First known as the California State Livestock Pavilion, the Cow Palace[1] is a 6 acre indoor arena in Daly City, with a part of the parking lot encroaching into Visiticion Valley in San Francisco. The Cow Palace was first conceived after the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exhibition[2] where the livestock exhibition was one of the more popular attractions. The idea wasn’t seriously considered until the 1930s, when Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Works Progress Administration was established. Over 1,000 workers were hired to construct a permanent structure to house animal livestock expositions. Happening at the height of the Depression[3], a journalist was quoted as saying that it was unconscionable for the City to build a “palace for cows” when thousands of citizens were homeless and starving. The name “Cow Palace” stuck.
The Cow Palace opened in 1941 with the Western Classic Holstein show. Nine months later, Pearl Harbor was attacked[3A] and the US Government commandeered the building for use as a transfer station for troops being sent to the Pacific Theater. Barracks were built in Visiticion Valley and these barracks were later converted into what today is known as the Sunnydale Housing Project.
After the war, the Cow Palace reopened not just as a livestock pavilion, but for a multitude of large scale events. It was the temporary home of the now Golden State Warriors in the 1960s. It hosted both the 1956 and 1964 Republican National Conventions. Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey Circus made regular stops there between 1966-1999. The Hookers Ball[4] was held at the Cow Palace at its zenith in 1978. And the list of musical performers who made an appearance include the Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Elvis Presley, The Who, Prince, Nirvana and U2. Since 1947 the Cow Palace has hosted the Grand National Livestock Exposition, Horse Show and Rodeo. Another popular event is the annual Great Dickens Christmas Fair[5].
[1] Visit them at www.cowpalace.com
[2] 1915 Panama-Pacific Exhibition: see story coming February 20th
[3] Depression: see story coming October 11th
[3A] World War II: https://thesanfranciscophoenix.com/?p=4222[4] Hookers Ball: https://thesanfranciscophoenix.com/?p=4648
[5] Visit them at www.dickensfair.com
