Wednesday, August 24, 2011

World's Fair Wednesday- 1940 Golden Gate Exposition Night Scenes

These night images come from a scarce Viewmaster reel Golden Gate International Exposition 1940 Night Scenes. The exposition was on an island in the middle of the San Francisco Bay called Treasure Island. Treasure Island was a man made island built specifically for the exposition. First up is a view of the Mines, Metal and Machinery Building lit up at night.

This view is of the Tower of the Elephant.

The site of the Fair was to become an airport servicing the Pan American Airline China Clippers, but due to the war, the location became a Naval base. In 1997, the Naval base closed and the site is now home to movie studios and residential housing.

2 comments:

Major Pepperidge said...

The San Francisco fair looks like it was beautiful. Not nearly as large or spectacular as the New York fair, but these night views are pretty awesome. I think you can see some color footage from this fair on YouTube.

Anonymous said...

My Mom and Dad spent their honeymoon at this fair, I have pictures of them walking down the main concourse. The buildings are pretty sci-fi for that era.

JG