- Frank Morton Todd, 1921

The Panama­Pacific International Exposition opened in San Francisco on February 20, 1915. The exposition ran for 288 days and closed officially on December 4, 1915 although the last paid admission was recorded at 3:30 pm on November 16, 1916. The Exposition celebrated the discovery of the Pacific Ocean and the completion of the Panama Canal.


The exposition was divided at Laguna Street. The "Zone" or "playland" was the amusement portion. It ran east from Laguna to Van Ness Avenue. The Zone can be seen starting above the "X" in "EXPOSITION" in the tide of the poster.


The western portion of the exposition ran from Laguna to the Palace of Fine Arts, the only surviving building. The Palace was reconstructed in 1964. It is above the "M" in the title.


The Tower of Jewels in the center of the poster was at Scott Street. The Exposition fronted on Chestnut Street.


The Exposition covered 635 acres of land in the Marina district of the city, including: 81 city blocks, 18 acres in Fort Mason, and 287 acres of The Presidio.

Total admissions to the Exposition were 18,876,438. Total revenues: $27,178,065.14. Total expenses: $25,865,914.38.


This poster was published on February 20, 1991, the 76th anniversary of the Exposition. It is the eighth in a series of historic image posters by Stewart Bloom chronicling the changes of San Francisco.



Copyright © Stewart H. Bloom