A Fair to Remember: Colored Lantern Slides at the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition

I have been fascinated with the PPIE for a long time–since living in the Bay Area and writing about Protestant institutional participation in the fair (in my dissertation). Here are some fascinating photographs of the PPIE.

The Unwritten Record

One century ago, San Francisco’s 1915 World’s Fair closed its doors, ending one of the most unique events in American history.  For 288 days, the fair brought together an odd array of individuals that seemingly belong in different chapters of the history textbook.  Civil War veterans could watch as Henry Ford produced a car every ten minutes on his assembly line.  Original miner 49ers could traverse a fake mine and see a glowing, radioactive mineral called radium.  Patty Reed, a surviving member of the infamous Donner party, could walk through General Electric’s model house and marvel at their flameless toaster.  At a time when only 20 percent of Americans had electricity, fairgoers could pay to take an airplane ride or make a transcontinental phone call to New York.  It was a moment of change, and a fair to remember.

Photograph of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition at Night, 1915. Local ID:…

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