Panama–Pacific International Exposition

Award-winning advertising poster by Perham Wilhelm Nahl to the exhibition. The poster depicts Hercules is, in place of the Culebra Cut, the artificial valley in which the Panama Canal flows.

The Panama - Pacific International Exposition (Panama - Pacific International Exposition ) was a World's Fair, which was held from February 20 to December 4, 1915 in San Francisco, California. In the center of the celebrations was the completion of the Panama Canal in the previous year. At the same time wanted to San Francisco also show that the city had recovered from the earthquake.

The exhibition area comprised 254 acres at the northern end. The exhibition was 18.9 million visitors. After the exhibition, most of the buildings of the exhibition were demolished, and today's Marina was built in its place.

Exhibition grounds and attractions

As the exhibition grounds, the coastal plain along the Bay of San Francisco between Fort Mason and the cliffs was chosen near Fort Point. The western two thirds of the surface were thus inside the Presidio military base. The exhibition of the 142 m high Tower of Jewels, who was decorated with more than 100,000 glass crystals was. The differently sized " crystals " glittered in the sunlight. At night, they were irradiated by 50 powerful spotlights.

At the main entrance on the south side of the tower there was a fountain in a garden, flanked by the Palace of Horticulture on the west side and the festival hall in the east. The archway under the tower gave way to the Court of the Universe ( space of the universe) with the Court of the Four Seasons ( site of the Four Seasons) on the left and the Court of Abundance ( place of abundance ) on the right. These places were at the center of the main exhibition palaces, the different topics were dedicated, including food production, education, social economy, agriculture, transportation, manufacturing, mining, metallurgy and art.

To the west of the central squares was the Palace of Fine Arts, the only palace building of the exhibition, which still stands today and has become a sort of landmark. Further west were the national pavilions, in which the 24 participating countries presented their customs and products. Despite the First World War, some European countries were represented, including Italy, France and Switzerland.

At the other end of the exhibition grounds, which extended to the still active at that time Fort Mason, a kind of amusement park was born. It was one of the most prominent attractions, the huge, 20,000 -square-foot, functioning model of the Panama Canal. Visitors were driving around there in small cars and could listen to explanations from individual stations phonograph. Similar models were there from the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone National Park. The Indian settlements in the miniature worlds inhabited by real Indians of different tribes from the corresponding region., In addition to contemporary reports of admiration for the primitive life of the Indians in this artificial settlements, also read that this " well were able to talk college slang and knew which fork is used first ."

After the end of the world exhibition, all buildings were demolished down to the Palace of Fine Arts as usual. At the point of the exhibition grounds today Marina District was formed. The Palace of Fine Arts stopped, so that it decays themselves, ostensibly because " every great city need their ruins ." When the palace then actually threatened to fall, was collected by repeated citizens' money to keep it in its original condition. The last major renovation began in 2003.

Among the exhibits of the exhibition was also CP Huntington, the first steam locomotive, which had been purchased by the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1863. She is now at the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento. A telephone call to New York was set up so that people in the East could hear the Pacific. The Liberty Bell traveled by train across the United States to celebrate the World Expo. After the end of the show, she was brought back to Pennsylvania and has not stopped moving.

Memorabilia

The U.S. Postal Service issued a set of stamps for the exhibition. The pictures showed Vasco Núñez de Balboa ( 1 ¢ ), sluice gates in the Panama Canal (2 ¢), the Golden Gate (without the first 1937 completed bridge; 5 ¢ ) and the discovery of San Francisco Bay ( 10 ¢). The collector value of brands is now fluctuating sharply, while a used 2- cent stamp for less than a dollar is available, expect for a new 10 ¢ brand already up to a thousand dollars. In addition, commemorative coins were issued, including four gold, with a face value of up to $ 50.

Gallery

The Palace of Fine Arts (2003)

Model of the Panama Canal

Festival Hall

Fountain of Energy and the Tower of Jewels