The name Portola originates from Spanish explorer Don Gaspar de Portola who discovered the San Francisco Bay on November 4, 1769 while exploring the California coast on foot.
After the utter devastation of the 1906 Earthquakes and Fires[1], San Francisco looked for ways to celebrate its rebirth. The years immediately following the earthquake had been rough for those resilient enough to remain in the City: food lines, temporary housing, and local government corruption[2]. But by the end of 1908 there were few signs of the disaster. The 1909 Portola Festival was the City’s first big event attempting to lure tourists back to the area.
The organization of the event was a community endeavor, with citizens either contributing money or time. Houses and businesses were decorated in yellow and red, the colors of Portola’s homeland Catalonia. From 2,000 applications 22-year-old Virgilia Bogue from Auburn was chosen as “California’s most beautiful woman” and Queen of the Festival[3]. All posters advertising the event included Bogue’s image or photograph.
The festival kicked off on October 19, 1909 when “Portola” (portrayed by 70-year-old retired Santa Barbara sheriff Nicholas Covarrubias) sailed in the San Francisco Bay and disembarked at Pier 2. He jumped onto a horse and, followed by his “dragoons”, led a parade up Market Street. When “Portola” arrived at Union Square, he kissed the hand of Queen Virgilia, and President William Howard Taft gave a toast.
The following 4 days were filled with daily parades, nightly fireworks and live music. The band commissioned to play in Union Square played for three hours each afternoon and evening for five days. There were tennis and golf tournaments, a soccer match, and a swim meet at Spreckels Lake (a small and shallow pond) in Golden Gate Park[4]. A society ball was held one night at the Fairmont Hotel[5] and a masquerade ball was held another night at Auditorium Hall.
On the final day of the event, the celebration ended with a light parade that started at the Ferry Building[6]. It passed under a huge light bell that hung over Market at 3rd for the festival, touted to be the largest electric display of its time. Seven huge lit floats were stationed at prominent intersections. The most spectacular of these was a float of Yosemite, depicting Vernal and Nevada Falls with water cascading down manufactured cliffs. Live bands were stationed at each of these intersections, and the night ended with “Portola” leaving the City.
The Portola Festival was considered a great success. Over a million people came into the area to join in the festivities. It was meant to become an annual event, but there were only two additional Portola Festivals: one in 1913 and a second in 1948. Neither garnered the enthusiasm, the scope, or the attendance of the first.
[1] 1906 Earthquake and Fires: https://thesanfranciscophoenix.com/?p=2849
[2] The Graft Trials: https://thesanfranciscophoenix.com/?p=4041
[3] Virgilia Bogue would cause a scandal that same year by writing a steamy romance novel entitled The Strength to Yield, chronicling her affair with a married Italian man.
[4] Golden Gate Park: see story coming April 4th
[5] Fairmont Hotel: see story coming January 9th
[6] Ferry Building: https://thesanfranciscophoenix.com/?p=5219
