
At a glance
Location
4th Floor Meeting Room
Mechanics' Institute
57 Post Street
San Francisco, CA 94104
Price
Mechanics' Institute Members: Free
http://www.milibrary.org/milibrary/join
Public: $15
Hours
6:00 - 8:00 PM
Contact info
(415) 393-0102
milibrary.org
Category
Lecture
Options
- Near BART
- Near MUNI
- Indoors
Before PPIE – The Mechanic’ Institute and the Development of San Francisco’s “Fair Culture” (1857 – 1909)
Between the years of 1857 and 1899 the Mechanics’ Institute hosted thirty one Industrial Expositions that displayed and promoted the products of local entrepreneurs and inventors. These Expositions bolstered California’s infant economy, encouraged the demand for local goods, and whetted the public’s appetite for elaborate, multi-attraction fairs. Given the Mechanics’ Institute’s vast experience with putting on such spectacles they were involved as consultants on larger state-wide fairs including the California Midwinter Fair of 1894, the Golden Jubilee Mining Fair of 1898, the Portola Exposition of 1909, and the Panama Pacific Exposition in 1915.