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Finding Aid to Panama Pacific International Exposition Records, 1893-1929, (bulk 1911-1916)
BANC MSS C-A 190
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Collection Title: Panama Pacific International Exposition records
Date (inclusive): 1893-1929,
Date (bulk): 1911-1916
Collection Number: BANC MSS C-A 190
Extent:
145 volumes (volumes 1-143, volumes 145-146), 28 boxes, 172 cartons, 19 oversize folders;
260 linear feet
3 digital objects (3 images)
Repository: The Bancroft Library.
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720-6000
Phone: (510) 642-6481
Fax: (510) 642-7589
Email: bancref@library.berkeley.edu
URL: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/
Abstract: The Panama Pacific International Exposition Records consist of the official records from the offices of the world's fair held
in San Francisco, California in 1915. The bulk of the records range in date from 1911, when San Francisco was officially declared
the site for the Exposition, to the dissolution of Exposition property in 1916. The records have been arranged into nine series,
documenting the major divisions of the Exposition: Executive and Administrative Files, the Office of the Comptroller, Division
of Works; Division of Exploitation, Division of Concessions and Admissions, Division of Exhibits, Foreign Office Files, Office
of the Historian, and Legal Division Office Files. The collection includes material relating to the organization, planning,
and administration of the Exposition by President Charles C. Moore and the Board of Directors; raising money and maintaining
accurate accounting for the Exposition; designing and building the fairgrounds; advertising the Exposition at home and abroad;
managing admissions and concessions; and arranging exhibits on a wide array of topics ranging from arts to industry.
Languages Represented: Collection materials are in English
Physical Location: Many of the Bancroft Library collections are stored offsite and advance notice may be required for use. For current information
on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
Collection is open for research.
All requests to reproduce, publish, quote from or otherwise use collection materials must be submitted in writing to the Head
of Public Services, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, 94270-6000. Consent is given on behalf of The
Bancroft Library as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission from the copyright
owner. Such permission must be obtained from the copyright owner. See:
http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/reference/permissions.html .
Restrictions also apply to digital representations of the original materials. Use of digital files is restricted to research
and educational purposes.
[Identification of item], Panama Pacific International Exposition records, BANC MSS C-A 190, The Bancroft Library, University
of California, Berkeley
Digital reproductions of selected items are available.
Official Photographs of the Panama Pacific International Exposition (BANC PIC 1939.006)
Promotional Artwork for the Panama Pacific International Exposition (BANC PIC 1939.014)
Printed materials have been transferred to the book collection of The Bancroft Library. Photographs have been transferred
to the Pictorial Collections of The Bancroft Library. Maps have been transferred to the Map Collection of The Bancroft Library.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog
Moore, Charles C. (Charles Caldwell), 1868-1932
Panama-Pacific International Exposition, (1915:, San Francisco, Calif.)
Exhibitions--California--San Francisco
The Panama Pacific International Exposition Records were given to The Bancroft Library by the Trustees of the War Memorial,
San Francisco in 1938 and 1939.
No additions are expected.
Arranged to the folder level.
Processed by Bancroft Library staff and interns in 2005-2006.
Series 1: Jennifer Lowe
Series 2: Davia Schmidt
Series 3: Marjorie Bryer
Series 4: Chinda Xayarath
Series 5-8: Elizabeth Stephens and Chinda Xayarath
Series 9: Jessica Lemieux and Chinda Xayarath
The Panama Pacific International Exposition (PPIE) opened in San Francisco, California on February 20, 1915. Organized to
commemorate the completion of the Panama Canal and the 400th anniversary of Balboa's discovery of the Pacific Ocean, the Exposition
also came to commemorate the rebirth of San Francisco after the catastrophic earthquake of April 1906. Built, over the course
of three years, on filled in mudflats, the Exposition comprised 635 acres of what is now known as the Marina District of the
city. Over twenty foreign nations and forty-three states participated in the Exposition which had attracted 18,876,438 visitors
by closing day, December 4, 1915.
Scope and Content of Collection
The Panama Pacific International Exposition Records consist of the official records from the offices of the world's fair held
in San Francisco, California in 1915. The bulk of the records range in date from 1911, when San Francisco was officially declared
the site for the Exposition, to the dissolution of Exposition property in 1916. The records have been arranged into nine series,
documenting the major divisions of the Exposition: Executive and Administrative Files, the Office of the Comptroller, Division
of Works, Division of Exploitation, Division of Concessions and Admissions, Division of Exhibits, Foreign Office Files, Office
of the Historian, and Legal Division Office Files. The collection includes material relating to the organization, planning,
and administration of the Exposition by President Charles C. Moore and the Board of Directors; raising money and maintaining
accurate accounting for the Exposition; designing and building the fairgrounds; advertising the Exposition at home and abroad;
managing admissions and concessions; and arranging exhibits on a wide array of topics ranging from arts to industry.
Included are correspondence, reports, minutes, interoffice memoranda, architectural drawings, financial records, and publicity
material. Of note is material encouraging participation by foreign exhibitors to increase the Exposition's international appeal
and the records of the Exposition's official Historian, Frank M. Todd. The records also document the legal aspects of organizing,
incorporating, lobbying for, administering, and dissolving the Exposition. Although most of the departments of the Exhibits
Division are represented in the collection, the records of the Fine Arts Department are missing.
The collection has been given to The Bancroft Library as a permanent loan, and therefore the original order of the records
has been maintained throughout the collection (where evident). Subject matter often crosses series lines, and it may be necessary
for the researcher to look at numerous series and subseries to formulate a complete record of a particular department or division.
Succinct series and subseries descriptions provide a basic outline of the records available. The researcher should consult
the container list to determine if records document a topic of interest as not all subjects are mentioned in these brief descriptions.