Sunday, September 23, 2012

Panama-Pacific International Exposition

Next up - Grandma (Loraine Gunzendorfer) went to the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco in 1915! 

Here's what the expo looked like in 1915.

Photo courtesy of wikimedia

And here's grandma's photo.  I sure wish they'd had telephoto lenses in 1915!



The expo was open February 20-December 4, 1915 and was held to celebrate the opening of the Panama Canal. However, many felt that it was an opportunity for the city to display its recovery after the 1906 earthquake. I found it interesting that a telephone line was established to New York so that those on the other side of the continent could hear the sound of the Pacific Ocean. The buildings were intended to be temporary and were made from wood, burlap, and plaster so they would be easy to demolish. The only building to survive today is the Palace of Fine Arts which was rebuilt in the 1960's.

Photo by renedrivers

It looks like the school kids went together but didn't all come back as planned.  It seems odd that they'd write about those who decided to stay in the newspaper - looks like my grandmother's younger brother, Wilton Gunzendorfer, stayed in San Francisco.  Uh-oh, was he a rebel?  Wonder what their punishment was?




She included this railroad ticket in the scrapbook - not sure if they took the train from Monterey to San Francisco or just used the train around town.

This ticket has seen better days!

Here's a few photos that I think were taken at the Exposition, although my google search didn't come up with anything similar. 





The more I explore the scrapbook the more I've learned that Grandma didn't stay in one place long!
 
 

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