In 1892 President Benjamin Harrison appointed Michael H. de Young, one of the founders of the San Francisco Chronicle[1], as national commissioner of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. While in Chicago, de Young saw an opportunity to bring revenue to a struggling San Francisco, still suffering from the aftermath of a California Depression. San Francisco’s mild temperatures[2] allowed the Expo to take place during the winter and spring when the rest of the country was under snow. De Young was able to quickly get 4,400 Chicago exhibitors to agree to come to San Francisco. San Francisco Mayor Levi Ellert and California Governor Henry Markham both supported the idea of holding a World Fair in Golden Gate Park[3], though John McLaren, SuperIntendant of the park, was very against the idea as it would mean digging up many of the trees he had recently planted. Despite McLaren’s opposition, Congress approved deYoung’s plan in August, a mere 7 weeks after de Young had first proposed the idea. Groundbreaking immediately commenced in time to open the California Midwinter International Exposition six months later. 200 acres of the park were cleared. Water, sewage, rail and electric lines were installed. Michael O’Shaughessy, who served for three decades as the City’s Chief Engineer, created the Expo’s landscape design. He used an already sunken plaza (today’s Music Concourse) as the Grand Court of Honor. The plaza was surrounded by five large exhibition buildings, each with a different culturally-influenced design. The fair was financed entirely by donations: there was no federal, state or City assistance.
As was popular at the time, there were several ethnological exhibits meant to showcase different cultures including a Hawaiian village, an African village, a Sioux Indian Village, an Eskimo/Inuit village and a Japanese village. Most of the Japanese exhibit still remains today and is now called the Japanese Tea Garden[4]. After entering a magnificently designed gate, expo-goers were treated to manicured gardens, bridges, ponds, a wood-and-thatch tea room and a theater featuring Japanese jugglers. Because the local Japanese community was insulted that Japanese men were hired to to pull expo-goers by rickshaw, German men were hired instead and dressed in traditional Japanese attire.
The main attraction was Bonet’s Tower, located in the center of the Court of Honor. At 266 feet, it was a replica of Paris’ Eiffel Tower though one-third the size. It was adorned with 3,200 multi-colored lights and there was a spotlight at the top that illuminated Lone Mountain[5] at night. This was at a time when electricity was still a novelty. Elevator rides took people to a first level and then continued on to the top. This attraction became the largest source of income for the Expo.
The Firth Wheel was a replication of the first ferris wheel built for the Chicago Fair. At 120 feet, each carriage could hold ten people and it took 20 minutes to complete the ride. On the first day of the Expo, 2,300 people lined up for the ride.
Daniel Boone’s Wild Animal Show consisted of a lion tamer. In February, the electric lights suddenly went out before a show and an attendant who was feeding the lions in their cage was mauled. The audience could hear the attendant’s screams, and he later died from his injuries. The show was closed.
It is believed that 2 million people attended the Midwinter Exposition during its five month run (January 27th – July 4th, 1894). When the fair was over, McLaren immediately went to work taking down the majority of the 120 structures that had been built. Adolph Sutro bought many of the Expo’s more unique attractions, including the Firth Wheel, and had them relocated to his newly opened Sutro Baths[6]. Bonet’s Tower survived an additional two years before McLaren had it destroyed with explosives.
McLaren did decide to leave the central plaza and the Fine Arts building, one of the 5 buildings in the Court of Honor. A brick structure loosely designed with an Egyptian Revival style, it was turned into the Memorial Museum, a free public museum displaying artwork donated by the artists who had participated in the Expo. The 1906 Earthquake and Fires[7] caused severe damage to the building. It was repaired and remained open for the next 11 years before it was torn down, rebuilt and renamed the de Young Museum after Michael de Young in memory of his bringing a world exposition to the City.
[1] San Francisco Chronicle: story coming January 16th
[2] Weather: https://thesanfranciscophoenix.com/?p=4231
[3] Golden Gate Park: story coming April 4th
[4] Japanese Tea Garden: story coming September 12th
[5] Lone Mountain: https://thesanfranciscophoenix.com/?p=3762
[6] Sutro Baths: story coming March 14th
[7] 1906 Earthquake and Fires: https://thesanfranciscophoenix.com/?p=2849
