The San Francisco Golden Gate Exhibition 1939-1940
In 1939, the city of San Francisco hosted an international exhibition, named the Golden Gate Fair in honor of the construction by the city of the world's two largest suspension bridges, the Golden Gate and San Francisco-Oakland, which spanned the San Francisco Bay. With all the skill that could be mustered by American engineers, an island was constructed amidst the Pacific waters, becoming the largest ever manmade island. Christened Treasure Island, this would be the location of the 1939 Exhibition. The visions of a fair surrounded by the glory of the Pacific Ocean had finally materialized. However, this captivating scene took place as Europe verged on the edge of disaster. Germany had already begun its annexation of neighboring countries and threatened to unleash conflict on a global level. In only two short years the United States would be fully involved in this catastrophe. Furthermore, at the time of the fair the United States had just emerged from the Great Depression, which had affected the country in many ways. This fair seemed to provide a brief interlude between these two very difficult times in American history. For this event the U.S. decided to turn attention away from the international climate and focus on the beauty of the Pacific, which ironically is named for peace.
This photograph is a 3 X 5 black and white silver gelatin print. This is one of a collection of sixteen taken by the photographer, Gabriel Moulin. This picture is an aerial shot which gives a bird's eye view of the fair. From this overhead, one can easily see the layout of the fair with its various buildings, as well as the location of the island within the blue crystalline waters of the Pacific, ...
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...his bird's eye view. His series of pictures dedicated to this event allowed the fair to exist beyond its means, as a time to be savored. In just a short time the breathtaking Pacific, the indescribable scene of the fair, would be devastated with the most horrific war the world had ever seen.
Works Cited:
James, Jack.Treasure Island, "The Magic City" San Francisco, Pisani Printing and Publication Company, 1941. (T876.1939.BIJ3)
Treasure Island Museum Hompage "1939-1940 World's Fair" "Pan Am China Clippers" "Light house" "Technology" http://www.dictyon.com/treasure
Museum Of The City of San Francisco "Lighting the Treasure Island World Fair" "Pacifica- A New Style of Architecture at the Treasure Island World's Fair" Treasure Island World's Fair" http://sfmuseum.org/hist6/ti-statue.html
Biography of Gabriel Moulin http://www.moulinstudios.com/history.htm
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Thomas M. Piljac, Mackinac Island: Historic Frontier, Vacation Resort, Timeless Wonder, Chicago Review Press, 1998.
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The two artifacts depicted here are a bird's eye view showing the main buildings of the exhibition, and a map ...
Findling, John E. Historical Dictionary of World's Fairs and Expositions 1851-1988. New York: Greenwood Press, 1990.
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