golden gate international exposition treasure island 1939 postcard post card

Levi Strauss Electric Rodeo

Caption on reverse: "A 100% mechanical rodeo. It moves. It talks. Its figures are all hand-carved likenesses of famous rodeo people. And they're all dressed in authentic Western togs ... miniature replicas of garments made in California since 1853 by Levi Strauss & Company. Don't miss it ... the hit of the Golden Gate International Exposition ... located in Vacationland."

Publisher unknown



Wish You Were Here! Postcards from the Golden Gate International Exposition is presented by the Treasure Island Museum.
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COMMERCE

Automobiles and
Technology
Hotels and
Restaurants
Food, Home and
Garden
Business
Wish You Were Here
Treasure Island postcard
Treasure Island postcard
Treasure Island postcard
Treasure Island postcard
Treasure Island postcard
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BUSINESS

International Business Machines

IBM had an exhibit in the Palace of Electricity. The display included tabulating machines of all sorts, including an early computer.

Publisher unknown

The Railway Express Agency
The Railway Express Agency's display in Vacationland was painted with fluorescent paint and illuminated with black light. The Agency was celebrating its centennial, and the display contrasted the difference in delivery methods over the past century. The charming illustration on the lower panel showed trucks, trains and airplanes travelling past the Bay Bridge, with the world rising up behind it.

Published by Stanley A. Piltz
Standard Oil
Standard Oil's public relations department launched a huge advertising campaign promoting the Golden Gate International Exposition, enticing motorists to visit San Francisco and drive across the newly completed Bay Bridge to the Treasure Island fair. This postcard shows a billboard that was on display at all Standard stations in early 1939.

Publisher unknown
The Chicago & North Western Railway
The Chicago & North Western Railway offered special fares for travelers to the Golden Gate International Exposition. The C&NWR exhibit was located in Vacationland. The map shown in the center of the exhibit was on a panel that would slide back to reveal live actors in short plays set in railway cars.

Publisher unknown
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Pacific Gas and Electric
The Pacific Gas and Electric Company displayed an enormous, electrically lit, animated diorama in the Palace of Electricity. The panel on the left portrayed the pioneers of 1849 as they traveled overland in search of gold. The right panel showed an early San Francisco scene, with a stagecoach meeting a ship docked in the bay. The middle panel presented a surprisingly prescient vision of San Francisco in the future, with immense skyscrapers dwarfing the Ferry Building in the middle foreground. People living in the Bay Area in 1939 received this postcard with their PG&E bills.

Publisher unknown

General Electric's Radio Station KGEI
General Electric's Radio KGEI, located in the Palace of Electricity, broadcasted news of daily events at the GGIE. This postcard was sent to Mrs. Arthur J. Anderson of Portales, New Mexico to thank her for her communication reporting reception of KGEI.

Publisher unknown
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Owl Drug Store
The Owl Drug Store on Treasure Island covered ten thousand square feet, employed sixty people, and provided seating for ninety-four patrons at its refreshment fountain. The front of the store was decorated by illuminated glass pillars topped with sculptured owls, while the outer windows displayed the names of California cities where other Owl Drug Stores were located.

Published by Owl Drugstores. Photographer unknown

National Cash Register Company
The National Cash Register counted up the daily attendance at the fair. The total attendance over the run of the Golden Gate International Exposition was 17,041,999.

Published by Stanley A. Piltz
Treasure Island Theme Girl Zoe Dell Lantis
Treasure Island Theme Girl Zoe Dell Lantis driving a Buffalo Springfield steamroller over a Perfect Sleeper mattress in order to demonstrate its durability. The Home and Gardens Building is in the background. Zoe Dell was 24 years old at the time the photo for this postcard was taken. She signed this postcard at the age of 93, at an event hosted by the Treasure Island Museum.

Publisher unknown

Union Pacific Railroad
The Union Pacific display on Treasure Island featured model railroad trains.

Caption on reverse: The Union Pacific Railroad operates a fleet of fine, fast, air-conditioned trains between San Francisco and Chicago, including the Streamliner "City of San Francisco," the Streamlined "Forty Niner," and the "Treasure Island Special"; also the "Overland Limited," "Pacific Limited" and famous "Challengers."

Published by Union Pacific Railroad

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