The Golden Gate International Exposition of 1939-1940 was San Francisco’s last world’s fair and last grand public celebration prior to America’s entry into World War II. The “Pacific Unity” theme of this Pageant of the Pacific inspired fantastic flights of the imagination from the fair’s designers and wordsmiths. The fair’s romantic imagery of travel and cultural exchange between America and the countries of the Pacific was shadowed by America’s race with Japan to conquer the Pacific. This presentation will focus on the fair’s Pacific theme in its historical context, and explore the fun and beauty of the fair as well as the darker political side.