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, ...
... middle of paper ...
...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
Findling, John E. Historical Dictionary of World's Fairs and Expositions 1851-1988. New York: Greenwood Press, 1990.
I felt an instant connection with it, as O’ Sullivan must have felt standing there upon the sea of bodies. The composition of this photo tells a story all on its own. From the way he captured the body laying twisted in the front, capturing the expressions on his face, to the way the soldiers on the horses blend into the background. The photo speaks death, not because we can see death but because of the composition, the way film captured “fog” or “dust clouds” to the color of the capture itself. There was a story to be told and O’ Sullivan told it with seeing what others couldn’t see, by shooting lower to the ground and giving the forefront the effect of being bigger than the background and capturing the lone soldier amongst the rest of the bodies that looked to be reaching towards O’
He wore a white button up shirt with black dress pants, a tie, and spotlessly clean shoes. His face lit up as he was looking through the pictures he just took. He faced his camera screen towards me. On the screen I saw silhouettes of people and sailboats with their reflection glistening on the water, as if it was a mirror. After viewing his photographs, you could tell that Paris has a very unique perspective on the world.
Thomas M. Piljac, Mackinac Island: Historic Frontier, Vacation Resort, Timeless Wonder, Chicago Review Press, 1998.
Having such an image before our eyes, often we fail to recognize the message it is trying to display from a certain point of view. Through Clark’s statement, it is evident that a photograph holds a graphic message, which mirrors the representation of our way of thinking with the world sights, which therefore engages other
1. Kasson, F. John. “Amusing the Million: Coney Island at the Turn of the Century” New York: Hill and Wang, 1978
Heaps of civilians wanted to work for the world fair so they came to Chicago. However, there was an abundance of people present and the fair only took a portion of them. At the end of October, the Chicago World Fair ended and the country was in a substantial economic crisis. The working class and even a large number of companies filed for bankruptcy. The social classes were forced to think about their families and forget about the fair. Citizens around the country hoped that the economy would rise up with the fair’s success. However, all of the money that America earned did not stipulate the economy. The thousands of people who had jobs at the fair were now unemployed. The vast amount of people who came to Chicago thinking they would obtain a job since the fair began were now unemployed. For example, look at the Pullman’s Railroad Company and what they did to the workers. They made the apartment's rent 25% higher than the city and cut back 25% on wages (VandeCreek). The reason why the wage cuts and apartment raise occurred was that unemployment was so high that the workers knew they could not fight back. The Chicago fair truly changed history as it was chronologically right next to the Panic of 1893. Luckily, the economy started rising to shape the twentieth century. "Late in the 19th century American manufacturing started to migrate from the eastern seaboard to the burgeoning Midwest in search of cheaper labor, more raw materials, and cheaper power"(Lowery). All of the inventions may not have helped early on, but towards the end of the 19th century, it truly did. All in all, the fair caused an economic distress as shown by the Panic of 1893 however, it helped towards the end bringing a stable economy into the twentieth
The World’s Columbian Exposition, also known as the Chicago World’s Fair, was an event celebrating American invention and innovation on the 400th anniversary of Columbus’s discovery of America. The fair was open for six months and was visited by an estimated 27.5 million people. The Fair was a major influence on the spirt invention associated with the Gilded Age, but it was also influenced by the spirit of the time.
1906 San Francisco Earthquake Jared E. Gatchalian San Jose State University. 1906 San Francisco Earthquake The 1906 San Francisco earthquake was one of the largest earthquakes in the United States. Even though it only lasted less than a minute, the damage and aftermath of the earthquake were disastrous. These damages were not just from the earthquake, but also from other hazards that occurred because of it. It also had a huge effect on the people living in San Francisco.
On my trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, I decided to take my mother with me. While being in the museum, I decided to focus on “The American Wing”. In “The American Wing”, there are amazing pieces of art, jewelry, and antique silver. I was amazed on how each piece of artwork and item was carefully designed. They had an amazing design that you do not see now in days.
With the sinking of the USS Maine of the coast of Cuba, the United States people got infuriated with the fact that 260 Americans died and the only culprit at the time was a Spanish ship. The press with its yellow journalism spread the news throughout the states, enraging many Americans with their yellow journalism. The New York Journal at the time went as far as saying that “ ” () President McKinley and the members in Congress at the time were forced to declare war on Spain, fearing the negative effects it would have if they let the matter go. With the declaration of war the United States recruited so many men for the army and navy they didn’t know what to do with them, but inevitably our numbers made us prepared for anything Spain had to through at us. Although most of the battles were fought by the navy like Alfred Thayer said “In order to be a great power like Great Britain the U.S. need to control the seas and dominate international commerce.” (Mahan, A. T.) With a greater naval force then Spain the U.S. was able over whelm them and win almost all the battles they fought in. Alfred also said with in his book “The influence of sea power upon history” that the islands that the United States acquired through the means of imperialism also serve as refueling station for our ships during war or transport. Hawaii especially because of its central location in the
The Japanese bombed the United States' Hawaiian naval base, Pearl Harbor, on December 7, 1941 and this began what we now know as the Second World War. The news swept the country by surprise, from that point forward the nation was shocked into a sort of social cohesion. "After the b...
San Francisco is one of the most modern and accepting culture there is in the world. San Francisco has largely become what it is due to the past historical events that shaped this culture to the way it is, as well as the kind of people these events brought into this city. In a way, the series of events that unfolded seemed to work almost too perfectly, and turned San Francisco into the city it is today.
The city of San Diego has always been a popular site for tourists. Balboa Park is one of the main tourist sites that is home to an enormous collection of art, history and science museums, galleries, and the old globe theatres and the world famous San Diego zoo. Many of these buildings and musuems are based on Aztec and Spanish architecture.
The Natural History Museum is extraordinary place to explore and learn. It’s fun and breathtaking. The museum served as an agricultural fairground from 1872 until 1910. The original structure of the building from the 1913 and today’s structure are combined with a blend of many styles. Like a Spanish Renaissance ornamentation in the terracotta trimmings. There is a Romanesque style in the arched windows and the brick walls. The Beaux-Arts tradition is a T-shape floor plan. The building measures 75 feet in diameter with three wings. The Rotunda’s walls are made of Italian marble and the floors have a mosaic tile. The statue in the center of the floor called “Three Muses.” The Rotunda’s dome is 58 feet high with a skylight 20 feet across on top, which has been restored recently into a bright colored stained glass design. The museum had its first grand opening on November 6, 1913 and was called “The Los Angeles County Museum of History, Science, and Art. It was opened formally to the public. The museum was joined by other major cultural facilities in the park; the Memorial Coliseum, Sports Arena, Swimming Stadium, California Science Center, California African American Museum and the largest Municipal-Owned Rose Garden in the nation, with a beautiful water fountain in the center.