The Auditorium was the one great exposition building meant to last, and it stood nowhere near the fairgrounds. The exposition built it on a city-provided site in the new Civic Center, bounded by Hayes, Grove and Larkin streets, 'to house the many congresses and conventions' of 1915 (Official Guide), nearly five hundred of them. Delegates got halls rent-free and without paying admission to the grounds. Its main hall seated about 11,000, and smaller halls with sliding partitions could be divided into 26 meeting rooms.
It hosted the International Conference of Women Workers to Promote Permanent Peace on July 4–7, 1915, and a steady stream of congresses. On December 14, 1915, the Board of Supervisors formally named it the 'Exposition Auditorium.' On December 30, before about 3,000 people, President Charles C. Moore handed Mayor James Rolph a golden key, saying he rejoiced in the transfer: 'It is a precious thought that out of the Exposition there should come so precious a heritage.'
The great Austin organ from Festival Hall was moved here as always intended and dedicated by Edwin H. Lemare, the city's official organist, on April 8, 1917. In 1920 the building hosted the Democratic National Convention, the first national convention of a major party held west of the Rockies.
It is a precious thought that out of the Exposition there should come so precious a heritage.
Charles C. Moore, December 30, 1915, quoted in Todd, The Story of the Exposition, vol. 5 (1921), ch. XXXV
At a glance
- Cost $1,322,734, of which the exposition paid $1,112,710 (Todd vol. 5). The Official Guide gives $1,200,000; Condensed Facts says the exposition paid over $1,000,000 and the city $1,000,000 for the site.
- Contractor: Lindgren & Co.; contracts let in July 1913 (Todd vol. 2).
- Condensed Facts describes it as 'a four-story construction of steel and stone.'
- After closing day the exposition's general offices moved to its fourth floor (Todd vol. 5).
- Later uses include the San Francisco Opera (1923–32 and 1996) and the Warriors (1964–67); Brooks Hall was added beneath Civic Center Plaza in 1958 (Wikipedia).
Afterward
Survives as the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, a multipurpose arena seating about 8,500 (Wikipedia).
The site today
Present-day photographs and video of this spot are being made for the film; each frame below is a slot for one of them.
Civic Center Plaza, facing the auditorium across Grove St (City Hall at your back)
Have a photo of this spot? Email it to hello@288days.com with code S44 and up to 50 characters of credit. It appears here and in the film.
Sources
- Official Guide of the PPIE (1915), The Exposition Auditorium
- Condensed Facts concerning the PPIE (1915), The Exposition Auditorium
- Todd, The Story of the Exposition, vol. 5, ch. I (main hall), chs. XXXV–XXXVIII
- Todd, The Story of the Exposition, vol. 2, ch. IV (contracts)
- Wikipedia: Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, later history
- Wikipedia: Panama–Pacific International Exposition, 1915 peace conference