2015 marks the centennial year of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition, when host city San Francisco emerged from the ashes of earthquake and fire as a center of beauty and progress. On the Presidio’s waterfront and in what is now the Marina District, courtyards, formal gardens, and eleven Beaux-Arts palaces made up a miniature city resplendent in tones of golden-orange, copper green, cerulean, and ‘‘Pompeiian red’’. Each palace hosted a thrilling array of exhibits and events that showed off the young century’s achievements and possibilities. Over it all, the 43-story Tower of Jewels cast the reflected light of one hundred thousand pieces of colored glass. Come join us for an amazing tour of the fair.

Laura Ackley holds graduate degrees in Architecture from Harvard University and the University of California at Berkeley. Her interest in the Panama Pacific International Exposition was captured by a Cultural Landscapes course during her undergraduate years. Her book, San Francisco’s Jewel City: The Panama-Pacific International Exposition of 1915, co-published by Heyday and the California Historical Society, will be available for purchase.