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Welcoming the World: San Francisco's Fairs of 1915 and 1939–1940

Leta E. Miller

in Music and Politics in San Francisco: From the 1906 Quake to the Second World War

In the first half of the twentieth century, San Francisco hosted two major world fairs: in 1915 and in 1939–40. A comparison of musical programming for these two enormous undertakings highlights ... More

In the first half of the twentieth century, San Francisco hosted two major world fairs: in 1915 and in 1939–40. A comparison of musical programming for these two enormous undertakings highlights changes in artistic taste and expression prompted, in part, by a new social awareness and an increased attention to diversity. Both fairs marked the end of difficult periods in city's history while nominally celebrating massive engineering feats. The Panama–Pacific International Exposition—February 20 to December 4, 1915—came at the end of the city's recovery from its most devastating local catastrophe, the quake and fires of 1906; yet officially it commemorated the opening of the Panama Canal. The Golden Gate International Exposition, which ran from February 18 to October 29, 1939, was widely viewed as a partial cure for the economic problems of the Depression; yet officially it heralded the completion of the Golden Gate and San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridges.Less

Introduction California Welcomes the World

Jessica B. Teisch

in Engineering Nature: Water, Development, and the Global Spread of American Environmental Expertise

This book begins with San Francisco's Panama-Pacific International Exposition of 1915. The state's nineteenth-century dream had rested on anti-industrial and agrarian themes, but the 1915 exposition ... More

This book begins with San Francisco's Panama-Pacific International Exposition of 1915. The state's nineteenth-century dream had rested on anti-industrial and agrarian themes, but the 1915 exposition announced California's future. In the Palace of Transportation, a Ford rolled off an assembly line every ten minutes. The Palace of Machinery displayed life-sized models of California's mechanized canneries, cement mixers, electricity-lit mines, Pelton water wheels, power plants, and diesel engines. The fair also gave one last tribute to the ideals of a century that had been defined, above all, by one of the most self-confident and exuberant ideas of all times: progress. This nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century notion of progress rested on an abstract but universal set of ideas. In theory, progress promised many things: material and commercial development, scientific and social enlightenment, free markets, and rule of law.Less

City Beautiful

David E. Nye

in American Illuminations: Urban Lighting, 1800-1920

Expositions in St. Louis and San Francisco and the 1909 Hudson-Fulton Celebration were brilliantly coordinated electric landscapes. Urban planners such Frederick Law Olmsted and Charles Mulford ... More

Expositions in St. Louis and San Francisco and the 1909 Hudson-Fulton Celebration were brilliantly coordinated electric landscapes. Urban planners such Frederick Law Olmsted and Charles Mulford Robinson successfully promoted new parks, restrictions on electric advertising, and tasteful lighting along boulevards. But commercial energies retained their focal points in the downtown and amusement parks, where spectacular lighting effects had free play. The controversy over how to light American cities resulted in a compromise between the City Beautiful Movement and the individualistic forces of commerce. The resulting hybrid landscape was neither the harmonious, horizontal city of the great expositions nor the visual cacophony of Times Square but a lively compromise. It lacked an intentional unifying style, but when viewed from a skyscraper or an airplane, it was impressive and unexpectedly attractive. It expressed tensions between Beaux Arts tradition and American iconoclasm, between the horizontal city and the vertical thrust of commerce, between an exuberant popular culture and a reverence toward patriotic symbols.Less

Sounding Philippine Nationalism at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition of 1915

Mary Talusan

in Instruments of Empire: Filipino Musicians, Black Soldiers, and Military Band Music during US Colonization of the Philippines

Since their last visit to the U.S. in 1909, the Philippine Constabulary Band’s reputation was firmly established, the Philippine-American War was over, and the Jones Bill, a landmark proposition ... More

Since their last visit to the U.S. in 1909, the Philippine Constabulary Band’s reputation was firmly established, the Philippine-American War was over, and the Jones Bill, a landmark proposition granting the Philippines increased independence, was close to being approved. Because of these developments, the PC Band was contextualized in the debate over the future of the Philippines as both an example of Filipinos’ capacity and progress towards civilization and of the pressing need of the U.S. to continue its work in civilizing Filipinos. The activities of the PC Band at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition reveal that progress of the empire was not possible without the labor of racial others, but the subsequent erasure of that labor emphasized white men’s domination over racial others. Though the PC Band was recognized by audiences, they did not receive enough official recognition that would create a lasting name for themselves and for Filipinos in America.Less

A Craze of the Frisco Exposition

Jim Tranquada and John King

in The Ukulele: A History

This chapter focuses on the presence of Hawaiian music at expositions. Because of the ʻukulele's widespread popularity on the West Coast, the Hawaiian presence at the Panama-Pacific International ... More

This chapter focuses on the presence of Hawaiian music at expositions. Because of the ʻukulele's widespread popularity on the West Coast, the Hawaiian presence at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition already was a familiar one to many of the locals. However, Hawaiian music had a profound impact on many other of the fair's more than 18 million visitors, one of which was Henry Ford of Ford Motor Company. Indeed, the ʻukulele had become “the most popular instrument of the day.” By the end of 1915, ʻukuleles—“the new musical instrument, a craze of the Frisco Exposition”—and ʻukulele lessons were being advertised in Kansas City, Detroit, Fort Worth, New Orleans, Duluth, Minnesota, Anaconda, Montana, and Columbus, Georgia.Less

Images: The Tastemaker

in Knowledge is Pleasure: Florence Ayscough in Shanghai

Ayscough first developed as a connoisseur, under the guidance of collectors she met through the Royal Asiatic Society, including John C. Ferguson. She curated exhibitions of Chinese art in Shanghai, ... More

Ayscough first developed as a connoisseur, under the guidance of collectors she met through the Royal Asiatic Society, including John C. Ferguson. She curated exhibitions of Chinese art in Shanghai, as well as in America, including an exhibit at the Panama Pacific International Exposition. Her writings helped introduce western audiences to Chinese painting, and in particular, Chinese Modernism.Less