Not to be confused with the 

Panama–California Exposition.

1915 San Francisco

Poster for the exhibition

Overview

BIE-class Universal exposition

Category Historical Expo

Name Panama-Pacific International Exposition

Area 636 acres (257 hectares)

Visitors 18,876,438

Organized by Charles C. Moore

 Participant(s)

Countries 24

Location

Country United States

City San Francisco

Venue Marina District

Coordinates 37°48′16.8″N 122°26′48″W

Timeline

Opening February 20, 1915

Closure December 4, 1915

Universal expositions

Previous Exposition universelle et internationale

(1913) in Ghent

Next Independence Centenary International

Exposition in Rio de Janeiro

Simultaneous

Other Panama–California Exposition

The Panama–Pacific International Exposition was a world's fair held in San Francisco, California,

United States, from February 20 to December 4, 1915. Its stated 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 636 acre (1 sq. mi., 2.6 km2) site
along the northern shore, between the Presidio and Fort Mason, now known as the Marina District.
 Contents

 1Exhibits and themes

o 1.1Indigenous representation
o 1.2Women and gender roles
 2Architecture
o 2.1Construction
o 2.2Other surviving buildings
 3Commemorations and legacy
o 3.1Centennial
 4Gallery
 5See also
 6References
o 6.1Further reading
 7External links

Exhibits and themes[edit]

An exhibit by the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Mines.

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.[1] A telephone line was also established to New York City so people across
the continent could hear the Pacific Ocean. The Liberty Bell traveled by train on a nationwide tour
from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to attend the exposition.[2]
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.[3] The Smithsonian
Institution also had an exhibition at the Exposition. [4]
Yumian [zh] (traditional Chinese: 魚麵; simplified Chinese: 鱼面), meaning fish-noodle in Chinese, is
a noodle made with flour and fish from the Fushui River in Yunmeng, Hubei, China. Yunmeng
Yumian was awarded silver medal of the Panama–Pacific International Exposition. [5][6][better  source  needed]

Indigenous representation[edit]
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.[7] 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. [8] 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.[7] 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.” [8] 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 attended as visitors, performers, and workers.
[8]
 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. [9]

Women and gender roles[edit]

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. [10] The
board, also called the Boards 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. [10] 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.”[10]

Pioneer Mother (Charles Grafly)

At the time, there was an idea of a “New Woman” who was more progressive and advanced
intellectually as well as sexually.[10] This idea of a “New Woman” related to the overarching theme of
the fair, modernity and progress. In efforts to promote the fair and safety of the city, fair organizers
used the “New Woman” as an advertising tactic and proof that San Francisco was an evolving and
safe environment for tourists.[10] 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 only useful for their beauty but failed to appreciate their intellectual capacity
and physical abilities.[10]
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.[11][12][13][14]:148;151 [15]

Architecture[edit]
Map of Exposition
  A  Fine Arts
  B  Education

  C  Social Economy

  D  Liberal Arts

  E  Manufacturers

  E1  Varied Industries

  F  Machinery

  G  Transportation

  H  Agriculture

  I  Agriculture (Food Products)

  J  Live Stock

  K  Horticulture

  L  Mines and Metallurgy

The centerpiece was the Tower of Jewels, which rose to 435 feet (133 m) and was covered with
over 100,000 cut glass Novagems. The 3⁄4-to-2-inch (19 to 51 mm) 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  K  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  I , Agriculture  H , Liberal Arts  D , and Education
and Social Economy  B  and  C  surrounding the Court of the Four Seasons; and the Palaces of
Transportation  G , Mines and Metallurgy  L , Varied Industries  E1 , and
Manufacturers  E  surrounding the Court of Abundance.
The central court group was bookended on the east by the Palace of Machinery  F , the largest of all
the halls built for the Exhibition, and on the west by the Palace of Fine Arts  A , 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  J . At the opposite end of the Fair,
near Fort Mason was "The Zone", an avenue of popular amusements and concessions stands.
Construction[edit]
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's Palace of
Fine Arts, remained in place, slowly falling into disrepair. [16] The hall, used to display painting and
sculpture during the Fair, was repurposed as a garage for jeeps during World War II.[1] 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. [17]
A panorama of the Palace of Fine Arts c.1919. The current building was rebuilt in the 1960s, and then
seismically retrofitted after damage from 1989's Loma Prieta earthquake, and again in 2009.

Other surviving buildings[edit]

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 operated successively as a private
residence, speakeasy, and restaurant. [18] In 2020, the present owners of the restaurant retired during
the COVID-19 pandemic.[19]
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.[20][21]