Home Movie Trip to Golden Gate International Exposition Treasure Island San Francisco 43914 (1939)

Synopsis

This silent, color 16mm home movie shows a trip to the Golden Gate International Exposition located on Treasure Island in the San Francisco Bay. The film begins with shots at an unidentified airport (possibly Grand Central Airport in Los Angeles) where a TWA DC-2 emblazoned with "The Lindbergh Line" is seen landing at:33 seconds. At 1:00 there are shots from the interior of the plane including a stunning sunset at 1:10. At 1:40, a sign welcomes us to the entrance to Pan American Airlines' new Treasure Island seaplane base. At 1:55 Alcatraz prison is seen in the distance and at 2:04 the Oakland Bay Bridge. At 2:12 views begin of the fair itself including floral gardens and fountains. At 3:30 the "Redwood Empire" is seen. This was a special exhibit space where natural resources, recreational attractions and economic development of nine California counties were graphically presented in diorama and photographic form At 5:24 the famous Gayway is seen at night. This was one of the fair's centerpieces. Gayway sights included sideshow-style attractions, such as little people in a Western setting and a racetrack featuring monkeys driving automobiles. At 5:36 an animated Bank of America sign is seen. At 6:02 is very rare footage of Pan Am Clippers / Flying Boats moored at the seaplane base. At 8:43 the 400 foot Tower of the Sun is shown. The tower was crowned with a 22 foot golden phoenix that symbolized San Francisco’s rise from the ashes after the 1906 earthquake and fires. A…

Uploader's description on archive.org

Details

Running time

14 minutes

Language

English

Collection

Ephemeral Films

Subjects on the Internet Archive

• Stock Footage