Panama–Pacific International Exposition

Not to be confused with Panama–California Exposition.

Floodlit pavilion at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition. The Tower of Jewels on the left, and the Italian Tower on the right.

Modern picture of The Palace of Fine Arts, the only building surviving today (reconstructed) still on the Exposition grounds

The Panama–Pacific International Exposition (PPIE) was a world's fair held in San Francisco, in the United States, between February 20 and December 4 in 1915. Its ostensible purpose was to celebrate the completion of the Panama Canal, 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 635 acre (2.6 km²) site in San Francisco, along the northern shore now known as the Marina District.

Exhibits

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. A telephone line was also established to New York so people across the continent could hear the Pacific Ocean. The Liberty Bell traveled by train on a nationwide tour to and from Pennsylvania to attend the exposition. After that trip, the Liberty Bell returned to Pennsylvania, and has not been moved since.

The 1915 American Grand Prize and Vanderbilt Cup auto races were held February 27 and March 6 on a 3.84-mile (6.18 km) circuit set up around the Exposition grounds. The Smithsonian Institution also had an exhibition at the Exposition.

Architecture

Souvenir program for groundbreaking for the Exposition by U.S. President William Howard Taft, October 1911

The centerpiece was the Tower of Jewels, which rose to 435 feet and was covered with over 100,000 cut glass Novagems. The ³⁄₄ to 2 inch colored "gems" sparkled in sunlight throughout the day and were illuminated by over 50 powerful electrical searchlights at night.

In front 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 Food Products Palace, the Education and Social Economy Palace, the Agriculture Palace, the Liberal Arts Palace, the Transportation Palace, the Manufacturers Palace, the Mines and Metallurgy Palace, and the Varied Industries Palace. The Machinery Palace, the largest hall, dominated the east end of the central court.

At the west end of central court group was the Palace of Fine Arts. Further west toward the bay down The Avenue of the Nations were national and states' buildings, displaying customs and products unique to the area represented. At the opposite end of the Fair, near Fort Mason 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 surviving building on the Exposition grounds, Bernard Maybeck's Palace of Fine Arts, remained in place, slowly falling into disrepair (although the hall used to display painting and sculpture during the Fair was repurposed as a garage for jeeps during World War II). The Palace, including the colonnade with its signature weeping women and rotunda dome, was completely reconstructed in the 1960s. 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.

A panorama of the Palace of Fine Arts c.1919. The current building was rebuilt in the 1930s, again in the 1960s, and then seismically retrofitted after damage from 1989's Loma Prieta Earthquake, and again in 2009.

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 at Civic Center Plaza and the Japanese Tea house, which was barged down the Bay to Belmont, California and currently operates as a restaurant.

Commemorations

Postcard showing new buildings in San Francisco, with earthquake ruins and bear in foreground, and two small images of buildings of the Exposition at bottom

The US Post Office issued a set of four postage stamps to commemorate the exposition, with designs depicting a profile of Vasco Núñez de Balboa (1¢), the Pedro Miguel Locks of the Panama Canal (2¢), the Golden Gate (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 1915 goes for a thousand United States dollars.^{[citation needed]}

Commemorative coins were also issued. The United States Congress authorized the San Francisco Mint (also known as "The Granite Lady") to issue a series of five commemorative coins. Said coins were the 1915S silver Panama-Pacific half dollar and four gold coins. The denominations of the gold coins were $1, $2 ¹⁄₂ (quarter eagle) and $50 (in two types: a round coin, and an unusual octagonal coin). The Pan-Pac 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.

Numismatist Farran Zerbe supervised the creation of a series of commemorative medals, an award medal, a souvenir medal, and diplomas.^{[citation needed]}

Pictures

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  Festival Hall

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  Palace of Horticulture

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  California Building

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  Panorama of the World's Fair, San Francisco, 1915, Panama-Pacific Exposition, lithograph, 1915.

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  The model of the Panama Canal

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  Palace of Fine Arts, by Exposition exhibitor Colin Campbell Cooper

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  The State of Wisconsin Pavilion

See also

• Mabel and Fatty Viewing the World's Fair at San Francisco
• Golden Gate International Exposition (1939-40 SF World's Fair)

External links

• The history of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition
• Historical photography of the Panama Pacific International Exposition
• JB Monaco Panama Pacific International Exposition Photo Gallery
• The Panama-Pacific International Exposition at San Francisco, 1915 (1915). From Internet Archive.
• Panama-Pacific International Exposition AND mediatype:movies From Internet Archive.
• The Panama Pacific International Exposition From Museum of the City of San Francisco
• Panama-Pacific International Exposition Map - 1915 From Museum of the City of San Francisco
• Virtual Tour of the Panama Pacific International Exposition from the History Center at the San Francisco Public Library
• Panama-Pacific International Exposition photographic collections, via Calisphere, California Digital Library
• Guide to the Panama Pacific International Exposition Records at The Bancroft Library
• Books about the Exposition at Project Gutenberg