P13

Sam Whiting / The Chronicle

Telescope from the exposition is at the Chabot Space Center.

INNOVATIONSP14 1915 Expo | San Francisco Chronicle and SFGate.com | Sunday, February 15, 2015


of stunt pilots putting on airshows, but for those ofmeans, there was nothing tomatch an actual 10-minuteplane ride. For $10 — a for-midable sum in 1915 — fair-goers took off from the baytwo at a time in a homemadeseaplane and circled the bayand the Marin County coast.

Before clambering aboard,passengers had to sign awaiver agreeing that, werethey to die, it was toughluck. No refunds. But hun-dreds of fairgoers took theflights without incident.

Even newer than the air-plane was the transcontinen-tal phone line, which hadbeen completed only the yearbefore. Thousands of fair-goers jammed the AT&T

theater, picked up earpieceswired to their auditoriumseats and listened enthralledwhile a young man in NewYork read the headlines, de-scribed the weather andplayed a phonograph record.

Fifty years later, the phonecompany would stage a simi-lar exhibit at the New YorkWorld’s Fair, touting its latestinvention — the picturephone. The public respondedin a similar way. Few couldafford a long-distance call in1915, and even fewer wanteda picture phone in 1965.

The technology of the tincan was just as exciting in1915 and much more afford-able. Food safety was all therage in 1915, and nothing wasworse than opening a tin canthat had been soldered shutand finding bits of solderinside. Making its debut atthe 1915 fair was the miraclecanning machine, whichcrimped shut the lids insteadof soldering them. With nomore bits of toxic metal in-side, a can of peaches sud-denly contained nothing butpeaches. To most fairgoers,that breakthrough was a lotmore important than callingNew York.

Perhaps no exhibit cap-tured the uncharted braveworld of tomorrow like thefake mine. Fairgoers rode anersatz mine elevator (it vi-brated but didn’t go any-where) and entered a sim-ulated mine, where they wereinvited to view through amicroscope the miraculous,glowing stuff known as radi-um. Fairgoers were told radi-um’s limitless energy wouldpower the future.

But after radium turnedout to be too hazardous evenfor glow-in-the-dark watches,it went the way of the pic-ture phone and the electricfireplace. The future did turnout to be glowing, in otherways.

Steve Rubenstein is a SanFrancisco Chronicle staff writer.E-mail: [email protected]

F.R. Ziel 1915

Above: Stuntpilot ArtSmith leavesa trail in theair to markthe end of theworld’s fair.

California HistoricalSociety 1915

Right: HenryFord’sentouragedisplays thenewestautomobilesat the expo.


PHOTO: age/fotostock

This exhibition is made possible in part by a major grantfrom the National Endowment for the Humanities:Celebrating 50 Years of Excellence, the Oakland MuseumWomen’s Board, Matson Foundation, James CampbellCompany LLC and Stephen and Susan Chamberlin.Additional support is provided by the OMCA History Guild.

OPENING MAY 2015

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