SF History Lecture: Panama Pacifica Exposition on 1915 | Noe Valley

Submitted by the Event Organizer

San Francisco History Association presents “Interesting People of the Panama Pacifica International Exposition” with guest speaker: Laura Ackley

More than 19 million people passed through the gates of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition between February 20 and December 4, 1915. PPIE Historian Laura Ackley will tell fascinating tales of some of the fair’s special visitors, notable guests both famous and infamous.

These will include people involved with the making of the Exposition, from political dignitaries to the 12-year old girl who named the fair “The Jewel City” and later made a name for herself in a completely different arena. Inventors, famous entertainers and captains of industry will pay their respects. Also making an appearance will be some of the more exotic denizens of the “Joy Zone” and a few of the quirky characters who lent the fair its special flavor. We will see the famous Diving Girls, listen to a native orchestra at the Tehuantepec Village, and visit the couple that mushed their way to the fair via dogsled.

Enjoy stories of these and many other characters who visited the PPIE nearly a century ago.

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