Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The Golden Age
Neither World War I in Europe nor the beginning of
Prohibition in the US could dampen the city's renewed
energy after 1906. The 1920s saw the creation of major
museums, theaters, and other civic buildings. Even the
Great Depression was not as painful as it was elsewhere in
the US - many of the city's monuments, including Coit
Tower and both bay bridges, were built during these
years. World War II brought industrial investment in the
form of shipyards at Richmond and Sausalito. Fort Mason
was the main supply base for the Pacific theater, and
shipped out more than 1.5 million soldiers.
Extent of the City
Today
1920
Tower of Jewels, decorated with
102,000 cut-glass “gems”
Palace of Fine Arts, the only
building still standing today
Panama-Pacific
Exposition of 1915
To celebrate the city's revival after 1906
and to mark the completion of the Panama
Canal, San Francisco hosted the magical
Exposition, which attracted 20 million
visitors over 10 months
(see p72)
.
Fountain of Energy
by A. Stirling
Calder, depicting victorious youth
Palace of Horticulture with
plants from all over the world
Land of Plenty
California's farmland
became the most
productive in the US
in the 1920s.
King Oliver's Creole Band
Catching the mood of the 1920s,
King Oliver's jazz band became
the hottest combo of the decade.
Pan-Pacific
commemorative medal
1929
Stock
exchange crash
precipitates
depression
1921
de Young
Museum opens
1917
Crissy
Field Airfield at
Presidio opens
1924
California Palace
of the Legion of
Honor opens
1915
1920
1925
1930
1920
Prohibition
begins
1924
First air mail
flight lands at
Crissy Field
1917
Main Public Library
opens at Civic Center
1933
Prohibition
ends
1927
Mills Field airfield,
now the site of San
Francisco International
Airport, opens
1915
Pan-Pacific Exposition
runs from February 20 to
December 4
1923
President Warren
G. Harding dies at the
Palace Hotel
