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Panama–Pacific International Exposition/ 1915 San Francisco World's Fair


Panama–Pacific International Exposition / 1915 San Francisco World’s Fair



The Panama–Pacific International Exposition was held in San Francisco from February 20 to December 4, 1915, to commemorate the completion of the Panama Canal and to showcase the city's remarkable recovery from the devastating 1906 earthquake and fire. It featured exhibits from around the globe and served as a platform for international goodwill, technological innovation, and cultural exchange.


Spanning approximately 635–1,200 acres along the waterfront (now the Marina District), the fair was nicknamed "Jewel City" thanks to the dazzling Tower of Jewels, which was adorned with thousands of colored-glass "novagems.

Almost all of the fair’s buildings were designed to be temporary—they were constructed with wood and steel frames covered in “staff”, a mixture of plaster, cement, glycerin, dextrin and natural fibers like burlap or jute, engineered to mimic stone and travertine. These structures were intentionally impermanent and were dismantled soon after the fair closed.



The only major structure to survive was the Palace of Fine Arts, designed by architect Bernard Maybeck. Originally built of staff, the Palace featured a dramatic rotunda, colonnades, lagoon, and allegorical sculptures, including the famed “weeping women” figures. Though intended as a ruin-like temple, it became beloved by the community and was eventually reconstructed in permanent materials during the 1960s and seismically retrofitted by 2009.


San Francisco’s citizens formed the Palace Preservation League in 1915, recognizing the building's civic and aesthetic value even before the fair ended. Later restoration efforts, including by philanthropist Walter S. Johnson, helped save the building from decay and adapt it for modern use.

Though nearly all exposition structures were removed by early 1916, the fair’s influence lingered. It spurred interest in City Beautiful planning, inspired civic improvements, and shaped San Francisco’s Civic Center, public library architecture, and park designs.

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