![]() Hewett was already planning to perpetuate the anthropological exhibits in the buildings where they were located. A League for the Preservation of Exposition Buildings held its first meeting March 9. The increased attendance reflected the lowering of railroad rates from the east coast which went into effect after March 1. ![]() In March attendance had grown to 153,042, still below the January level, but the net profit had reached $24,467.97. Couples danced to the music of the Exposition’s Spanish band while spectators watched from the arcades. In the evening the Women’s Board of the Exposition sponsored a two-hour dance in the Plaza de Panama. In honor of George Washington’s birthday, the State of Washington held a potlatch in its building and gave away apples, cider and gingersnaps. ![]() About 500 Americans of Chinese descent from San Diego, Los Angeles and San Francisco participated in the festivities. Sixteen platoons of First Cavalry awed spectators with a display of superb horseback riding.Ī two-day Chinese New Year celebration on February 13 and 14, arranged by Quon Mane, a leader of the local Chinese community, centered on the Isthmus where a 300-ft dragon with gleaming eyes and smoke pouring from its mouth made its way along the street as firecrackers exploded around it. Aubrey Davidson on Park Avenue (6th Street), between Laurel and Upas Streets, outside the Exposition grounds. The next striking event that month was a cavalry review on February 12, before Exposition president G. A much ballyhooed “Straw Hat Day,” scheduled for February 2, was postponed to February 11 when the San Diego Consolidated Gas and Electric Company’s whistle announced to all who could hear it that the sun was shining. Visitors began coming by train and on a Great Northern Pacific Steamship Company passenger steamer by way of the Panama Canal, but the rains continued. To stimulate business, concessionaires on the Isthmus built a stage at the north end of the street and began offering free vaudeville shows. The money did not have to be used, as attendance picked up. Spreckels to sign a guarantee loan to the Exposition of $100,000. During this period of gloom a finance committee, chaired by Julius Wangenheim, got John D. Attendance declined to 133,162 but, due to a reduction in expenses, the Exposition showed a net profit of $13,000. Total attendance came to 14,793.įebruary was devoted to quelling rumors that the Exposition was about to close. Merchants released employees and schools released pupils to greet the delegates. On Saturday, January 16, the Exposition celebrated Stockholders’ Day and San Francisco Day, the latter to honor about 125 delegates from San Francisco’s Panama-Pacific Exposition. The holding of such a popular event simultaneously with the Exposition was a miscalculation, for attendance at the Exposition that day was only 6,112. Winners of the race, including Earl Cooper, who averaged slightly over 65 miles per hour, received their prizes in the afternoon at the Plaza de Panama. Managers of state and county buildings disregarded Exposition rules and set their own hours.Īn “Exposition Road Race” held Saturday morning January 9 at Point Loma attracted 50,000 people. and on Sundays, and charged people with cameras an additional 25 cents. They allowed barkers to spiel on the Isthmus, lowered children’s admissions to 10 cents on Saturdays, and dropped annual adult tickets from $25 to $10, but also ordered main buildings to be closed on Sundays, kept regular adult admissions at 50 cents on weekdays and 25 cents after 6:00 p.m. Officials were inept in coping with the situation. Rain may have deterred some visitors, but a national economic depression dissuaded others. Of the 180,270 people who visited the Exposition in January, about 100,000 entered the gates during the first week. The Panama-California Exposition held in San Diego that year put the small town in the southwest corner of the United States on the map and convinced some people, but not all, that its name was spelled S-a-n D-i-e-g-o and not S-a-n-t-i-a-g-o.Īfter its crowd-packed Januopening the Exposition went into a slump. Nineteen hundred and fifteen was San Diego’s most notable year in the twentieth century. CHAPTER FIVE: 1915 – San Diego Has Its Year of Glory
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